AI is shaking up online ads and shopping. Google just showed us how it's adapting. (www.businessinsider.com)

Google announced a set of shopping and advertiser tools that rework search around its generative AI "AI Mode," acknowledging that query behavior—and the traditional search funnel—are changing. Users are now making much longer, more specific queries (Google says two to three times longer than before), and AI Mode can respond by generating curated product lists, comparing items on request, and even performing "agentic checkout" — autonomous bots that monitor prices and buy a product when it hits a user-set target. The UX is designed for more conversational, intent-rich “vibe shopping” rather than keyword-driven lookups. For the AI/ML and advertising communities, the shift matters because it accelerates conversions while complicating attribution and campaign strategy. Faster, more precise answers mean fewer intermediate clicks and less predictable keyword journeys, so advertisers must move from static keyword lists to agent-enabled automation and deeper behavioral signals. Google's new agent tools aim to help marketers track discovery patterns, automate campaign actions and identify what drives conversions in an agentic era. Technically, the changes emphasize retrieval-augmented generation for product discovery, continuous web monitoring agents for transaction automation, and richer intent inference — all of which reshape how ML models, tracking systems and ad platforms will need to operate to preserve relevance (and revenue) in the AI-first search landscape.