Meta Overtakes Google in Ad Spend & What It Means for Ecommerce │GML 2026 Recap

Meta has overtaken Google in ad budgets - and for ecommerce advertisers, that changes everything.

It means Google is on the offensive. It means the pressure to split your budget between platforms is about to intensify. And it means that if you're not set up correctly on Google's AI surfaces right now, you're already losing ground to competitors who are.

In this episode of Growing Ecommerce, Mike Ryan (smec's Head of Ecommerce Insights) and Chris share firsthand takeaways from GML 2026 — both the San Francisco and Dublin events — with unfiltered takes on what actually matters for your campaigns.

What we cover:

→ Google vs. Meta: The "War of the Titans" and why Google's messaging to advertisers is getting aggressive

→ AI Max for Shopping: Why standard shopping campaigns may have limited eligibility in AI surfaces

→ New AI-native ad formats: Conversational discovery ads, feed-based text ads, and why the line between shopping and search is collapsing

→ Ask Advisor: A great idea — but oversold to an irresponsible degree (Mike's take)

→ Universal Cart: Multi-retailer, cross-platform checkout — and Google's Amazon moment

→ What the shift to agentic commerce means for how you monetize clicks

Cut through the hype. Know what to act on.

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Learn more: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/newsletter/

About Smarter Ecommerce (smec):

Smarter Ecommerce (smec) empowers e-commerce brands with AI-driven PPC automation that optimizes for profit and business outcomes while maintaining strategic control.

The platform activates first-party data - profit margins, customer lifetime value, and key business metrics - to automate campaign optimization toward goals like profitability and efficient growth, while detailed campaign insights provide full transparency and enable PPC teams to focus on strategic oversight rather than manual execution.

As a Google Premier Partner and three-time Microsoft Retail Partner of the Year, smec manages over €500 million in ad spend and drives €5B+ in annual e-commerce revenue for 350+ global retail clients including THG, Snipes, REWE, and Intersport.

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Transcript

Welcome And Why GML Matters

SPEAKER_02 0:09

Welcome to another episode of Growing E-Commerce. We've got an exciting one for you. Like every episode, they're always exciting. We are doing our GML recap, and for video listeners, yes, that's my GML badge you see. And yeah, it actually has my name on it. It's real.

SPEAKER_00 0:26

You can and should be proud of it.

SPEAKER_02 0:28

It's hard to come by these.

SPEAKER_00 0:30

Especially for Europeans, man.

SPEAKER_02 0:31

Yeah, that's right.

SPEAKER_00 0:32

I I feel highly discriminated. We only go to the Dublin Gmail, which, with all the respect, I love I love being there. But man, San Fran is a different game.

SPEAKER_02 0:42

Yeah, well, I have to say the Dublin office is beautiful and they own like half the city, it feels like. Which they do. Yeah, but if you go to Mountain View, it's a city in and of itself. Yes. It really is. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 0:54

But man, I would say uh let's jump right into it. GML recap. Um let's say uh from both both sides of the world, the the the Dublin version and the US version. I think it was one of the the the most substantial GMLs for a very, very long time. In terms of updates, in terms of statements, in terms of boldness. Yes. Uh there is there was a lot going on.

SPEAKER_02 1:20

I agree. I I felt it was bigger than last probably two GMLs.

SPEAKER_01 1:24

Yeah. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 1:25

I mean what jumped out to you. Where should where should we dig in?

SPEAKER_00 1:29

How do we cut the stake? Yes. There's so much to talk about. And I think we we should certainly pick one or two topics for for the next episode. Yeah. Maybe just um unpack them a bit more. That's right. But man, I you you know me, I'm I'm I I love all the product insights and product updates because they truly matter to us and to our clients. But for me, it's always rather about I don't know, understanding where where Google is heading on this very high strategic level. And what struck me the most, man, is I felt I've I don't know if it's a pain, but I've felt that uh for the first time for a very long time, um, Google has

Google Calls Out Paid Social

SPEAKER_00 2:10

not the biggest ads budget under management anymore.

