Google Brings Ads to AI Mode

Google is rolling out ads in AI Mode, the AI-powered search function that was launched in March.

AI Mode is designed to handle more nuanced or complex questions than AI Overviews, which generates quick summaries at the top of search results.

Google said Wednesday at its annual Google Marketing Live event in Mountain View, California, that it will start testing ads on the platform.

“With AI Mode queries being almost twice as long as traditional search queries, there’s this expansive opportunity to introduce advertisers—and put them in front of consumers in places where they’re open to discovering new things,” Dan Taylor, Google’s vp of global ads, told ADWEEK.

In an example shared by Google, a user goes to AI Mode to search ‘how to build a website for a small business with limited resources.’ 

In this instance, the user might receive “a comprehensive response with a step-by-step guide guide, tips and tricks on how to choose a product, connect with their audience, all the way to testing and launching,” wrote Vidhya Srinivasan, vp and general manager of Google Ads & Commerce, in a blog post published Wednesday.

She went on: “In some cases, a website builder might be a good next step, so we may show a helpful ad that can help them get started. From there, they can ask questions to explore possible business ideas, what type of content they should develop, and even learn about their target audience.”

Ads may appear both below or within AI Mode responses. 

The news arrives just a day after Google unveiled a spate of updates to AI Mode, integrating a Gemini 2.5 backbone and rolling out shopping features and a Deep Search tool for conducting multiple searches simultaneously.

Google has said its decision to integrate ads into AI Mode came from learnings after it tested ads in AI Overviews.

Google is accelerating tests of AI Overview ads

Google is also expanding its AI Overviews ad offerings.

Previously, ads only appeared in AI Overviews on mobile, but Google said Wednesday it will immediately begin testing Google search and shopping ads on AI Overviews on desktop in the U.S.

Google will expand those tests to other markets in the coming months.

Advertisers might find their ads served on AI Mode or AI overviews if they use Google’s automation products to place ads—such as Performance Max, broad match for search and shopping campaigns, and the new AI Max for Search program.

The AI Overviews program will soon be available to users in over 200 countries and in more than 40 languages, the company announced Tuesday at its annual developer conference Google I/O.