• Statistics show Google’s AI Mode is typically friendly to brands and may drive new brand discovery.
• “Digital marketing is dead”? Not so fast, according to discoveries within Google’s Q2 2025 financials.
• TikTok is building out a Search Ads team, demonstrating an aggressive growth strategy in the space.
• Internal Google documents show a major AI Mode advertising ramp-up is in the works for Q4 2025.
• Google Business Profiles are now easier to use within your local SEO strategy thanks to better Posts.

Brands May Be Biggest Winners During Google’s AI Push

According to data from BrightEdge, brands appear in 90% of all AI Mode responses. Brands also appear 43% of the time in AI Overviews. Combined with AI Mode citations – typically 5-7 citations per response – this creates fresh opportunities for users to discover brands they weren’t aware of yet.

What does it mean? Generally, users on standard search engine experiences are far into the funnel before their queries start including brand names. AI Mode introduces an interesting new possibility: Users could get familiar with brands while they’re still early in their awareness of their problem. Now’s a great time to pick a marketing agency partner with a strong background in digital marketing to build your brand in a way that signals Google.

Google Digital Advertising, Other Key Growth Indicators Remain Strong

Even though digital marketing is in a transformative period right now, that doesn’t mean it’s going anywhere. In fact, recent stats show plenty to be excited about for digital marketers and the businesses that work with them. Google’s second-quarter stats indicate more than $54 billion in ad spending for its search segment.

Likewise, more digital advertisers are engaging with Google’s generative ad tools as part of their ad strategy – two million advertisers got involved in Q2. AI Overviews have attracted more than 2 billion monthly active users, and AI Mode searches attract more than 100 million monthly active users.

What does it mean? This is another nail in the coffin of the idea that “ChatGPT is all that matters in search.” Google’s audience is robust and continues to be highly active. Be careful about reading too much into those digital advertising stats, though: Ads aren’t the best digital marketing play for most service businesses.

TikTok Bounces Back From Controversy, Becoming a Major Digital Marketing Player

With risk of a nationwide U.S. ban firmly in the rear-view mirror, TikTok is bouncing back to become one of the major players in the accelerating shift toward micro-video as one of the most popular forms of content online.

The company announced hiring for a Search Ads team, including Sales Leads and Product Managers for Search Ads products located in New York, Seattle, San Jose, and London. All in all, there are more than 100 active open roles related to Search Ads when sales, engineering, and product teams are all included.

What does it mean? If you’re already using micro-video as part of your digital marketing strategy via Facebook Shorts or Instagram Reels, now is the time to consider integrating TikTok into your video portfolio. Formatting videos for maximum re-usability on micro-video platforms keeps your content marketing engine humming.

Google AI Mode Ad Expansion Is Coming Q4 2025

It’s now official – ads will scale up intensively within Google’s conversational search experience by the end of this year. These ads will be based not only on specific user queries, but on the complete context of the user’s session. Shopping and text ads will be available on an experimental basis in the United States.

What does it mean? Ad targeting information from Google’s internal documents, first reported by Ad Age, is very interesting – even for companies that don’t rely heavily on digital ads. If you want to focus on visibility in Google AI Mode, now’s the time to explore AI Max for Search, which is getting more features by the day.

Local Businesses Get Easier Outreach Using Google Posts

Google Business profiles have always been key to local SEO, but now they’re even better. The underutilized “Google Posts” feature has been refreshed, enabling more efficient creation and management. It’s easier to share announcements, offers, and events, which drive engagement among your local audience.

What does it mean? It’s always a wise idea to pencil in some time once a month to make sure your Google Business Profile is up to date. Local businesses that engage with the new and improved Posts can revitalize neighborhood buzz for their brand, getting more attention and conversions.

New digital marketing platforms, formats, and approaches are appearing every day. Contact New York Ave for the expertise you need to separate the signal from the noise.