SPEAKER_01 2:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:13

Uh so they got overtaken by by by by by Meta. And I think this this highly motivates them and it stings. Uh and um this for me was was was one of the takeaways talking to the people that um it's about execution time for Google. Yeah, it's uh yes, there's a real competitor uh right now. And this was I think and it come came from a positive place when you talk to them, but this was an underlying feeling I had. It it's on now.

SPEAKER_02 2:45

I it jumped out to me too, um, on the other side of the ocean. Like maybe, maybe even more. Yeah, I mean, because like you you expect open AI to be the subtext here or something like that. Um and and maybe it like of course they talked about AI search. We'll get into all that. They talked about AI search, agentic, all this stuff a lot. Um, but what I really wasn't expecting was how often they talked about paid social and how pushy and aggressive they were about the topic.

SPEAKER_00 3:14

Yeah. Which is I I I don't know. I mean, look, I mean, good Goo Google has has their the plans and that they execute on on on uh on a very, very unique level. That's the reason why they are for me the the best company uh in the world right now. For me, it was always like they you weren't too much talking about their competition.

SPEAKER_01 3:32

No.

SPEAKER_00 3:33

Um rightfully so probably. Yeah. This has changed now. So again, this they talked very specifically about paid social, yeah, about how many retailers are overspending in paid social that I don't know if we dare to say it, vanity clicks came. They they use the word vanity metrics.

SPEAKER_02 3:54

Vanity in their keynote.

SPEAKER_00 3:55

It was um and of course they were highlighting Meta as and Facebook as as one of the channels where money is going to, which they truly believe is is not as as as goal cohesive or revenue driving as the clicks on and in the Google ecosystem. And this is very unprecedented for me. Yeah. It struck me.

SPEAKER_02 4:19

Definitely. I mean, I think there's a couple things that work here. They they were talking about TikTok, they were talking about Reels, and they were talking about YouTube Shorts. This is one thing that came up. Um and there you've got three arguably identical products from three come from three different companies. Um, short form video. Yes. And it's just like, what is it? Who has the better hold on creators, who has the better algorithm algorithm, whatever. In the end, this will all translate into attention that can be monetized. Yes. And their claim there is basically that they have more attention. Yes and better.

SPEAKER_00 4:57

And I mean, before we jump into the more detailed product updates, and and what was your major takeaway? Um I think I think looking at at that, how how Google approaches this now, and and and that again, I think it stings at at least a bit.

SPEAKER_02 5:12

Yeah. It it I mean I think I think it must hurt them on Wall Street, it must hurt them in their first position to advertisers. Sure. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:20

So and I think this my takeaway is that this will be a very, very long-lasting and and substantial dynamic we we have to look at. Of course, as a partner for our or uh clients, but also talking to all the online shops, online retailers, D2C players. Google and Meta, they will go at it. Yeah. And you have to be in a good position to understand and unpack the aggressive messaging because Google will up their game. And I bet my butt off that meta won't hold back. Right? This was for me as crazy as it sounds, because there were a lot of product updates as well, and we talked about them now. This was a a major, yeah, major takeaway uh during my stay in at Dublin.

SPEAKER_02 6:05

Yeah, definitely. I I I think the other thing that they're really struggling with right now in that and it's it's kind of conventional wisdom at this point. I think a lot of people accept this at face value, and uh to be honest, I think there's a lot of truth to it as well. But Google is not Google's pushing back heavily. There's this idea that paid social is doing a lot of demand generation, and Google is more of a demand capture channel. They're completely reversing this message. They really they note for note said that paid social platforms are selling you sales and clicks, etc., that was actually generated by Google and YouTube. So they're exactly flipping the script. Yeah. Which is I I I think it's probably a bit of both ends. To me, it stretches credibility to say that that's really what's happening. Um I think that Google is getting better at demand generation. But um and I think that what's happening with AI and search is very positive for that too. It's becoming it's taking search into more of a discovery channel than it used to be. I buy into that. So I think maybe that statement could be true in the future, but from today's perspective. From today's perspective, yes. It's a stretch for me. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 7:26

