Ads in AI Overviews and AI Mode: A New Era of Search Advertising

The very essence of search advertising is being redefined as Google seamlessly integrates adverts directly into its groundbreaking AI Overviews and the conversational “AI Mode.”

This isn’t just an evolution; it’s a revolution in how brands connect with consumers. At Google Marketing Live 2025, the company confirmed that adverts are now appearing within AI Overviews on desktop, in addition to mobile.

Crucially, its new conversational “AI Mode” search experience will also include adverts.

In practice, this means a user could see a relevant sponsored result alongside an AI-generated answer – for example, a question about pet air travel could surface a paid “carry-on pet carrier” ad directly within the AI summary.

This integration of adverts into generative AI search marks a seismic shift in how brands reach consumers, offering unprecedented opportunities to engage users even during exploratory search sessions. In this article, we’ll dive deep into what’s changing and what it means for brand owners, CMOs, and digital marketing leaders.

AI Overviews & AI Mode: Google’s Evolving Search Landscape

Google’s search results are no longer confined to “10 blue links.” Think of it: the days of merely scrolling a static list are giving way to dynamic, AI-powered interactions. AI Overviews – formerly known as Search Generative Experience (SGE) – leverage generative AI to produce a concise, synthesised answer at the very top of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). These overviews pull information from multiple sources, displaying key points with citations, allowing users to get answers at a glance without clicking through multiple websites.

This convenience has fuelled a rise in zero-click searches, with roughly 60% of Google searches now ending without any click-through to a site. While beneficial for users, AI Overviews have also pushed organic results and traditional adverts further down the page, contributing to lower click-through rates (CTR) for advertisers. One analysis found that when an AI Overview is present, paid adverts see a CTR of around 9.8%, compared to about 21% when no AI summary is shown. This dramatic drop underscores why Google is rethinking how adverts appear in this new search format – it’s a direct challenge advertisers must address now.

AI Mode represents Google’s next leap: a fully conversational search experience that transforms a one-off query into an AI-driven dialogue. Launched experimentally in 2025, AI Mode allows users to engage in a chat-style interaction with Google Search, asking follow-up questions and receiving in-depth, context-aware answers. It effectively replaces the static results page with an AI chatbot interface for complex or exploratory queries.

“We are certainly far beyond those days [of only 10 blue links],” noted Google’s VP of Global Ads, Dan Taylor, regarding the advent of AI Overviews and AI Mode. Instead of a list of links, Google’s AI Mode uses advanced reasoning, powered by its Gemini AI model, to understand nuanced questions and provide multi-turn assistance. Users can refine or expand their queries in real-time, and the AI remembers context from earlier in the conversation. This fluid Q&A format is proving popular – by early 2025, Google reported over a billion people had already used AI Overview features. AI Mode takes this further, signalling a future where search is more interactive and personalised than ever before.

For marketers, these AI-driven experiences are fundamentally changing how content is surfaced and how users engage with results. Fewer clicks on organic links mean less direct traffic, but they also open up new surfaces for brand visibility – specifically, within the AI responses themselves. Google’s solution is clear: integrate sponsored content seamlessly into the AI answers, ensuring that as search evolves, advertising evolves with it. The time to adapt your strategy is now.

Adverts Arrive in AI Overviews (Now on Desktop & Mobile)

To keep pace with these shifts, Google has significantly expanded where adverts appear. In late 2024, it quietly began inserting adverts at the bottom of AI Overview panels on mobile searches. These early U.S. tests showcased sponsored listings (from Search, Shopping, or Performance Max campaigns) embedded within the AI-generated summary, clearly labelled as adverts. Until recently, this was limited to mobile and U.S.-only, not appearing on every query. Now, Google is rolling out adverts in AI Overviews to desktop users as well, marking a significant broadening of this feature’s reach. This expansion means AI Overviews are becoming a mainstream ad placement you can no longer ignore.

