AI Is Reshaping the Future of Marketing: Key Takeaways from Google Marketing Live Southeast Asia 2026

On July 7, 2026, Google Marketing Live Southeast Asia 2026 took place at Capella Singapore, bringing together Google leaders, marketing experts, brands, and partners from across the region. As one of Google’s key events in Southeast Asia, the program highlighted the latest updates across AI, Search, YouTube, commerce, and advertising solutions for businesses.

Representing Omega Media, Ms. Oanh Le - General Director and Ms. Duong Nguyen - Sales Director attended the event to stay updated on new developments within the Google ecosystem and connect with Google’s regional team and industry partners.

As part of the business trip, Omega Media also had the opportunity to visit Google Singapore Office and meet with Google’s Southeast Asia team. This created valuable space for direct conversations around AI trends, new advertising solutions, and future collaboration opportunities.

For Omega Media, this event was more than an opportunity to listen to Google’s latest announcements. It was also a chance to better understand how AI is changing user behavior and what this means for Vietnamese businesses in digital marketing.

What stood out at Google Marketing Live Southeast Asia 2026?

Google Marketing Live is Google’s annual event for marketers, advertisers, and partners. At the Southeast Asia 2026 edition, the program focused on how AI is being integrated more deeply across Google’s ecosystem, from Search and YouTube to shopping ads, creator partnerships, and performance measurement.

AI is no longer only a technology that supports ad optimization. It is becoming an operating layer across the marketing ecosystem, influencing how users search for information and how businesses build growth strategies.

Two major shifts stood out at this year’s event: the rise of AI Search and the growing role of YouTube creators in video commerce across Southeast Asia.

AI Search: when ads need to become answers

One of the key messages from the event was: The best ads are answers. In the AI era, effective advertising is not only about appearing in the right place. It must also respond to the user’s needs with the right level of relevance and context.

Users today do not only search with short keywords. They ask longer, more specific, and more contextual questions. They search through text, voice, images, cameras, and AI-powered experiences. This means Search is no longer just a place to find links; it is becoming part of the decision-making journey.

Claims from Google Marketing Live 2026 in Vietnam show that 80% of Vietnamese users said they use Google Search more compared to a year ago. 81% said they like finding information in multiple formats, including text, voice, photo, and AI. 83% agreed that image search helps them find things they could never describe with words.

For businesses, this means brand content and advertising content need to become clearer, more useful, and more closely aligned with real user needs. If users are searching for answers, brands need to learn how to show up as trusted answers.

Activities at the Google Marketing Live 2026 event

YouTube, creators, and video commerce remain key highlights

Alongside Search, Google also emphasized YouTube’s role in the discovery and shopping journey. The solutions introduced at the event aim to strengthen video commerce and deepen the connection between brands and creators.

Notable solutions include Commerce Media Suite, Creator Partnerships Boost, Affiliate Partnerships Boost, and YouTube Creator Partnerships. These tools help brands better leverage creator content, bring products closer to consumers, and shorten the distance between discovery and purchase.

In Vietnam, data from Google Marketing Live 2026 shows that YouTube continues to play a major role in digital media behavior. YouTube reached over 55 million people aged 18+ in Vietnam in April 2026, representing more than 93% of the country’s online population aged 18+. YouTube Shorts uploads in Vietnam increased by over 100% year over year in 2025.

This points to an important implication for businesses: video should no longer be seen only as an awareness channel. When combined with creators, product data, shopping experiences, and the right measurement setup, video can play a clearer role across both consideration and conversion.

Ms. Oanh Le and Ms. Duong Nguyen represented Omega Media at Google Marketing Live Southeast Asia 2026.

3 points Vietnamese businesses should pay attention to after Google Marketing Live Southeast Asia 2026

From the updates shared at Google Marketing Live Southeast Asia 2026, Omega Media sees three important points for Vietnamese businesses.

First, Search is shifting from “finding information” to “supporting decisions”.

As users ask longer questions, search with images and voice, and expect context-aware answers, brands can no longer optimize only for short keywords. What matters more is building content that is clear, helpful, and trustworthy enough to help customers feel confident before making a decision.

Second, AI can only optimize well when the business has quality data.

Solutions such as Performance Max, AI-powered Measurement, Enhanced Conversions, and first-party data do not create strong results simply because they are activated in an ad account. AI needs the right signals to learn correctly: which customers are valuable, which leads are qualified, and which conversions truly contribute to revenue. If input data is fragmented, measurement is inconsistent, or CRM is not connected with advertising platforms, AI may end up optimizing for surface-level metrics instead of real business outcomes.

Third, YouTube and creators are no longer just media channels; they are becoming part of the commerce journey.

The growth of video commerce and creator partnership solutions shows that video content is bringing discovery, trust, and purchase closer together. For businesses, the challenge is not only to work with creators for more reach, but to choose the right creators, connect content with products, link viewers to points of purchase, and measure video’s role across the full growth funnel.

Partnering with businesses in the AI era

As a Google Premier Partner 2026, Omega Media believes that AI will continue to play an increasingly important role in digital marketing. However, effectiveness does not come only from adopting new technology. It also depends on how businesses combine AI with data, strategy, content, and practical execution experience.

Omega Media will continue to stay close to Google’s latest innovations and support businesses in applying advertising, measurement, and growth solutions that fit their specific business objectives.

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