And I I I I I really, really believe for for for online uh players of any sort. If you have limited budget, you have to take crucial decisions in which platforms you have to invest in. And let's face it, I mean, yes, there is TikTok, there's Petrest, yes, all of them have their fair share, but it's about Meta and Google. They're the dominant dogs. And again, they will be at you. Yeah. Uh and you you have to be careful and and and yeah, it's this this dynamic will be will be uh a fun one to be part of. And I think we have we will have the right answers for our clients. But it's it's a major takeaway. Yes. For

AI Search Changes Keyword Strategy

SPEAKER_00 8:05

sure. Besides that, the wolf the titans, uh what what what from your perspective? There was a lot of unpacked and unmuted. On the product level, what what what's the major takeaway?

SPEAKER_02 8:16

Yeah, I mean to keep it at the the highest level and go from there about their keynote messages, what they wanted to say. I think that they wanted to tell us that um as AI search is changing, everything is changing right now, commerce is changing, the current marketing technology is not enough.

SPEAKER_01 8:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:36

And it's not working the way that it needs to. But uh you know, on the bright side, their their statement is that Google has the best AI experiences, consumer experiences, and they have the best AI marketing technology. So they they do want to emphasize that we've been talking about the death of the keyword for 15 years in this industry. Yeah. Forever. Forever. Since soon after the keyword was born, it started getting anywhere.

SPEAKER_00 9:07

Now let's see.

SPEAKER_02 9:08

Well, no, this is this was there were there are a couple hold on. I've got a I've got a quote from Philip Schindler, who's their chief business officer, as you'll know. Well, now I have to scroll through my stuff here and find it. Here we go. Um No, I hear it. Got it. You can't think in terms of simple keywords, and you definitely can't manually choose them. Just let the best AI do it for you. Fair enough. And then 15 minutes later, um his VP of Ads and Commerce was on stage, and she said, You can't choose keywords anymore. So they were hammering home their message. And you you can literally choose keywords, but they're saying that this will not be sufficient to the way that people are searching. And that's what they're pushing their AI max technology with that.

SPEAKER_00 9:56

And I think this is uh also the framing which which uh struck me um is like they they were talking a lot about uh maxing the value of of the Google ecosystem and that that a lot of people are still using the Google ecosystem not the right way. Yeah. And when they talk about using the Google ecosystem not the right way, it's uh precisely that, right? You're still going with manual keyword research, you still have have not this AI max adoption Google is is looking for, um and so uh so forth. And that's that's also something which which uh which struck me that they're really the go-to-market or the the the sales burger they are selling now is they have the best Martech in place, they have the best AI technology in place. Now it's about you, your client, to to use it to the fullest. Yeah. And um the power pack is of course one of the dominant pieces here. This is also something which they were very, very bold about. Very bold. Did they say did they say the word power pack in Dublin? I'm crazy. That's the fun thing. We were always talking about the power pack. Power pack hasn't been dropped as a word. Yeah. And I I I was referring to to the power pack, and sometimes they looked at me, ah.

SPEAKER_03 11:07

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:08

Is it still the name of the game?

SPEAKER_02 11:11

I I I mean uh yes, it is, but I think that they're again reframing as they do every year. Because there was one point where they they have this huge, I don't know, 50-foot screen or whatever. They have this massive, massive screen on stage, and there were just two words on there, two phrases. There was AI Max and P Max. That's all it's done. A big blight. Black Max Gen? No, no, well, because they talk about the DemandGen got its whole separate thing. Okay, got it. But their point was because the they were talking about AI surfaces and stuff like that. And right now DemandGen. It's not serving. Yeah, got it. So but their point was that these are your ways in. Yes. You need to do AI Max or PMAX if you want to be uh visible in AI places. So um and I think that's literally the case. I don't think that your standard shopping campaign will do that. You have to activate AI Max to be visible there.

