Google is officially testing ads inside its AI Mode—a new step in transforming how search works with generative AI. The company announced that ads will now appear directly within AI-powered responses when they’re deemed “relevant,” either below or inside the AI-generated answers.
AI Mode, a new feature in Google Search, allows users to ask natural language questions and receive AI-generated summaries with clickable links for deeper exploration. Now, those answers might also include ads. Google says these ads will show up for U.S. users across desktop and mobile, and will initially come from existing campaigns in Performance Max, Search, and Shopping that use broad match targeting.
For example, if someone searches for how to start a business, they might see an ad for a website builder embedded inside the AI-generated suggestions. From there, the user could continue asking questions to shape their idea—like what niche to explore or how to identify a target audience.
This rollout doesn’t come as a surprise. Google earned $66.89 billion in ad revenue in Q1 2025 alone. As the company retools Search around AI, integrating monetization was always inevitable. But not everyone is thrilled. A CivicScience survey found that 36% of U.S. adults are wary of AI-assisted ads, even saying they’d be less likely to buy from brands using AI in this way.
While some see this as a helpful shortcut, others fear it could compromise the objectivity of AI-generated answers. Still, Google is not alone in this move. Microsoft briefly ran ads in its Copilot chatbot, and OpenAI has floated the idea of ad-supported features for ChatGPT. Perplexity, an AI search rival, already runs ads and may expand into personalized targeting through off-platform data.
Beyond AI Mode, Google also plans to expand ads in its AI Overviews. This feature automatically generates concise summaries in response to search queries. The company says Search and Shopping ads will appear in these summaries “when relevant,” clearly marked as sponsored. Ads in AI Overviews debuted on mobile in the U.S. last October and are now heading to desktop, with plans to roll out globally in English.
However, not everyone is cheering. Many publishers fear the rise of AI summaries and embedded ads could drain traffic from their websites, undermining their own ad revenues. Google insists it’s considering these concerns as it experiments with monetizing AI-powered results.
As AI Mode continues to evolve, Google is walking a fine line—pushing forward with monetization while trying to maintain trust in the information its AI generates. Whether users and advertisers will fully embrace this new ad experience remains to be seen.
