Our Ads Decoded Podcast pilot went behind the scenes with product leaders to reveal how marketers can thrive in 2026. Here are the essential takeaways:

1. Shift from "busy work" to high-level strategy.
   Evolving search behavior requires adaptable campaigns. AI Max for Search amplifies performance without a total campaign overhaul. Use AI-powered features like search term expansion and dynamic text customization to capture incremental reach that manual setups simply miss. Listen to the full episode here.
2. Use cross-platform data to fuel AI-driven audience discovery.
   Demand Gen helps marketers meet customers in their moments of highest engagement — particularly on YouTube — by bridging the gap between social and search with proven goals, campaign settings and target CPC bidding. Tune in here.
3. Treat creative as the engine of campaign performance.
   Creative is now the primary lever for success. Use Asset Studio to utilize gen AI tools to produce, refine, and scale high-quality content that feeds core business objectives. Watch the replay here.

Listen to more insights from our team as we closed out 2025.