SPEAKER_00 12:07

I mean, one thing which might open uh the the paths uh up for um for for standard shopping might be AI max for shopping. Exactly. If you if you turn that on the Trevor Burrus, then I think uh but but you're right, this was also uh the core statements that if the driving presence in DCI surfaces it will be about PMAX and AI Max research, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:27

Yeah, and I mean they they did they talk plenty about demand gen, but that's it's still Darling. But they didn't talk about all three of them together. And I think maybe it's

AI Max And PMax As The Path

SPEAKER_02 12:35

because I think they they're really positioning you could think of it that they're positioning DemandGen against Meta and and TikTok and whoever. And they're positioning AI, Max, and PMAX against AI and what's going on over there. Makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 12:48

Um Mike, um while we're while we're at it, um the Ask Advisor was a big thing. I mean that the the whole idea that uh they Yeah, put an assistant uh to your side now, which which which is helping you to not just run your ads but primarily also run your ads was was a big thing, at least in Dublin. Yeah. The product they I think they call it Ask Advisor, right? Yeah. Yeah. What is your what is your take on that? Um I I hate it. Fair enough. Be open. I will hate it. I will be I will be open. Are you allowed to say that with this badge on? Okay.

SPEAKER_02 13:29

I don't like Ask Advisor. Um I won't be invited again next year, Chris. Maybe they will look at me now. That one stung. Because I love it. No, I'm not loving it.

SPEAKER_00 13:40

But Ask Advisor. Let's talk about it.

SPEAKER_02 13:42

Hold on, let's hold on. I like the idea of it. Um but what the problem so let's just back up. Last year they launched um ads advisor and analytics advisor. And the idea is that these are conversational assistance chatbots that can um give you information about your account and help you optimize your accounts. And now they are rolling out advisor to the full family. So for example, Merchant Center as well. Yes. And what Ask Advisor is, just on the back end, they tie it all together so that it doesn't matter if you're a merchant center or ads or analytics or wherever else they'll put it. Um you have like a persistent chat history across there. So you can pick up where you left off. Um and that's a really cool idea. And in general, the idea of this agentic assistant is very cool. So it's just about where the product is today and the way that they talk about it. Yes. Um, this is this is what I have a problem with. So that that's a fair statement. Yeah. And I it's just like, you know, they they use phrases like execution is commoditized. Maybe execution will be commoditized, but that statement's not ready yet because I've tried out Advisor and it gets way more wrong than it gets ready. Um it's n just not ready yet. I'm not saying that it can't be ready, but right now it was failing at the simplest tasks and it was giving me wrong information. And this to me

Ask Advisor Debate And Risks

SPEAKER_02 15:10

is deeply concerning when they market it one way. Um because there are going to be small and medium businesses which are fully relying on people are the people who are just don't apply a lot of critical thinking to AI in the first place. They think it's a magic wand. And this is a dangerous combination because this can affect your business. So that's I just uh It's a great idea, but they're not there yet. I I know it's a sales and marketing event and they have to sell it, but to me it was oversold to an irresponsible degree. That's that's a fair statement. Yeah. Um, hold on, it was still being my it was oversold to an irresponsible degree. Can we live with that? Google I'm staring in the camera. Please don't cancel me.

