Google Expands Ads to AI Mode and AI Overviews in Search

Google is deepening the role of advertising in its AI-powered Search experiences, rolling out Search and Shopping ads in AI Overviews on desktop and beginning tests of ad placements inside AI Mode, the company’s interactive, conversational search interface.

The updates mark a significant step in how Google is integrating ads into its next-generation search tools—tools that are rapidly reshaping how users ask questions, navigate information, and interact with content online.

The changes follow what Google describes as one of its most successful Search launches in a decade. In major markets like the U.S. and India, AI Overviews have driven over a 10% increase in usage for the types of queries that show AI Overviews. The company also reports that users are more satisfied with their results, are searching more frequently, and are generating more commercial queries—creating new opportunities for advertisers to reach people as they explore products, services, and ideas.

Google also reports that people have found the ads within AI Overviews helpful, as they allow users to quickly connect with relevant businesses, products, and services at the exact moment they need them.

What’s Changing in Google Search

Google is expanding two key areas of its AI-driven search experience:

1. AI Overviews on Desktop

Search and Shopping ads will now appear in AI Overviews on desktop in the U.S., with plans to roll out to mobile and select countries later this year. These ads are labeled as “Sponsored” and are shown “when relevant to both the query and the AI-generated response.”

AI Overviews summarize answers to user queries using generative AI. According to Google, users have found ads in this context helpful for discovering businesses, products, and services that align with their search needs.

2. Ads in AI Mode (Testing Phase)

Google is now testing ads within AI Mode, a more interactive version of Search that allows users to ask complex questions and follow up with additional queries. In this mode, AI generates detailed responses, links to relevant web content, and—now—includes ads “where relevant,” both below and within AI responses.

For example, someone asking how to build a website for a small business might receive a step-by-step guide in AI Mode, followed by an ad for a website builder as a logical next step.

Who’s Eligible for These Ads?

Advertisers running campaigns through Performance Max, Shopping, or Search with broad match—including AI Max for Search—will be automatically eligible to show ads in both AI Overviews and AI Mode. Google is also promoting its AI Essentials guide as a resource for advertisers to adapt campaigns for these new formats.

A Strategic Expansion—and a Watchful Audience

Google earned nearly $67 billion in ad revenue in Q1 2025 alone, making advertising the backbone of its business. As the company pushes into AI-first search, integrating ads into these new interfaces was widely expected.

But public reception may be mixed. A recent CivicScience poll cited by TechCrunch found that 36% of U.S. adults say they’d be less likely to purchase from a brand that uses AI in ads, reflecting ongoing skepticism around AI's influence on consumer behavior.

Google says it is working to ensure that ads remain useful, clearly labeled, and relevant within its AI search results. In its blog post, the company emphasized that its goal is to support users in their journey “from discovery to decision.”

The Competitive Landscape

Google is not alone in exploring ads in AI-powered experiences:

• Perplexity AI, an emerging AI search engine, began showing ads in late 2024 and has considered expanding its data collection outside its platform for targeted advertising.
  

• Microsoft tested ads in its Copilot chatbot
  

• OpenAI has floated the idea of ads as a possible supplement to its subscription-based model.

For now, Google remains the most dominant player testing this at scale.

What This Means

Google’s move to integrate ads into AI Mode and expand them across AI Overviews signals a pivotal shift in how the company monetizes its most ambitious AI features. While traditional search ads remain effective, AI-driven interactions are changing how users ask questions—and how advertisers reach them.

For marketers, these changes open new entry points—placing ads directly within AI-generated responses, where users may be more engaged and closer to making a decision. For users, the stakes are higher—AI responses feel more authoritative, which may make the ads alongside them more influential or, conversely, more intrusive.

The rollout also raises larger questions about transparency, trust, and the economic future of the open web, especially as publishers worry about losing visibility in AI-driven search experiences. Whether these new ad placements enhance that experience—or dilute it—will shape not only the future of Search, but how AI can still live up to its promise of creating something meaningfully better.

Editor’s Note: This article was created by Alicia Shapiro, CMO of AiNews.com, with writing, image, and idea-generation support from ChatGPT, an AI assistant. However, the final perspective and editorial choices are solely Alicia Shapiro’s. Special thanks to ChatGPT for assistance with research and editorial support in crafting this article.