What to know
- Google will soon start testing Search and Shopping ads in AI Overviews.
- This is the first step toward monetizing AI-generated search results, a feature that only debuted a fortnight ago.
- No action is required by advertisers. All current campaigns can appear in AI overviews of relevant queries.
In a recent blog, Google confirmed that it is testing ways in which it can place ads in AI-generated query results.
“In early testing, we’ve heard that people find the ads disappearing above and below the AI-generated overview helpful. Soon, we’ll start testing Search and Shopping Ads in AI Overviews for users in the U.S.”
This comes less than a fortnight after Google debuted AI Overviews.
The ads will be labelled in a separate “Sponsored” section. Although this will allow ads to appear in the AI section of relevant Google queries and boost sales for businesses, AI overviews may generally reduce clicks on their website.
Advertisers need not do anything. Ads from existing Search, Performance Max, and Standard Shopping campaigns will automatically be eligible for getting a spot within the AI-generated sections for relevant queries.
Some users may find the addition and monetization of new Search elements unnecessary. But Google has bet big on AI, like most other big tech companies, and at a time when it is both expensive and disruptive.
