Google spilled the tea on their latest plan to sprinkle some ads into AI Mode, the fancy AI-powered feature in Google Search. According to Google, these ads might pop up “where relevant” below or be “integrated into” AI Mode responses. It’s all part of a test, they say. What exactly is AI Mode, you ask? Well, it’s this cool thing that lets Google Search users ask a question and get a response generated by AI. You can even dive deeper with follow-up questions and links to websites. Fancy, right?
Now, why are ads crashing this AI party, you might wonder? Well, Google raked in a whopping $66.89 billion in ad revenue in just Q1 2025, so it was only a matter of time before ads invaded the future of Google Search. But hold up, not everyone is thrilled about this development. A recent poll by CivicScience revealed that 36% of U.S. adults are side-eyeing AI when it comes to advertising. They claim they’d think twice about buying from a brand that uses AI in ads. Ouch.
If you’re an advertiser already using Google’s Performance Max, Shopping, and Search campaigns with “broad match,” congratulations! Your ads might show up in AI Mode. For now, users in the U.S. will see Search and Shopping ads in AI Mode on both desktop and mobile. But wait, Google’s not the only one dipping their toes in the ad-filled AI pool. Perplexity, an AI-powered search engine, started running ads last November. Even Microsoft flirted with ads in its Copilot chatbot a few years back. OpenAI is also eyeing an ad-supported model in the future. It’s a regular ad fiesta in the world of AI!
In other news, Google announced that ads will soon invade AI Overviews, the feature in Google Search that whips up automatic summaries of answers to queries. Get ready to see Search and Shopping ads on desktops in the U.S. first, with a global expansion planned for “select countries” on mobile and desktops in English. In AI Overviews, ads will sneak into AI-generated summaries if they’re relevant to the query and response. Google swears they’ll label them as “Sponsored” so you don’t get too confused.
So, what do publishers think about all this ad madness? Some are sweating bullets, fearing it might cramp their ad revenue style. Google insists they’re listening to publishers’ worries while cooking up new AI search experiences and ad products. But hey, only time will tell how this ad invasion plays out in the AI universe. Sit tight and grab some popcorn, folks!
