Google now shows ads right inside AI answers: what AI Mode advertising is and how to get into it

We recently broke down how ads came to ChatGPT. Now Google is doing the same thing - and this is arguably more important for most businesses, because almost everyone uses Google search. At the Google Marketing Live 2026 conference, the company introduced a "new generation of ads for the AI era of Search": ads are now embedded right inside AI answers - in AI Overviews and in the conversational AI Mode. Let's break down what this is, what formats exist, how to get in, and what to watch out for.

What's happening

In short: Google search increasingly answers the user itself, using AI - and advertising is moving there too, into the answer itself. Google officially announced this at Marketing Live 2026. Ads in AI answers are always labeled "sponsored," and Google forms the answer itself separately using its Gemini model. According to Google, 75% of people say that with AI Mode they make decisions faster and more confidently - meaning this is no longer an experiment on the sidelines, but where user behavior is shifting.

To avoid getting confused by the terms: AI Overviews is an AI summary that appears at the top of regular search results and briefly answers the query. AI Mode is a separate conversational search mode where you can "converse" with Google, refining your query step by step. Ads can now appear in both.

The new formats in plain words

Google showed several formats, and they fundamentally differ from familiar ads in that they adapt to a person's specific question.

• Conversational Discovery ads. Gemini generates an ad for a specific query and highlights the product features that matter to this particular person. Ask how to make your home smell like a spa - the ad will show a solution for that task, with a brief explanation from the AI.
• Ads in recommendation lists (Highlighted Answers). When the AI produces a list of options ("which language-learning apps to take on a trip"), high-quality ads can appear as sponsored entries right in that list.
• AI Shopping. For major purchases (appliances, TVs), Gemini selects suitable products and explains why each option is good specifically for you.
• Business agent in the ad. Instead of a static form, you can embed an AI chat powered by Gemini right into the ad, which answers a potential customer's questions immediately, without going to the website.

How to get in

There's a direct link here to what we've already discussed. To appear in these new places, Google recommends using its AI campaigns: Performance Max, as well as AI Max for Search and Shopping (that's precisely the tool Google is migrating search campaigns to). So there's no separate "AI Mode button" - you build campaigns in these formats, and the system itself decides where to show them.

Beyond that, it's important to prepare "fuel" for the AI: clean product data in Merchant Center, diverse creatives (several images, headlines, and value propositions for different query phrasings), and landing pages tailored to an "exploratory" query, when a person is still choosing.

The key nuance: measuring will get harder

Here's the point experts call the main pitfall. Conversational queries are much harder to "tie" to a result than familiar keywords: the conversation's context replaces the keyword, and ordinary keyword-based attribution works worse. The practical takeaway is simple - solid conversion tracking on your side becomes all the more important: the pixel, the Conversions API, clean event data. Without this, you simply won't understand what actually brings sales. (We covered this in the articles on offline conversions and Consent Mode - it all comes together here.)

Organic first, ads second

Here's the same logic as with ChatGPT. Experts agree: advertising in AI answers is an accelerant on top of organic visibility, not a replacement for it. If the AI doesn't mention and "recommend" your brand in its answers anyway, the ad will feel like an alien insertion. So in parallel, it's worth working on getting the AI to know you at all: clear content, answers to common questions, honest comparisons - and it's useful to "measure" your current visibility not only in Google, but also in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini.

What's still unclear

You should soberly understand: the formats are still in testing, and Google hasn't yet provided a full launch or transparent reporting. There are plenty of open questions: how much you control the creative that Gemini generates for each query (and whether it will diverge from your brand), how many competitors can end up in one recommendation list, and what the real cost of acquisition will be. So the sensible strategy is to prepare and test with small budgets, but not to shift everything onto this channel until clear metrics appear.

What a business should do now

Briefly and to the point. Put your product data in Merchant Center in order and diversify your creatives. Set up campaigns in Performance Max and AI Max, through which impressions in AI answers run. Strengthen conversion tracking (pixel + Conversions API), because measuring will get harder. In parallel, work on your organic visibility in AI. And enter the new formats in test mode - with a small budget and sober expectations.

The key points in brief

Following ChatGPT, advertising has moved into Google's AI answers too - into AI Overviews and conversational AI Mode. Formats have appeared that adapt to a specific question: conversational ads, ads in recommendation lists, AI Shopping, and a chat agent right in the ad. You get in through Performance Max and AI Max campaigns, and measuring the result becomes harder - so solid conversion tracking is critical. And the main rule is the same as with ChatGPT: first make sure the AI knows and recommends you, and only then amplify it with advertising. The topic is fresh and still "raw," so right now it's about preparing and carefully testing, not investing everything.