Google launched Gemini-powered conversational ad formats for AI Mode and Search at Google Marketing Live 2026, and the ripple effects are still arriving as May closes out. Today in Google Ads for May 31, 2026 covers the full scope: new conversational ad units, a chatbot embedded inside lead gen ads, AI shopping insights hitting Merchant Center, a critical API migration deadline two weeks away, and data retention enforcement starting in June. Here is everything advertisers need to know from the past week.

Gemini-Powered Conversational Ad Formats Go Live For AI Mode

Google unveiled a new generation of ad formats at Google Marketing Live 2026 on May 20, all powered by Gemini and built for AI Mode’s conversational interface. The lineup includes Conversational Discovery ads, Highlighted Answers, AI-powered Shopping ads, and Business Agent for Leads. As reported by Search Engine Land, these formats dynamically generate ad creative matched to individual conversational queries rather than relying on static keyword targeting.

The scale is significant. AI Mode is already processing over 1 billion queries per month with 75 million daily active users. For advertisers, this means the ad surface is no longer a list of blue links with headlines. It is a conversational flow where Gemini decides which ads appear and how they are presented.

The practical takeaway: optimizing for conversational discovery and intent signals matters more than ever. Traditional keyword structures will not disappear overnight, but the direction is clear. If your campaigns are built entirely around exact-match keyword logic, these new surfaces will be harder to win.

Business Agent For Leads Replaces Static Forms With An AI Chatbot

One of the most consequential announcements from GML 2026 is Business Agent for Leads, which embeds a Gemini-powered chatbot directly inside lead generation ads. Instead of clicking through to a landing page and filling out a form, users interact with an AI agent trained on the advertiser’s website content.

The agent qualifies prospects through conversation before they ever reach the CRM. Google is targeting high-consideration verticals first: education, finance, and professional services, where the gap between a form fill and a qualified lead is widest.

This is a meaningful shift in the lead gen funnel. Static forms collect contact information. Business Agent for Leads filters intent. If the qualification works as described, advertisers in these verticals should see fewer junk leads entering their pipeline. The open question is how much control advertisers will have over the agent’s conversation flow and qualification criteria. Google has not detailed that yet.

For advertisers running lead gen in professional services, this is directly relevant. Teams already focused on structural lead quality improvements should watch for early access to this format.

AI Shopping Insights Roll Out Inside Merchant Center

Google is rolling out new AI shopping insights inside Merchant Center as of May 28, according to Search Engine Land. Retailers now get visibility into how their products perform across AI Mode and AI Overviews, not just traditional Shopping placements.

This accompanies the launch of AI-powered Shopping ads, where Gemini generates custom product explainers tailored to individual shopper queries. The shift is from static product listings to dynamically generated, intent-matched shopping experiences.

Retailers who have not optimized their Merchant Center feeds will feel this. Thin product titles, missing attributes, and incomplete descriptions will perform poorly when Gemini is generating explanations on the fly. Feed quality has always mattered. On these new surfaces, it is table stakes.

Anyone running Shopping campaigns should review their feed optimization strategy now, before these AI-powered surfaces become a larger share of Shopping traffic.

Two weeks from today, Google will block the legacy UploadClickConversions request in the Google Ads API for any advertiser or developer who has not used it in the past 180 days. This was announced May 15. All new implementations must use the Data Manager API instead.

The downstream effects are serious. Offline conversion imports and enhanced conversions for leads feed directly into Smart Bidding signal quality and attribution accuracy. If your CRM-to-Google Ads conversion pipeline has been inactive or was recently set up, you need to audit the integration immediately.

This is not a soft deprecation. After June 15, the legacy path is blocked for new adopters. Teams that rely on offline conversion data for bidding optimization cannot afford to miss this deadline. If you are running SaaS lead gen campaigns with CRM integration, verify your API path this week.

37-Month Data Retention Enforcement Starts In June

Google confirmed in May 2026 that enforcement of a 37-month retention limit on granular Google Ads reporting data begins in June, as flagged by Search Engine Land on May 27. Hourly, daily, and weekly data older than 37 months will be deleted. Monthly and annual aggregates keep an 11-year window.

If your team runs year-over-year daily analyses or pulls granular metrics into BigQuery, export everything older than 37 months before June. Once Google enforces the limit, that data is gone permanently. This is not a feature you can opt out of.

What Else We’re Watching

  • VEO 3 video creation inside Performance Max. PPC practitioners spotted a “Create video” button inside PMax campaign setup around May 19, using Google’s VEO 3 AI video model. A similar feature already exists in Demand Gen campaigns. Expect this to expand to more campaign types in H2 2026. For teams without video production resources, this lowers the barrier significantly. Those already running Demand Gen campaigns should check whether the button has appeared in their PMax workflows.

  • May 2026 Core Update still rolling out. Google launched its May 2026 Core Update on May 21, and the rollout is still in progress as of today. Organic ranking volatility during core updates can shift traffic mix, Quality Score inputs, and conversion rates on paid campaigns. Monitor your paid performance closely and be ready to adjust budgets if organic baselines move.

  • Search Query Reports getting less transparent. Google confirmed on May 13 that SQRs may no longer reflect exact searches that triggered ads as AI-driven intent matching expands. Google is building prompt-driven reporting dashboards to eventually replace traditional SQR workflows. If your negative keyword strategy depends on granular query-level data, you need an alternative plan.

How groas Adapts To Changes Like These

When Google rolls out new ad formats, deprecates API endpoints, or changes how data is retained, someone on your team has to figure out what it means and what to do. That is exactly the kind of operational burden groas eliminates.

groas runs on a proprietary engine trained on over $500 billion in profitable ad spend. It incorporates platform changes as they ship. API migrations, new conversational ad surfaces, feed optimization for AI-powered Shopping, data export deadlines: the engine and senior strategists handle all of it.

For DFY clients, a dedicated strategist owns every decision end to end. For DWY clients, the strategist flags what is relevant and works alongside your team. Either way, you are not reading a changelog at midnight trying to figure out if your conversion pipeline is about to break. Month-to-month, no lock-in, $0 onboarding. Apply for DFY or get started with DWY and let groas handle the moving parts.

Wrapping Up May 31, 2026

May closes with a string of consequential changes. Gemini-powered conversational ads are reshaping how ad creative gets generated and delivered. Business Agent for Leads is rethinking the lead gen funnel entirely. Merchant Center is surfacing AI shopping insights. And two hard deadlines are approaching fast: the API offline conversion cutoff on June 15 and data retention enforcement starting in June.

Audit your API integrations, export your historical data, and review your Merchant Center feeds. We will be back tomorrow with the latest.