According to Google’s announcement at Marketing Live 2025, desktop searchers in the U.S. will begin seeing Search and Shopping adverts directly within the AI-generated overview box. Later in 2025, Google plans to expand these ad formats globally to selected countries for English-language queries on both mobile and desktop. In essence, the AI answer that appears at the top of your search results may now include one or more sponsored results, integrated in a way that feels like a natural part of the answer. Google has stressed that such adverts will be clearly identified and kept separate from the AI’s organic summary – for example, with labels like “Sponsored” or distinct styling – so users know what is paid content versus purely algorithmic content. This commitment to transparency is vital for maintaining user trust in an evolving search landscape.

Why is Google doing this? In part, to present adverts when they are most relevant to the user’s query and intent. The adverts in AI Overviews aren’t random; they are selected to complement the context of the AI’s answer. Google states this approach is designed to feel “more assistive than interruptive,” aligning with the user’s journey rather than distracting from it. For example, if you search for “how to build a website for a small business with limited resources,” the AI Overview might provide a step-by-step guide – and now it could also show a relevant ad for an affordable website builder tool, right alongside the advice. A user asking a broad educational question like “dogs on long flights – tips” might similarly see an ad for a pet travel carrier or calming pet treats within the AI summary. These are highly contextual placements, intended to support users as they move from research to decision-making, rather than appearing as unrelated banners.

From a business perspective, integrating adverts into AI Overviews is Google’s answer to the challenge posed by zero-click results. By embedding sponsored content at the point of information delivery, Google ensures that advertisers can still reach users even when those users don’t immediately click traditional links. Early feedback has been positive – Google claims that users have reacted well to adverts in AI Overviews, with no significant drop in user satisfaction reported. Crucially, Google also revealed that AI Overview results monetise at roughly the same rate as classic search results. In controlled experiments comparing searches with and without AI Overviews, advertising revenue was on par. This suggests that the new format isn’t cannibalising Google’s core ads business; if anything, it’s providing a new venue to generate clicks and conversions in line with what advertisers are accustomed to.

The adverts themselves use the same models as standard search ads – charged on a cost-per-click basis and subject to Google’s usual quality and relevance rules. Advertisers don’t need to create a new type of advert for AI Overviews; if you’re running search ads (text ads) or Shopping ads, and your campaign keywords match the query’s intent, your ad can be eligible to show up in the AI summary. In fact, advertisers running broad-match Search, Shopping, or Performance Max campaigns are automatically eligible for these new placements. This makes it a relatively low-lift change for marketers – your existing campaigns can start appearing in AI overviews without extra effort, so long as Google’s system deems them relevant.

Monetising AI Mode: Conversational Search Meets Advertising

Perhaps even more groundbreaking is Google’s experimentation with adverts in AI Mode, the conversational search environment. AI Mode is built for longer, follow-up-heavy queries – the kinds of exploratory search sessions where a user might ask multiple nuanced questions in sequence. Google has begun testing ad integrations within AI Mode’s chat interface. This is a significant departure from how adverts worked in traditional search. Instead of just showing sponsored links for a single query, Google is figuring out how to introduce adverts into an ongoing dialogue between the user and the AI.

In practical terms, this could mean that as you continue a conversation with Google’s AI – refining your questions or exploring a topic in depth – sponsored suggestions or links might appear at appropriate moments. Google’s Ads VP Dan Taylor explained that with an ongoing conversational context, “ads could be added to the conversation and updated as it goes on,” informed by the context of queries that came before. The AI can carry over knowledge of what you’ve asked and what information you’ve received, then serve an ad that fits naturally into that context. Being able to understand the sequence of questions allows the advertising to become context-aware. For instance, if a user in AI Mode first asks “What’s the best way to learn guitar?” and later in the conversation asks about affordable guitars for beginners, the AI might display an ad for a beginner’s guitar class or a discounted guitar from a music retailer during that flow. The timing and relevance of the ad can adjust based on the conversation’s direction.

