Google is bringing ads to AI Mode

CodeCanyon · 2025-05-21T16:09:42Z

Google on Wednesday detailed its plans to bring ads to AI Mode, the company’s AI-powered experience in Google Search.

Ads may appear “where relevant” below and “integrated into” AI Mode responses as part of a test, Google says. AI Mode lets Google Search users ask a question and get an AI-generated response, with the ability to go deeper through follow-up questions and links to websites.

“[For example,] in some cases, a website builder might be a good next step [in an AI Mode query], so we may show a helpful ad that can help [users] get started,” explains Google in a blog post provided to TechCrunch. “From there, [the user] can ask questions to explore possible business ideas, what type of content they should develop, and even learn about their target audience.”

Ads being Google’s primary cash cow — the company notched $66.89 billion in ad revenue in Q1 2025 alone — it was inevitable that they’d eventually make their way into what many see as the future of Google Search. But that doesn’t mean users will be pleased. According to a recent poll by CivicScience, a consumer analytics platform, 36% of U.S. adults said they’d be less likely to purchase from a brand that uses AI in ads.

Google says that advertisers already using its Performance Max, Shopping, and Search campaigns with “broad match” will be eligible to have their ads shown in AI Mode. Users in the U.S. will see ads, specifically Search and Shopping ads for now, in AI Mode across desktop and mobile.

Several of Google’s rivals have experimented — or are considering experimenting — with ads in their AI products. AI-powered search engine Perplexity launched ads last November, and hasn’t ruled out collecting data outside its platform to sell more targeted advertising. Microsoft briefly piloted ads in its Copilot chatbot several years ago. OpenAI, too, has said that it may one day adopt an ad-supported model to supplement subscriptions.

In related news Wednesday, Google said that it will expand ads in AI Overviews, its Google Search feature that automatically synthesizes and summarizes answers to queries. Search and Shopping ads will soon appear on desktop in the U.S. ahead of an expansion to “select countries” on mobile and desktop in English.

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In AI Overviews, ads are inserted in AI-generated summaries “when relevant to both the query and the response provided,” Google says. They’re labeled as “Sponsored.”

Google first brought ads to AI Overviews in the U.S. on mobile last October.

Some publishers have argued that Google’s moves threaten their own ad revenue. According to an expert cited by The New York Post, AI-generated overviews could lead to more than $2 billion in publisher losses thanks to the resultant decline in ad views.

Google has said that it takes publishers’ concerns into account in workshopping its AI search experiences and advertising products for those experiences.