See the finalists advancing AI-powered marketing » Strategy

AI has given Search superpowers, enabling consumers to ask more complex questions, size up unfamiliar products, and go from “I wonder” to “I’ll take it” in minutes. The 2026 Google Search Honours Awards celebrate the Canadian advertisers and agencies leading the way in AI-powered marketing, turning fast-moving consumer curiosity into business growth.

Now in its fourth year, the awards recognize organizations that are pushing the boundaries of what Google AI can do across measurement, campaign performance and marketing innovation. This year, 20 finalists will be honoured across three categories: Measurement & Analytics Leadership; Performance Marketing Excellence; and AI Top Honours.

The recognition comes as Search itself is rapidly evolving: Google now sees more than five trillion searches annually¹, AI Overviews has upwards of 2.5 billion monthly users², and AI Mode has surpassed the one billion mark³. Three-quarters of users say these tools help them make faster, more confident decisions4.

While many marketers are using AI, what sets these finalists apart is how deeply they’re using it – integrating AI across their data, measurement, targeting, creative and bidding strategies to turn a collection of powerful tools into a more connected approach to growth. And the ROI is significant: businesses see a $6 return for every $1 spent on Google Search Ads globally5.

Here are the teams that rose to the top this year:

Measurement & Analytics Leadership

Exceptional use of AI starts with great data. The Measurement & Analytics Leadership Award recognizes organizations pioneering the future of marketing effectiveness. Winners demonstrate excellence in building resilient data foundations, fueling AI-driven activation and applying comprehensive measurement frameworks (MMM, Attribution and Incremental Testing) to transform insights into scalable, profitable growth.

 Performance Marketing Excellence

Performance Marketing Excellence recognizes organizations revolutionizing performance marketing with AI. Winners excel in deploying AI-driven targeting and creative, leveraging signals to capture emerging consumer demand, and driving organizational change management to turn market opportunity into proven revenue growth.

AI Top Honours

The AI Top Honours celebrate the leaders that have put all the pieces together, setting a new standard for the industry. AI Agency of the Year celebrates organizations that are delivering transformational AI-powered results across multiple clients, backed by the data, measurement and operational practices required to do it consistently and at scale.

AI Marketer of the Year will recognize the team that has not only driven transformational results, but has used AI in original and innovative ways to get there. This organization is raising the bar for what AI-powered marketing can achieve and how to do it.

“As AI empowers consumers to do instant, deep research across searching, streaming, scrolling, and shopping, relevance is more critical than ever”, says Laura Pearce, head of marketing at Google Canada. “Beyond driving marketing efficiency, AI helps ensure your brand is the clear choice at the exact moment of decision. This year’s shortlist showcases the marketers who are proving that AI-powered marketing is an indispensable engine for measurable business growth.”

The Gold, Silver and Bronze winners in each category, along with this year’s Rising Stars, will be recognized at an awards ceremony in Toronto on Thursday, November 5.

Sources:

1Google Internal Data, Jan 2025
2Google I/O 2026
3Google I/O 2026
4Google commissioned Ipsos Global Consumer Journeys, Dec 2025, Online survey, Global average of select countries (AR, AU, BR, CA, CL, CO, DE, ES, FR, ID, IN, IT, JP, KR, MX, NL, PE, PH, PO, SG, SW, TW, TH, US, UK) adults 18+.
5Google Conversion Lift Analysis, Global, 143 Conversion Lift studies run between January 2021 – July 2024.