AI Search
Google opened 2026 with a wide set of AI updates across Search, Gmail, Chrome, and its Gemini ecosystem. The common thread is simple. Google wants its products to feel more helpful, more personalized, and more conversational. While some of the flashier features are still U.S.-only, enough is already live in Canada to matter for marketers and advertisers right now.
Google has started rolling out AI Mode in Search in Canada, giving users the ability to ask longer, more complex questions and refine their searches through follow-ups. At the same time, AI Overviews powered by Gemini 3 are showing up more frequently in search results.
For marketers, this reinforces a shift that has been building for a while. Ranking alone is no longer the finish line. Content needs to be clear, genuinely helpful, and strong enough to hold up when summarized or reframed by AI.
The Gemini app is available in Canada, offering AI-powered support for writing, research, planning, and studying. Google has also added free practice tests, including SAT prep, and continues to weave Gemini into education and productivity tools.
Some of the deeper personalization features, like connecting Gemini directly to Gmail or Photos, are still limited to the U.S. for now. Even without those, the direction is obvious. Google is training users to expect AI that understands context and intent.
For brands, that means generic messaging is going to feel even more out of place.
Gmail now includes AI writing assistance, summaries, and suggested replies at no added cost. These features are already available to Canadian users. More advanced tools are tied to premium plans that have not fully launched here yet.
The practical impact is subtle but important. Faster responses, cleaner writing, and higher expectations for communication quality across the board.
Google also previewed AI-driven commerce and automation tools, including agent-led shopping experiences that could eventually handle discovery through checkout. These features have not been confirmed for Canada, but they signal where Google is heading.
If and when they arrive, they could reshape how discovery and conversion work inside Google’s ecosystem.
Canadian marketers do not need to chase every new AI feature as it launches. What they do need to do is prepare for a landscape where search feels more like a conversation, personalization is assumed, and usefulness is the price of entry. The tools will keep evolving, but the shift in user behaviour is already happening.
For those who want to dig deeper, Google has published a full recap of its January 2026 AI updates, covering Search, Gemini, Gmail, Chrome, and more: https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/products/google-ai-updates-january-2026/
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