Enterprise advertisers using Google Marketing Platform will now have Gemini AI embedded directly into campaign planning, identity matching, and reporting workflows. Google formally introduced a set of product changes to Google Marketing Platform at its NewFront 2026 event, held on March 23 at Pier 57 in New York City. The changes were announced as part of Google and YouTube's NewFronts announcements, each focusing on the integration of Google's Gemini AI model more fully into the platform to help marketers better predict consumers' next steps as online behaviour evolves.
The livestream, which began at 11:30 AM ET and ran for 64 minutes, marked one of the most comprehensive presentations Google has staged at the annual industry showcase, touching on inventory, performance, and campaign management across Display & Video 360, Search Ads 360, Campaign Manager, and Google Analytics.
Gemini Models Now Shape Media Curation in Display & Video 360
At the centre of the update is Display & Video 360, where Google said its latest Gemini models will now help its Marketplace proactively curate media packages before campaigns go live. Despite Gemini being integrated into DV360 since last year, the AI models are now moving upstream into the planning process itself. "Marketers can upload their media plan and automatically translate it into a comprehensive campaign setup," said Bill Reardon, general manager of the enterprise platform at Google Ads. In effect, Gemini is now designed to interpret a marketer's intent and convert it into executable campaigns, reducing manual inputs traditionally required across trading desks and agency workflows.
Live Sports Inventory and New YouTube Ad Formats Added to DV360
AI will be deployed within DV360 to help manage real-time fluctuations in live sports inventory across connected TV. Marketers will also be able to use Ads Advisor, an agent embedded in the Google Ads Console, to build custom reporting dashboards.
The event also introduced YouTube Creator Takeovers, a creator partnership boost, and Pause Ads to Display & Video 360 formats previously accessible only through Google Ads. Moving Pause Ads and Mastheads into DV360 is significant because DV360 offers frequency controls and measurement options that are not available in Google Ads.
In early tests, advertisers that added an additional Google Marketing Platform product to their mix saw a 76% lift in ROAS, according to a Circana marketing-mix modelling meta-analysis in the U.S. The Circana analysis covered 3,212 campaigns across five verticals between 2019 and 2025, and was commissioned by Google. ROAS was defined as incremental sales per dollar spent for total Google media.
Confidential Publisher Match Links First-Party Data with Streaming Signals
The second major announcement was Confidential Publisher Match, which Google described as "the new generation of Google's identity model." The system operates within Trusted Execution Environments, a hardware-level privacy architecture that allows first-party data from multiple parties to be processed together without either party seeing the other's raw records.
Google said this will allow advertisers to connect first-party data with publisher streaming signals, including Roku, in a privacy-first way and measure journeys from connected TV impression to final purchase. Reardon described the capability as giving advertisers "a cross-device conversion memory, connecting a CTV impression directly to a purchase."
Google also plans to use Confidential Publisher Match to better manage household frequency and cut down on ad repetition across DV360 inventory. Google also said it is scaling its proprietary audience segments in Display & Video 360 to 96% of ad-supported connected TV households, though that figure is based on Google's internal U.S. data from February 2026.
Kroger Shopper Data and SKU-Level Reporting Added to Commerce Media Suite
Google said it is powering its Commerce Media Suite with retailer signals and Google AI. As part of that, Kroger Precision Marketing will now let brands activate Kroger shopper audiences across YouTube and third-party inventory through DV360. Advertisers will be able to monitor the impact of their YouTube and display ads on Kroger sales through SKU-level reporting being introduced into the DSP.
Google also plans to include more retail data to inform ad buys thanks to partnerships with over 30 new retailers, according to Reardon.
Ads Advisor Covers Campaign Setup, Monitoring, and Reporting
The new Ads Advisor tool can edit, optimize and report on campaigns built in the Google Marketing Platform and even offer analysis on why certain creative assets were rejected within DV360, alongside recommended fixes. Ads Advisor can also offer AI-generated solutions for rejected ad creative, as well as insights on improving campaign creative performance, how to spend ad budgets, and line-item performance.
Campaign Builder, which translates uploaded media plans into full campaign configurations, is listed as coming soon in the Google Marketing Platform blog post published March 23. Generative AI-powered reporting dashboards with customizable metrics are also described as forthcoming.
Implications for Advertisers and Agency Teams
For enterprise advertisers and agencies operating within DV360, the practical effect of these changes spans three areas. Advertisers already operating across connected TV, YouTube, and programmatic inventory may see reduced planning friction from the Gemini additions to DV360. Those with strong first-party data may find Confidential Publisher Match increasingly important over time. And organizations with large reporting demands may find measurable time savings through Ads Advisor. The Kroger integration is most relevant for brands seeking product-level attribution across video and third-party inventory rather than aggregate ROAS figures.
Google's full NewFront 2026 announcement encompasses: a live sports biddable suite for Display & Video 360 designed to handle real-time bid request spikes during live streaming events; Confidential Publisher Match, a Trusted Execution Environment-based identity framework launching first with Roku; Kroger as a new Commerce Media Suite partner with SKU-level conversion reporting; YouTube Mastheads and Pause Ads now accessible within DV360 with additional frequency controls and measurement; and Ads Advisor now generally available for DV360 users, covering campaign setup via Campaign Builder, creative rejection diagnosis, and generative AI reporting dashboards.
