Alphabet introduced six AI-driven ad formats at Marketing Live, including Conversational Discovery ads and AI-native checkout, aiming to boost offline and social ad budgets in search. Its 13F filing shows a $1.03B position in CME Group after a 3.48M-share purchase, and Google Cloud grew 63% year-over-year with a $462B backlog.
Alphabet introduced six new AI-driven ad formats tied to its Gemini model at Marketing Live, featuring Conversational Discovery ads that tailor product features to user queries, an AI-enhanced Shopping Ads upgrade with custom explainer copy, and a Universal Commerce Protocol checkout embedded directly within AI Search responses.
A leading publishing CEO warns that Google’s AI-powered search overhaul could redirect traffic away from external sites, creating a potential “Google Zero” effect in which free-form AI responses reduce referral visits and undermine traditional publisher ad revenues.
The latest 13F filing reveals Alphabet purchased 3.48 million shares of CME Group worth $1.03 billion, making CME its largest investment holding after AST SpaceMobile, and leveraging existing Google Cloud partnerships to deepen its presence in the financial services sector.
Google Cloud revenue surged 63% year-over-year, supporting a $462 billion customer backlog, while planned capital expenditures of $180–190 billion in 2026 and a P/E ratio of 29.6 underpin a buy recommendation citing 17% annual earnings growth through 2028.
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