SPEAKER_00 15:55

They won't. They won't. You guys probably didn't know it. Yeah. Uh but but anyway, the the the idea is great. Yeah. I think it can really uh make you a superhero. Um you know, running your ads. It's the the the the things this this chatbot, this assistant will be doing for you, um, they're basically unlimited. Yeah. But they are not there yet, and it will take time. Yes. My biggest issue is uh the the low level of um uh how to call it. I mean, uh you you you we we did some some some some some things here. If you you you prompt uh twice uh literally the same thing, yeah, and the the results are not deterministic, mate. You you get different results. Yes, yes. Which is which is I mean and we're talking about you know really uh executing Google Ads, this is heart of many businesses, right? Yeah. So I think that they have they have an an issue there. And the other thing, which I just want to put on Front Street, and I'm I'm circling back to the to the dynamic heating up between Meta and Google. I mean who you're listening to. I'm I'm I'm not kidding. I mean, because uh uh they they showed a uh there was a little show and tell, and there was one prompt, how how should I plan my budget for Q3 across whatever? I mean, if you ask Google how to plan your budget, I I don't know if it's going to make it. Uh to make to to because there there will be a certain tendency. And by the way, not blaming Google, the same thing will happen on Meta once they have their enchanted assistant on there.

SPEAKER_01 17:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:32

So this is also a thing which I think I I I don't know if Google is aware of it, but I know for sure advanced big retailers will will know the name of the game here. Yeah, yeah. Um just saying this is another thing which I think was not tackled aggressively enough.

SPEAKER_01 17:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:50

This this position of of being neutral. I don't know if they can be neutral. Um but yeah, I mean the idea was bold. Yes. And it was a great sales show. Yes. I have to I have to say, I mean, uh watched some some videos uh in the aftermath and yeah, it was Yes.

SPEAKER_02 18:06

Definitely. I mean, again, I think that it's the direction of travel. Yes, for sure. But I just these things take time.

SPEAKER_00 18:17

It takes time. Um absolutely. But uh also one of the major major takeaways. Um Ask Advisor was a big thing. Yes, for sure. What else costs you much?

SPEAKER_02 18:26

Um well I want to talk about AI shopping formats, um, because this this closes the loop on AI Macs for shopping, which we talked about in a previous episode. Um and I think it explains also why a standard shopping campaign by itself is probably

Native AI Shopping Ad Formats

SPEAKER_02 18:45

gonna have limit limited to no eligibility in an AI service. And you know, what we talked in the past, just to re-recap, if you're not familiar with AI Max for shopping, one of the core features is something called text customization. And uh I think at that point of our knowledge of what's going on, we're like, okay, that's gonna be rewriting your titles to be hyper-relevant, which it will do. And that's already a great feature. But with the new ad formats that are coming out, you see that it's so much more of that because um there are these things called conversational discovery ads, another one called I think uh featured answer or highlighted answer or something like that. And this has little to do with a standard shopping ad or a standard search ad. Um it's it's writing a whole AI response. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:36

Which is anchored to your feed data. So And that's where you think the the format editing will will play a big role in combination with text customization, right?

SPEAKER_02 19:45

Or yeah, because the other the other thing they can choose if they're gonna serve a shopping ad or text ad. And I think part of their reasoning behind this is that the difference between shopping ads and text ads is collapsing. And I think that's correct. In some of these cases, it would be hard hard for me to say it's almost just a new format. And it's very like your text ads can they'll be based on your feed. This all thanks to Joey for shouting out our la podcast episode about that. That was a very popular announcement that these will be feed-based dynamic um search ads. But um yeah, what I want to say, like this this distance is just collapsing because text ads can draw on your feed data, including images and stuff like that. And shopping ads can now have can write a lot of text. Yes, basically, more or less, right? So it's they're just new formats, but these are the first native AI formats. And if you compare them to now let's I I don't want to crap all over OpenAI. They've made progress, they keep making progress. They're now on a CPA basis for people following along. Yes. Yes. Good job. Yeah, good job, genuinely. They're work they're working hard and fast. But their ads look like a text ad from 10 years ago. And Google now has native formats that really look like they belong there. Some people think they look too much like they belong there. You can't tell their ads.

SPEAKER_00 21:08

But I think it's crucial for the all-all experience, especially in these AI surfaces. You you they will have to think about these new formats. Because they won't going to cut it, these classic formats.