Google is approaching this carefully. All adverts in AI Mode will be clearly labelled as ads and held to the same quality standards as any search ad. For brands, upholding ethical advertising practices and prioritising genuine user assistance will be paramount to building long-term trust in this new environment. The company has developed classifiers to detect commercial intent within complex queries. In other words, the AI can parse a question to see if the user might have underlying needs that align with products or services. If a user’s question has “layered” commercial intent, Google’s system may introduce a relevant ad. A Google example described a user asking about airline rules for travelling with pets – a mostly informational query – but the system recognises this user might soon need pet carriers or travel accessories. That creates a “natural opportunity for advertising,” and the AI could then show an ad for, say, a top-rated pet carrier without the user explicitly searching for pet carriers. This kind of intelligent ad placement relies on Google’s ability to read between the lines of a query and anticipate needs. Early data indicates that questions posed in AI Mode are often much longer (up to 2x the length of typical search queries), giving Google even more context to work with when matching adverts.

From the advertiser’s side, AI Mode adverts represent uncharted territory. The conversation format means a user might linger longer within Google’s interface, potentially clicking fewer organic results. Some in the industry predict that if users stay in the AI chat to get answers, overall click-through rates could drop further, including for adverts. Fewer adverts may show per query (since the AI isn’t going to list a dozen sponsored links in a chat response), and those that do appear might face premium competition, possibly driving up cost-per-click in these slots. There’s also uncertainty about how conversions will pan out – if users aren’t leaving Google as often, it could lower immediate traffic to advertisers’ sites, and any highly coveted AI Mode ad placements might come at a higher price, affecting return on ad spend.

However, there’s an optimistic flipside. Users engaging with AI Mode may be more intentional and deeper in their research process, meaning if they do click an ad, they could be more primed to convert. For example, a shopper who has spent 10 minutes asking an AI detailed questions about “the best running shoes for marathon training” is likely very interested in buying the right shoes. An ad shown to that user – perhaps highlighting a specific running shoe model with great marathon reviews – might see a higher conversion rate than a generic search ad, because the user’s needs are better defined. In such cases, advertisers could attract higher-quality traffic, with more qualified leads, even if the volume of clicks is lower. This shift demands a focus on conversion quality over mere click volume.

Google’s challenge will be balancing the user experience with monetisation in AI Mode. If done right, adverts will feel like helpful suggestions during a conversation. If done poorly, they risk breaking the flow. So far, Google reports that user feedback around adverts in the AI context has been encouraging, implying that people don’t find these AI-integrated ads overly intrusive. The coming months will likely see refinement in how often and how prominently adverts appear in AI Mode as Google learns from testing.

Strategic Implications: What Brands and Marketers Should Do

Google’s move to integrate adverts into AI Overviews and AI Mode signals one thing clearly: the rules of search marketing are evolving, but advertising isn’t going away – it’s adapting. In fact, nearly 75% of Google’s revenue still comes from advertising, so Google is highly motivated to make these new AI experiences work for both users and advertisers. For brands, this evolution presents both an opportunity and a challenge. On one hand, these new ad placements put brands in front of users earlier in their journey – right at the moment when AI is helping shape the user’s decisions. Rather than waiting for the customer to type a product-oriented query, you can now reach them during the research phase with high-visibility placements in the AI-generated content. On the other hand, success in this arena will require a shift in strategy. Marketers must rethink how they craft ad messages and measure impact when traditional click metrics may decline.

Many advertisers will need to adjust their approach to search campaigns in light of these changes. Here are some strategic considerations for brands navigating adverts in AI Overviews and AI Mode:

