Google may soon show ads in Search's AI mode, AI experiences: Here's why

Google has begun testing ads inside its AI-powered Search mode and Gemini-powered experiences, signalling the next phase of how advertising could evolve in AI-driven interfaces

Google has confirmed that it has started experimenting with ads within its AI mode and Gemini-powered AI experiences. During a podcast on the Silicon Valley Girl YouTube channel, Robby Stein, Vice President of Product for Google Search, said that the company has begun testing ads within Google Search’s AI-powered interface — the AI Mode — and within other Google AI experiences.

 

When asked whether Google Ads could go away as AI-powered web search takes centre stage, Stein said he doesn’t “see them going away.” He explained that users still turn to Google for a wide range of everyday needs — from getting an insurance quote to finding local businesses — but the ways they interact with search have evolved. “Now you can do all these new things,” he said, giving examples like taking a picture of your shoes to find similar styles or writing a detailed query about restaurant options for a large group with specific dietary needs. According to Stein, these emerging multimodal and conversational use cases present an opportunity for the future to be even more helpful for businesses, “particularly in an advertising context.”

He also confirmed that Google has already “started some experiments on ads within AI mode and within Google AI experiences,” though the company remains “really focused on building great consumer products first and foremost.”

 

Last month, a report by Mint, citing The Information, stated that OpenAI is also considering showing ads to users based on ChatGPT's memory — the information it remembers about users from chats to make conversations more personalised.

Why Ads in AI services?

Google and OpenAI offer their AI tools through a tiered model — with a free version that includes usage limits and paid plans unlocking advanced capabilities and higher limits. However, the operational costs of running these systems remain enormous, especially for free tiers. Monetisation through ads could help offset those expenses and make the free versions more sustainable.

 

Unlike traditional web search, where ads appear alongside links, AI responses are conversational and context-driven, leaving fewer clear places to surface ads without breaking the natural flow. By integrating ads directly within AI answers, companies could maintain revenue streams while adapting their advertising models to this new, chat-based format of user interaction.

For instance, if a user asks an AI about “best laptops for video editing,” a sponsored mention or contextual link could appear naturally within the response — similar to how Google’s search ads blend into query results today.

 

This approach could make ads feel more relevant and useful, as AI can understand the user’s intent more precisely. However, it also raises concerns about transparency, particularly around how clearly sponsored content will be disclosed within AI-generated responses.

 

For now, both Google and OpenAI appear to be in early testing phases, gauging how users react to ad placements within AI experiences before committing to a full rollout.