SPEAKER_02 21:19

No, I think Google is working like crazy on the relevance and on the formatting so that they can have a satisfying user experience and so that these ads will get clicked. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 21:29

So it should be a win-win. It should be a win-win. Uh, but it only will be a win-by the way, it should be a win-win-win because the the consumer should win. So but the Mike Ryan look uh using AI mode.

SPEAKER_02 21:40

Yeah, oh totally. That's why of course.

SPEAKER_00 21:41

Uh the the online retailer should win to get the highly relevant click.

SPEAKER_02 21:45

Yeah. And then Google as a market.

SPEAKER_00 21:47

Exactly. Let's not forget that also Google has to win. Yeah. And they need, I mean, uh unless they change their revenue model, which we talked about that almost one year ago, there might be a thing coming up with a commission based model. Yes. Because we don't know what the click what role the click will play in these new AI services. Yes, yes. And they need as of now they need to click on the ad.

SPEAKER_02 22:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:09

Cool. I else they are not making money. Totally.

SPEAKER_02 22:12

Yeah. Or they can charge on other bases like engagement or views, I guess, but I don't know how satisfactory that is. I mean

Universal Cart And Agentic Checkout

SPEAKER_02 22:20

CPM was not popular in open AI ads, but um yeah, but outcome-based marketing could be the future for sure. Mike, um universal cart. Yeah, so universal cart is I thought it was I had a crazy feeling of deja vu because Google already had a product years and years ago called Universal Cart. But this is exciting and new. I won't say it's it's unexpected, but the details are great. And what the Universal Cart is, this is part of their whole UCP and agentic side of things where they're trying to overhaul e-commerce. And basically you can not only add multiple products to a cart, but you can also add multiple products from multiple different brands or retailers. This is huge. And you can do that from multiple different places, which is very cool as well. So properties like what is it, Gmail? Gmail, YouTube, they definitely, I don't know about if Maps, maybe maps in the future. I don't know how much product specific, but could be. If there's local inventory stuff, maybe.

SPEAKER_00 23:25

And it's truly universal in in that regard, right?

SPEAKER_02 23:28

Yeah. So like the idea is that whether you're having a chat in AI mode and you find something that you like organically or through an ad, you can add that to your cart. Um, and then maybe you're on YouTube and there's a shoppable video with a product integration, then you can add something from YouTube, which I think some of this stuff could be great for impulse categories and and fast fashion and things like that. Um I I think there's a lot of potential here.

SPEAKER_00 23:56

And for the record, once this cart is ready to or you are ready to pull the trigger. Yeah. Is this then a buy on Google or what what is it then?

SPEAKER_02 24:07

Yeah, exactly. So this this will work with um, you know, they have some some payment systems that they're working on. Um, you know, I think their first class citizen here is Google Pay, of course. Uh, but they're also going to be supporting other payment processors um in the interest of probably two things can conversion rate, because not everyone has Google Pay, and probably antitrust.

SPEAKER_00 24:32

Bakilapgo.

SPEAKER_02 24:34

Exactly. And uh but yeah, and then they have this uh uh I don't know all the details about this, but AP2, which is uh the A stands for agents, the P stands for payment, and the two is so it's basically agent-to-agent payments. So they're working hard um in that direction and a huge step.

SPEAKER_00 24:55

I mean, we talked about that also months before. That's the buy on Google direction. They are going here, and it's a concrete feature, uh, right, that we would we talk about here. Yeah. Yeah and a great feature. Uh uh all I read about it, I loved it. It's really it's it's a great thing. Just for cur uh uh out of curiosity, um has is this embedded in UCP or what but the technology used here? Well do you know anything about it?