• Embrace Early-Funnel Visibility: View these AI placements as paramount brand awareness opportunities. You’re influencing consumers at the point of inspiration, not just the point of purchase. The goal is to be present when the questions are being formed. Even if users don’t click immediately, your brand’s presence in an AI answer is a valuable impression – potentially the new currency of top-of-funnel success. As one industry expert put it, brands may need to shift key performance indicators from pure traffic and conversions to also include impression share and visibility within AI answers (being cited or shown in AI results) to gauge impact.
• Optimise Ad Content for AI Contexts: When an ad shows up amid an AI-generated explanation, it must earn the click by adding distinct value and relevance. Ensure your ad copy is highly relevant to the broad informational queries that trigger AI Overviews, not just “hard sell” keywords. Craft compelling, helpful messaging that can stand next to an informational answer. For example, if the AI is summarising “how to choose running shoes,” an effective ad might say “Free Guide: 10 Tips for Picking the Perfect Running Shoe – plus 20% off Top Brands.” It feels like an extension of the advice. Also, optimise your creative assets (images, headlines) so that they draw attention without feeling out of place in a conversational or summary setting.
• Leverage Broad Targeting (but Stay Precise): Google has made these AI Overview and AI Mode adverts automatically eligible for advertisers using broad match keywords, Shopping campaigns, and Performance Max. Embrace these tools – for instance, Google’s AI-powered campaign types like AI Max for Search (an evolution of broad match with AI), designed to intelligently expand your reach by understanding user intent beyond exact keywords – can help your adverts appear for related conversational queries you might not have on a manual keyword list. At the same time, refine your audience targeting. Use first-party data and in-market audiences to ensure your adverts surface to the users most likely to care. In an AI dialogue, context is king – if your targeting is too broad, your ad might appear in a context where it’s irrelevant, resulting in a wasted impression. Better to appear fewer times with high relevance than many times arbitrarily.
• Prioritise High-Quality, Authoritative Content as AI Fuel: Your website’s content isn’t just for organic rankings anymore; it’s the information Google’s AI consumes to generate overviews and inform ad relevance. Invest in deep, accurate, and trustworthy content that answers user questions comprehensively. Being cited by an AI Overview or having your site provide the context for a relevant ad is a new form of digital authority. The lines between SEO and PPC blur in AI search – if your content is authoritative, it benefits both organic AI mentions and the relevance of your adverts.
• Monitor Performance and Redefine Success Metrics: As these features roll out, keep a close eye on how your metrics respond. You may notice lower click-through rates on adverts in queries with AI Overviews (simply because the AI answered much of the query) – this doesn’t mean your campaign failed, but that user behaviour is shifting. Track new metrics like how often your adverts are shown in AI contexts (impression share in AI Overviews/Mode) and any lift in conversion quality. Be prepared for initial challenges in attributing direct conversions to these new placements, as the user journey may become less linear. Focus on understanding the holistic impact across the funnel. Conversely, if you see higher CPCs for AI placements, adjust your bidding strategies accordingly to maintain efficiency. Be prepared for some volatility as Google fine-tunes the system. Importantly, focus on user engagement and conversion over sheer volume – quality may trump quantity in the AI-driven funnel.
• Leveraging Automation for Smaller Teams (for SMBs): For smaller businesses with limited resources, Google’s increased automation (like Performance Max and AI Max for Search) is a double-edged sword. While it simplifies campaign management, it also means less manual control. Focus on providing high-quality creative assets, compelling product feeds, and clear business goals to guide Google’s AI effectively. Your ability to adapt quickly and lean on these automated tools will be crucial for competing.

Expert Insight: “Marketers should view AI search adverts not as a threat but as an opening to embed their brand in the customer’s journey from the very start,” says Dan Trotter, Head of Digital Strategy at PPC Geeks. “We now have the chance to influence decisions at the moment of inspiration – long before the final purchase query. Those who adapt their approach to fit these AI-driven experiences can gain a real competitive edge. The key is to focus on relevance and value; in a conversational search, an ad that genuinely assists the user will perform far better than a generic pitch.”

Finally, keep in mind that Google is iterating quickly. What we see now in mid-2025 is likely just the beginning of AI integration in search adverts. Over 80% of Google advertisers already use some form of AI-driven advertising technology (like automated bidding or creative optimisation), so the industry is primed for this evolution. Google itself acknowledges that as search changes, advertisers are asking “How do we participate?” and “How do we connect with customers in this evolving experience?” The answer is to stay agile and informed. Test new features in Google’s Ads platform, such as the AI Essentials toolkit Google is promoting for campaign optimisation. Educate your team about these AI overview placements and brainstorm creative ways to serve users’ needs through adverts.

