Google has officially started showing sponsored ads within its Gemini-powered AI Mode search results. This is something we all knew was coming eventually, but seeing the ads roll out into the official build shows that it’s finally coming.
These new sponsored cards are creeping into the AI Mode searches, just like they do in standard Google Search results. Right now, the placement is happening at the very bottom of the AI-generated response. If you are looking at a big, comprehensive answer from Gemini, the ads are currently tucked away right at the end of the page. The ads are clearly labeled with the required “sponsored” tag, appearing in a similar format to the organic link cards that Google places right above them.
I tried getting them on my own searches, almost outright asking for ads, and didn’t see any. However, I’ve seen a few posts talking about seeing it in a search, so it may just be a rollout that will hit everyone with time. Either way, we all knew this would eventually come.
I’ve seen sponsored results appearing for high-value, service-based queries. Specifically, they were spotted during searches for things like HVAC requests and dog grooming. This makes me think that Google is targeting searches where the conversion potential is huge for advertisers, focusing on users who need to hire someone immediately.
The big news here is that this isn’t just a limited experiment anymore. While previous sightings of AI ads were sometimes within the experimental Google Labs interface, the ads are now displaying outside that experimental environment. This confirms the change is moving into a formal, wider rollout for the general user base.
It is unclear exactly how long it will take for this change to reach everyone, but it seems to be appearing for a handful of users in a gradual process right now. The current design prioritizes organic link cards above the sponsored results, which is a temporary relief. However, I don’t doubt that, like regular search, Google will eventually make this far more visible.
We usually see ad placements start small and then creep higher up the page as companies try to maximize revenue. I wouldn’t be surprised if we start seeing sponsored content integrated right into the middle of the AI answer output, like how they appear in the main section of traditional search results.
This is a significant difference between Google’s AI Mode and competitors like ChatGPT. ChatGPT doesn’t have the massive ad infrastructure that Google does, though we know other platforms are also exploring how to monetize their AI answers. So I don’t think that AI will be completely free from ads for long.
Google recently added extra options in traditional searches that let users hide sponsored results more easily. Right now, those extra options do not seem to extend to the new AI Mode. There is no visible “hide” button in the source images for the AI answers, so we won’t get that level of control in the new setup for now. Still, never say never when it comes to features.
For Google, the monetization machine is already built and ready to go, and it’s clearly being integrated into every corner of the search ecosystem. We should expect this gradual rollout to continue, bringing ads to more and more users who rely on the AI Mode for quick, synthesized answers.
Source: 9to5Google