SPEAKER_02 25:20

Yeah, I mean it'll be supported by UCP as uh the infrastructure for that, and um and then it'll be embedded within Google's interface in different in different ways, which I don't think is perfectly clear yet. Uh because I think back in the days Universal Cart might have been a browser extension or something. I think that's how it followed you around the web. But um I I'll have to dig in more here, but uh you know, I think like there there's every possibility. Like if you're on YouTube um and you see your user profile icon and all that stuff, you could also just see a shopping cart icon with a number on it. Yeah, different ways. Yeah. So you and then if you're and then you go to Gmail and you see a shopping cart icon with a number on it, whatever. Yeah. So it'll follow you around that way through their through their interfaces. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:04

And this r again, I I think this this this should should be another another strong indicator how big Google is on this seamless integration of this new AI and to Atlantic end-to-end feature landscape. They have all the possibilities in the world. I mean, it's it's 100%, yeah. It's it's it's literally crazy. I think the one big challenge they might have is them we talked about that, the monetization strategy for these zero click events, right? How uh 60-65% of the revenue is still a thing based on clicks, right?

SPEAKER_01 26:43

Yeah, probably.

SPEAKER_00 26:44

Um this this is the thing.

SPEAKER_01 26:46

Yeah. But they will solve it.

SPEAKER_02 26:48

They they'll definitely solve it. I the episode thanks to me for all that they'll solve it. But yeah, I mean, and I also think that this overall, I think this will diversify the revenue stream because it's great for them. Yeah, ads will be important, but they're going to find other ways. Um because uh as this grows, uh it will be growing into a marketplace, you know. It'll be it'll be a new distribution channel. And then I I mean I was just discussing this uh with our with our VP marketing Roman here at SMEC early earlier. Um, this offers them the possibility to do things that Amazon has done. Like, you know, you can um you can view these as ads, but you can there there are different ways of being featured or promoted. Like there's all kinds of Amazon has found thousands of ways of squeezing money out of the retailers. Out of yeah, they're retailers, or everyone participating on that marketplace. And um Google will have entirely new non-ad released ways. And yeah, there's also cloud. We talked about that a couple episodes back. That something everything is cloud, according to some. Something they emphasized in there, they they really were like UCP is cloud. It's cloud. Everything is cloud. So uh the I think that this will actually take some pressure off of ads. Yeah. And I also think their ads will start picking up more.

SPEAKER_00 28:11

I think um bottom line, uh for me, based on your feedback, my stay in Dublin. I think it uh Google it it was a it was close to a home run. It was it was strong. It was it had substance, they were bold, they were not not fucking around. I honestly, by the way, man, I love that they not just the fact that I have some shares with Google. Uh I'm still a man lawyer to a shareholder. No, no, no, you no there's no fear needed that I go somewhere else. But man, it's they they they are in a very unique position. Uh very, very honest. And it was it was a great event, and I I love their boldness about yes, okay, Meta, they're number one now in terms of ads, um about budget, but we have a plan here.

SPEAKER_02 29:01

I I liked it. Yeah, no, for sure. Uh sugarcoating. Uh no, there is no sugarcoating. And and by the way, some of those things that they said about meta, they've been saying in demand gen pitches for a couple of years now, but they just rolled it out in a big way.

SPEAKER_00 29:14

That's all yeah, yeah. Uh Mike, um what uh what I would be interested in, maybe in the last couple of minutes. Sure. That's okay. There there is there's the official part, right? Presentation. I just for I I really want want to do to make a big shout out to Carla, Holger, the the whole Google team. Uh and this is something it's important to me. Um, yes, I know the pressure is on, and then

Partner Takeaways And PMax Creator Story

SPEAKER_00 29:40

and Meta is is I think really on uh in their minds, but I've never felt that genuinely uh listened to uh for a very, very long time as a partner. I know we are a big partner for them, and we always had the feeling that they treat us with respect, and but it was really like they they listen to you. And for me this is also something important. And I and I know Google is a nastacklistic company and they they don't do anything without without the plan or without the goal behind it. What I think Google has realized is and this is quite contrary to I think how Meta will proceed uh or execute the strategy, I think Google realizes that the agency partners, the big ones, the good ones are crucial for them to maybe get also meta budget back. Yeah. My humble opinion. Yeah, that's right.

