Google Unveils AI-Powered Marketing Tools for Search and YouTube at GML SEA

Google launched a suite of new AI-driven marketing tools for Search and YouTube at the Google Marketing Live Southeast Asia (GML SEA) event, aiming to empower businesses with smarter solutions amid an increasingly complex digital landscape.

The company introduced six key innovations, including Asset Studio, AI Max for Search, Ads in AI Overviews, AI Mode, the YouTube Creator Partnerships Hub, and agentic capabilities within Google Ads and Analytics.

These tools are designed to help marketers produce content faster, optimize reach, and deliver more personalized experiences across platforms where consumer journeys are now more fragmented than ever.

“With resources becoming more limited and journeys more complex, we’re equipping marketers with our most advanced models yet,” said Sapna Chadha, Vice President of Google Southeast Asia and South Asia Frontier. “These tools are intelligent, agentic, and personalized—delivering sharper insights and better results.”

Among the most significant announcements is the integration of ads into AI Overviews in Search. Already serving over 1.5 billion users globally, AI Overviews will soon roll out in English across the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia, expanding advertising opportunities at key decision-making moments.

Google also revealed AI Max for Search, a new feature that uses its Gemini models to better understand consumer intent. It replaces keyword-heavy campaigns with AI-generated headlines and visuals tailored to what users are actively seeking—whether typed, spoken, or captured in photos.

E-commerce platform Shopee saw notable results in early testing of AI Max. A five-week campaign in Singapore and Malaysia led to a 100% increase in conversions and a 49% higher return on investment.

For creative production, Google debuted Asset Studio, which uses generative AI to create an array of image and video assets. Powered by Google’s Imagen and Veo models, this tool aims to streamline the development of high-performing, visually engaging ads.

Google’s focus on YouTube was also prominent at GML SEA, as the platform remains the number one video destination in Southeast Asia in terms of daily users. New data shows that YouTube drives more than twice the return on investment (ROI) of traditional TV advertising in countries like Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Independent studies from Kantar and MTM show that YouTube creators hold more trust among users in Southeast Asia than those on other platforms, especially in countries like the Philippines and Indonesia. This trust, combined with broad generational reach, makes YouTube a powerful tool for brand discovery.

To further support brands tapping into creator-led marketing, Google launched the YouTube Creator Partnerships Hub. This AI-enhanced discovery tool allows marketers to find suitable creators based on keywords, trends, and audience insights. It is now live in Singapore and Indonesia, with expansion to other markets expected soon.

AI Mode, Google’s most powerful version of Search yet, was also introduced. It brings multimodal capabilities and deep reasoning, allowing users to ask longer, more complex questions and receive AI-generated responses enriched with links to the web. Google will begin testing ad placements in this mode in the U.S. soon.

The company is also adding agentic capabilities to Google Ads and Analytics, enabling marketers to offload routine tasks like campaign creation and optimization. This AI assistant adapts to performance data and user inputs, freeing up time for strategy and creativity.

Google said its goal is to turn AI from a buzzword into a practical advantage for businesses navigating the modern web.

Every day, more than 5 trillion searches are made on Google, with increasing numbers initiated through voice, images, and video. Tools like Google Lens and Circle to Search are seeing rapid adoption, particularly among Gen Z users. Google Lens alone processed over 100 billion visual searches in 2025 so far, with one in five showing commercial intent.

As marketing shifts toward predictive, personalized engagement, Google’s latest offerings show its commitment to helping brands not only keep pace—but lead—in a digitally transformed world.