The Road Ahead: Future Trends in AI Search Advertising

The current integration of adverts into AI Overviews and AI Mode is just the beginning. Looking ahead, marketers can anticipate several key trends shaping the future of AI-driven search advertising:

• The Rise of Conversational Commerce: As AI Mode evolves, expect a smoother transition from conversational search to direct purchase. Brands might offer interactive adverts where users can complete transactions or configure products directly within the AI chat interface, bypassing website visits entirely for simple purchases.
• Enhanced Multimodal Advertising: With AI understanding images, video, and voice, adverts will become increasingly rich and interactive. Imagine voice-activated adverts within AI Mode, or visual ads dynamically generated based on a user’s image search. Your ad assets will need to be designed for these diverse modalities.

• Predictive Advertising & Proactive Suggestions: AI’s ability to anticipate user needs will grow. Adverts may be served not just in response to a query, but before the user even articulates their need, based on broader contextual clues, device usage patterns, or even emotional cues detected by AI. This requires brands to understand their customer journeys even more deeply.
• The Enduring Power of the Human Touch: While AI automates creation and targeting, the strategic oversight, brand storytelling, and ethical considerations remain firmly in human hands. Marketers’ roles will shift towards defining goals, guiding AI, interpreting complex data, and ensuring brand authenticity in an increasingly automated world. The competitive edge will lie in how effectively humans can collaborate with AI.

Conclusion

Google’s expansion of adverts into AI Overviews and AI Mode marks a pivotal moment in search marketing. The search giant is effectively ensuring that whether a user is reading an AI-generated summary or engaging in a dynamic Q&A with an AI, businesses still have a way to reach them with timely, relevant offers. For advertisers and brand leaders, this is a strategic imperative: those who adapt quickly will find new avenues to connect with customers, while those clinging to old search paradigms may see their visibility wane as user behaviour shifts.

The takeaway is clear – Google’s AI-driven search is here to stay, and it will be monetised. Rather than fighting this change, savvy digital marketers should lean in and learn how to make it work for their brands. “Google Ads are not going anywhere, but how they are delivered will change,” as one analyst noted. Embracing that reality means evolving your campaigns to work with Google’s changes, not against them. With search adverts now present from the very top of the funnel (AI summaries) through the conversational journey (AI Mode), brands have an expanded canvas on which to tell their story. By staying focused on user intent, maintaining high-quality ad content, and measuring the right outcomes, marketers can thrive in this new AI-powered search landscape. The brands that succeed will be those that can seamlessly integrate into the conversation – providing genuine value at the exact moment the consumer is looking for it.

In summary: Adverts in AI Overviews and AI Mode are not just a tweak to Google’s interface, but a strategic shift that presents a significant opportunity. As Google opens up these AI-driven discovery moments to advertisers, the onus is on brands to rise to the occasion. By doing so, you’ll ensure that your marketing remains as innovative and dynamic as the platform on which it runs – keeping your brand front and centre even as the search world transforms around it. This is your chance to lead the charge in the new era of search advertising.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Ads in AI Overviews and AI Mode

Here are some common questions about Google’s evolving AI-powered search advertising landscape:

1. What are AI Overviews and how do adverts appear within them? AI Overviews (previously Search Generative Experience or SGE) are AI-generated summaries at the top of Google’s search results page, offering concise answers with citations. Google has now integrated adverts directly into these overviews on both desktop and mobile, appearing as “Sponsored” listings that complement the AI’s answer, aiming to be assistive rather than interruptive.

2. How is “AI Mode” different, and will adverts be in it too? AI Mode is Google’s new conversational, chat-style search experience, allowing users to engage in multi-turn dialogues with the AI. Yes, adverts are being tested within AI Mode. These ads will be context-aware, integrating naturally into the conversation based on the user’s ongoing queries and implied commercial intent.