SPEAKER_02 30:35

Uh how did you feel uh over there in So So yeah, I wanted to tell an anecdote as well or fit one in here, but uh just in general, yeah, big thanks to Ginny and Amanda from Google who um brought me over and and um made me feel really comfortable. But you were one of the very few Europeans, right, invited. The only one? Uh I mean uh maybe from some brands or something, but more yeah, I mean, because they have they have their European events. So yeah, yeah, it was an honor to be invited. Uh thank you, Google, for that. Uh it's due to my influencer status. Of course.

SPEAKER_03 31:08

You're an influencer.

SPEAKER_02 31:09

Yeah, there was literally a door with a sign on it said reserved for ads influencers. Awesome.

SPEAKER_00 31:14

And for but for for true influencer sales, I would love to see a bit more sexy picks, you know, you're in LinkedIn. I need to have to up your your your pick game here.

SPEAKER_02 31:25

Yeah, I need to do I need my selfie stick and all this stuff. Show your six pack. Give me five minutes to work on that. But uh, I have a six-pack beer. That's that's easily done. I think it holds. Yeah, but uh chokes aside. But but hold on. So um yeah, I mean, I met with Googlers the evening before. Um I had some off the record sessions with their product team, um uh several throughout the day uh as well, which was great. And even then the next day. So I agree they're listening 100%. Um and then the story I want to tell you in particular is that uh let me set the scene, okay? It's the night before Google Marketing Live. We're at this very posh uh mid-century hotel at the at the bar there. Um I don't uh yeah, it's a very fancy place, right? And there's all these Googlers around and some others, some externals as well. But it was largely a Google party, but suddenly this this Googler that I was talking to whispers in my ear, hey, do you see that guy over there? That's the guy who created PMAX. She said, He's a legend. That's the guy who's created PMAX. You're shitting me. Ready? I was like, create off PMAX. The guy who created PMAX. Was there one person? Well, yeah. So I went over and said hello, of course. I talked to the guy who created PMAX. And um, and indeed it was him and his team. Um, and he also worked on some other Google products, like he was a key person in smart bidding, RSAs, he's working on AI Max now. Um and yeah, we we had a nice chat. Talk to a legend. Yeah, we had a nice chat. He was listening. I gave him some some hot takes. And yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:14

Yeah, and shout out to him uh because uh PMix has has come a long way in. And I think it's a great campaign time. But it it's it's fascinating, right? Uh we're talking about such a big company, and there's still there's still this this this these people who really make this huge difference. We're multi-billion dollar companies.

SPEAKER_02 33:35

It's it's it's really it's amazing. Their product org is massive. Yeah, um, but it there truly are, because I met others of them um while I was there. There are truly are these single people who create the singular type events, right? Yeah, that they have uh an outsized um impact on my organization. It's amazing. Yeah. Great. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 33:57

Mike, I think it was a fair recap.

unknown 34:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:01

You were not too pushing, not too bullish, we're critical. Yeah. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 34:05

Ask advisor is a bit raw, put it back in the oven. But a lot of good things happened.

Final Thoughts And How To Support

SPEAKER_02 34:10

Other other stuff looks great. I love the new shopping formats and it totally AI Max for shopping really clicks for me now. Yeah. And I think that's gonna be huge to next year and beyond.

SPEAKER_00 34:22

Yes. And the Sak and Sundai will probably not meet for the year. Probably not. Let's see. Probably not.

SPEAKER_02 34:31

Mike, it was a pleasure. Likewise, thank you, Chris. Sir. And thanks everyone for listening and watching. This has been another episode of Growing E-Commerce, um, brought to you as always by Smarter Ecommerce. No affiliation with Google. To learn more, visit Smarter eCommerce.com. And as always, if you give us a shout out on social media or um a like, review, anything, every bit helps, and we really appreciate it. Thanks. We'll see you next time. Bye bye.