Google AI Mode ads: what the expansion ships, what you control, and what you cannot see

Google AI Mode ads are sponsored text and Shopping ads that appear inside or beside Google's conversational AI answers, and since 28 October they run in ten more countries, with a new multiturn format in the US that places ads on follow-up questions. Existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns are eligible automatically. What advertisers do not get is a separate report, a separate opt-out, or any say over the AI-written text that can sit next to their ad.

What Google announced on 28 October

In a post by Shashi Thakur, who runs Google's search ads, Google said ads in AI Mode are scaling to Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Singapore, on top of the US. It plans more locales in the fourth quarter, naming Brazil, Mexico and the UK. Multiturn ads, which can appear on responses to follow-up queries in a conversation, launched in the US. Google says it will keep testing other formats.

Here is the status of each piece, from Google's post and its help page on ads in AI-powered Search.

The business reason is plain. According to Relevant Audience's report on Alphabet's third-quarter results, Search revenue grew 12% year on year to $63.35 billion, almost flat on the previous quarter, and chief business officer Philipp Schindler said strong growth in AI Mode queries weighed on revenue because AI Mode monetises less. Google has every reason to put more ads into more conversations.

Which campaigns are eligible for Google AI Mode ads?

Google's help page says existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns qualify with no new campaign or budget. Matching works in two ways:

• Direct matching: the query itself shows commercial intent. Exact and phrase match keywords can serve only here.
• Contextual matching: intent emerges from the exploratory question and the AI response. AI Max for Search, broad match, Shopping and Performance Max can match this way too.

That second mode is the shift. An ad can be chosen because of what Google's answer says, not only what the person typed. Google's post says AI Mode queries are on average three times longer than traditional searches. A three-sentence question about a problem gives the matching system much more to work with than a keyword, and gives you less certainty about which part of it your ad was matched to.

What you can control, and what you cannot

Still working, per Google's help page: negative keywords, brand exclusions and asset pinning. All Google Ads policies apply, ads carry a "Sponsored" label, bidding and pricing follow the normal auction, and Google says ads do not influence the organic AI answer.

Not available:

1. No separate targeting or opt-out. You cannot buy AI Mode alone, and you cannot exclude it while staying on Search.
2. No separate reporting. Impressions, clicks, conversions and cost are folded into standard campaign reports, and triggering queries into the search terms report, in aggregate.
3. No turn-level detail. According to Relevant Audience, Google has not said how many ads show per turn, whether earlier turns feed matching, or whether you can see which turn produced an impression.
4. No control over AI explainers. In some placements, Gemini writes a short explanation of how your ad relates to the question. Advertisers cannot write, edit, approve or opt out of it, and Relevant Audience reports that it can draw on public sources, including your own website.

Our post on Google AI Max covered the report that shows which search term got which AI-written headline. That report helps with Google's copy. Nothing equivalent exists yet for the explainer text beside your ad.

Can you measure whether AI Mode ads work?

Not cleanly, and it is worth being honest about why. The usual approach is to compare CTR and cost per click before and after a campaign became eligible. But eligibility often arrives with other changes: AI Max widens matching and rewrites copy at the same time, so a before-and-after change has several causes at once.

We have made exactly this mistake on our own benchmark. Our older r22 model scored 0.745 when given the system prompt it was trained on, and 0.675 on the shared specification every other model gets. That 7-point gap looked like skill and was prompt familiarity, a second variable changing alongside the one we meant to test. It is why every score on our public marketing benchmark now uses one specification, and why the corrections stay visible in our build log.

The practical version for AI Mode: change one thing at a time, hold a comparison campaign where you can, and treat any lift smaller than your normal week-to-week swing as noise. Google's own figure, that sponsored and organic product listings in AI Mode get similar click-through rates, comes from two weeks of its internal US data. It is a claim about Google's inventory, not a measurement of your account.

Where gloofy fits, and where it does not

gloofy does not connect to Google Ads, cannot see AI Mode placements, and cannot predict where Google will match your ads. Nothing we release reads or audits Gemini's explainers.

What it can do is the part you own. Contextual matching means your text ads will show beside answers to long, specific questions, so each asset needs to make sense without the keyword that used to frame it. Tagging every headline and description by angle, offer and funnel stage, the creative tagging described under what gloofy does, shows quickly whether your assets only work as replies to short keyword searches. Writing ads to exact platform limits is Building now and not shipped; until it is, our guide to Google RSA character limits has a checker you can copy. More on how platforms are automating search and social collects in the AI ad platforms hub.

What to do this week

• If you run Search, Shopping or Performance Max in an eligible country, assume you are already in AI Mode. There is no setting to check.
• Review your negative keywords and brand exclusions; they are the controls that still apply.
• Read your search terms report for longer, question-shaped queries, and add negatives where intent is wrong.
• Check that your landing pages state prices, specifications and claims plainly, since Gemini's explainers may draw on public sources, including your site.
• Before crediting or blaming AI Mode, write down every other change made to the campaign in the same period.

FAQ

What are Google AI Mode ads?

They are Sponsored text and Shopping ads that appear within or alongside Google's AI Mode and AI Overviews answers. Existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns are eligible automatically, with no new campaign or budget. Since 28 October 2026 they run in English in the US and ten more countries, including Canada, India and Australia.

What are multiturn ads in AI Mode?

Multiturn ads can appear on Google's responses to follow-up questions within an AI Mode conversation, not just the first query. Google launched them in the US on 28 October 2026. It has not said how many ads show per turn or whether advertisers can see which turn produced an impression.

Can I opt out of ads in AI Mode?

No. Google's help page says ads cannot be targeted only to AI Overviews or AI Mode, and there is no separate opt-out. Negative keywords, brand exclusions and asset pinning still apply. The only way to stay out entirely is to not run eligible Search, Shopping or Performance Max campaigns.

How do I see AI Mode ad performance?

You cannot separate it. Google reports AI Mode impressions, clicks, conversions and cost in aggregate within standard campaign reports, and its triggering queries in the search terms report. Comparing periods is possible, but other changes, such as enabling AI Max, often happen at the same time, so attribute any difference with care.