Google ads surfacing in AI Mode searches

You’ve got ads: Google is increasingly displaying search advertisements within its ‘AI Mode’ results, as part of expanded testing announced earlier this year. 

Catch up quick: Launched in May as Google’s answer to ChatGPT, AI Mode is built into the company’s primary search bar and allows consumers to ask in-depth questions and receive conversational responses. (It now counts over 100 million users.)

• The company began testing ads in the feature right away, and reports this summer suggested a broader rollout would come around the fourth quarter. 

What’s happening: Over the past several weeks, more consumers have been spotting ads in AI Mode searches, including one instance of a local search for HVAC repair, as reported on Friday.

• Why it matters: “Advertisers should expect AI Mode to become a mainstream ad surface in Google Search,” writes news site Search Engine Land. 

The bottom line: Google has confirmed that businesses running search campaigns with ‘broad match’ — the default setting when creating new campaigns — are automatically eligible to have their ads appear in AI Mode.