3. Why is Google integrating adverts into AI-powered results? Google is doing this to adapt to changing user behaviour, especially the rise of “zero-click searches” where users get answers directly from AI Overviews without clicking traditional links. By integrating ads, Google ensures advertisers can still reach users at critical moments of discovery and research, maintaining monetisation in the evolving search landscape.

4. Will I need to create new types of adverts for AI Overviews and AI Mode? No, generally not. Your existing Search ads (text ads), Shopping ads, and Performance Max campaigns are automatically eligible to appear in these new placements, provided they’re relevant to the AI-generated context. Google aims to make this a relatively low-lift adaptation for advertisers.

5. How might AI Overviews and AI Mode affect my traditional ad click-through rates (CTR)? AI Overviews can push traditional organic and paid listings further down the page, potentially leading to lower CTRs for those traditional spots. However, ads appearing directly within AI Overviews or AI Mode are highly contextual and may lead to higher-quality leads, even if the overall volume of clicks shifts.

6. What are the key strategic shifts marketers need to make? Marketers should embrace early-funnel visibility, optimising ad content for broader, informational queries. It’s crucial to prioritise high-quality, authoritative content for your website as it fuels the AI’s answers. You should also leverage automated campaign types like Performance Max and AI Max for Search.

7. How should I measure success in this new AI advertising environment? Focus on conversion quality over just click volume. While CTRs for traditional ads might change, track new metrics like impression share within AI contexts and the quality of leads generated from these new placements. Be prepared to adapt your bidding strategies as Google refines the system.

8. How does this impact smaller businesses (SMBs)? For SMBs, Google’s increased automation (e.g., Performance Max) can simplify campaign management. The key is to provide high-quality creative assets, robust product feeds, and clear business goals to guide Google’s AI effectively. Adapting quickly to these automated tools will be vital for competitiveness.

9. What role does “trust and transparency” play in AI-integrated advertising? Google is committed to clearly labelling all sponsored content (e.g., with “Sponsored” tags) to differentiate it from organic AI answers. For brands, upholding ethical advertising practices and genuinely assisting users with relevant content will be paramount to building and maintaining long-term trust in this new environment.

10. What’s next for AI search advertising? Expect trends like the rise of conversational commerce, allowing direct transactions within AI chats. Enhanced multimodal advertising will bring more interactive ads through voice, images, and video. Predictive advertising will serve ads based on anticipated user needs, and the human element will remain critical for strategic oversight and authentic brand storytelling.

Stay Ahead of the Curve with the Latest Google Ads Updates

As Google continues to innovate and enhance its advertising platform, it’s crucial to stay informed about the latest developments. If you found this post insightful, check out these related articles that dive deeper into other recent updates and strategies for optimising your PPC campaigns:

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• Google’s Creator Partnerships Hub: Redefining Brand-Creator Collaborations – Learn how the Creator Partnerships Hub is revolutionising influencer marketing within Google Ads.

• Enhanced Incrementality Testing: Beyond A/B Experiments – Explore how enhanced incrementality testing can unlock more accurate ROI insights for your campaigns.

• Ads Integration in AI Overviews and AI Mode: A New Era of Search Advertising – Understand how AI-driven search features are integrating ads to improve user engagement.

• AI Max for Search Campaigns: Unlocking New Potential – Delve into how AI Max is optimising search campaigns to reach new audiences and improve ad performance.

• Smart Bidding Exploration: Unlocking New Growth for UK Brands – Learn how Smart Bidding Exploration can boost your conversions with AI-driven insights.

• Search and Shopping Video Ads: Revolutionising Your Google Strategy – Discover how video ads in Search and Shopping campaigns are driving higher engagement and conversion rates.

By keeping up with these recent changes, you’ll be well-equipped to optimise your Google Ads strategies and stay ahead in an increasingly AI-driven landscape.