AI ads: Blurring the line between information, recommendation and promotion

Google's decision to try out advertisements within its Gemini AI experience could change both revenue structures as well as how advertising is targeted, but it also raises several ethical questions

As AI assistants become the new digital gateway, Google’s decision to experiment with advertisements within Gemini-powered AI experiences signals a major shift in how information and promotion will co-exist. What once felt like a distraction-free, utility-driven space is now opening up to commercial influence—blurring lines between answers, recommendations, and ads.

 

While monetisation has remained the Achilles’ heel of most large language model (LLM) providers — with subscriptions serving as the primary revenue stream — Google’s move could set the tone for broader ad-driven business models across the ecosystem.

 

For brands this can be an opportune time provided they understand this shift. Industry participants believe that this is a natural evolution. With AI assistants becoming the primary digital interface, monetisation was always inevitable.

 

“Google is signalling two things with this move; the front-end of the internet is shifting from browsers to AI agents, and two, advertising will evolve from ‘buying slots’ to ‘earning relevance inside AI reasoning’,” said Venugopal Ganganna, co-founder and CIO, LS Digital.

 

It also reflects competitive pressure, said Ganganna. “If OpenAI, Meta, and Amazon are building intelligence layers, Google must turn Gemini into both a utility and an ecosystem. In the long term, AI-native ad experiences will not look like today's ads. My educated guess is they will be advice-embedded, task-driven, and behaviour-linked.”

 

For advertisers, too, this means a significant shift. Unlike the present scenario where they buy inventory, brands will need to be AI ready.

 

Jacob Joseph, vice president (Data Science) at CleverTap, said that for marketers, this opens a new canvas. “The most successful conversational ads won’t feel like campaigns; they’ll feel like context. They’ll be small nudges that fit seamlessly into intent - a timely product mention, a brand voice that sounds like a companion, not a commercial.”

 

Joseph added that this is a huge opportunity for advertisers. “The difference this time is that the ad isn’t just changing format; it’s changing character. For decades, advertising has (for the most part) lived on the margins of experiences: as banners, tiles, or skippable breaks. Now it’s walking into the conversation wearing the same voice as your assistant. When a chatbot suggests a hotel or a phone, the line between help and hustle gets slim.”

 

Ganganna agrees with this line of reasoning. For advertisers, this shift opens access to a higher-intent, conversational environment where audiences are actively seeking solutions rather than passively consuming content.

 

“It creates opportunities to engage consumers at the exact moment of problem-solving, not just during the research phase. With interactions becoming more context-aware and personalised, brands can deliver messages that feel intuitive and relevant. However, this also calls for a reimagining of creative formats, moving away from static listings toward dialogue-based discovery that naturally integrates with the flow of conversation,” he explains.

 

With ads in AI mode this also means the lines are blurring between information, recommendation and promotion. “The ethical bar for brands is rising dramatically in the age of AI-driven engagement. Transparency is no longer optional, AI disclosures must be clear and explicit, ensuring consumers know when they are interacting with or being influenced by artificial intelligence. Equally, the logic behind recommendations must be transparent to build and maintain trust,” cautions Ganganna.

 

For India, this could have a huge impact, especially with many millions joining the internet for the first time, thanks to some of the cheapest data prices in the world. “Millions of first-time users are still developing their digital intuition, learning to tell recommendations from manipulation. When the interface itself becomes the voice of the web, transparency isn’t just a UX feature, it’s a moral line,” says Joseph.

 

“So yes, ads inside LLMs are coming probably sooner than people expect. The real test isn’t whether they work. It’s whether they can sell without breaking the illusion of sincerity. When an assistant begins to sway your decisions, it stops being infrastructure and starts being influence— and brands that earn that privilege will have to handle it responsibly,” he added.