The news: Google will roll out AI-era measurement tools across its Google Tag Manager, Data Manager, and Meridian tools, the company announced Tuesday. The new features and updates will include:

• A visual, code-free setup flow to Tag Manager, designed to make settings and user permissions easier to manage while strengthening data collection and site performance.
• A Data Manager update with a clearer snapshot of connected data sources, plus a map-style view of how information moves between tools including Google Drive, HubSpot, Shopify, and BigQuery.
• Expanded Data Manager and its API capabilities that let advertisers pair core tagging infrastructure with additional data sources, such as store sales.
• Meridian GeoX, a new, open-source tool that uses geographic testing to help advertisers measure incrementality and assess campaign impact.
• And Meridian Studio, an enterprise platform built on Google Cloud to help advertisers tailor and scale large volumes of marketing mix models (MMM).

Why it matters: AI is changing how marketers plan and execute campaigns, raising the bar for measurement. Google’s new tools are designed to support marketers navigating AI-driven advertising.

• The failure of measurement systems to evolve alongside marketing innovation has made it difficult for marketers to justify ad budgets: Up to 75% of US buyside leaders report that core ad measurement approaches like MMM and attribution analysis are underperforming, per IAB.
• While marketers are experimenting with AI to modernize measurement, fully developed AI-driven solutions remain limited. Google’s latest tools could help bring those capabilities closer to scale. The updates address several pain points at once—tagging, data connectivity, incrementality testing, and scalable MMM—giving advertisers more infrastructure to understand what is actually driving results.