Ads in AI Overviews: How Google's Ad Placements Are Expanding Into AI Search Results

Google quietly reshaped the economics of paid search in 2025, and most advertisers are still catching up. Ads alongside AI Overviews rose from about 3% of queries in January 2025 to roughly 40% by November.

As of early 2026, ads now appear alongside 25.5% of all AI Overview result pages, up from just 5.17% in early 2025-a nearly five-fold increase in ad penetration within a year. This is not a beta test. It is a structural change to the world's most important advertising platform.

Google VP Dan Taylor confirmed that ads shown with, above, below, or within AI Overviews are monetizing at the same level as traditional search ads.

The Q4 2025 earnings report backed this up: ad revenues hit $82.3 billion, up 14%, while overall revenue climbed 17% to $113.8 billion. Google's AI search experiment has become its profit engine. For advertisers, understanding how these placements work-and what they demand-is no longer optional.

What AI Overviews Actually Are (And Why Ads Were Inevitable)

AI Overviews are AI-generated summaries that appear directly in search results when Google determines a generative response would be especially helpful. These overviews synthesize information from multiple sources to help users quickly understand a topic, explore options, or decide on next steps.

Think of them as Google's answer layer-a synthesized response that sits above traditional blue links and, increasingly, absorbs user attention before a single click happens. Their trajectory has been volatile: after starting at 6.49% of keywords in January 2025, the share rose to nearly 25% in July before sliding to 15.69% in November.

More recent data from BrightEdge and Ahrefs suggests AI Overviews appeared on 48% of all search queries as of March 2026, up 58% from December 2025.

Ads were always the destination. Generative AI is expensive to run, and users are shifting how they search. As more people rely on AI-generated answers instead of clicking links, traditional monetization models need updating. By embedding ads into the AI experience, Google can continue funding free search while giving advertisers new ways to connect.

The Shift From Informational to Commercial Queries

The composition of AI Overviews has changed dramatically. In January 2025, 91.3% of queries that triggered an AI Overview were informational. By October, that share dropped to 57.1%, and the share of commercial and transactional AI Overviews rose significantly.

Navigational queries also grew from under 1% in January to more than 10% by November.

This matters because commercial intent is what makes ad placements viable. Google is not just answering questions-it is positioning itself between the question and the purchase. For PPC practitioners, this shift means AI Overviews are no longer someone else's problem in the SEO department. They are now a paid search surface.

How Ads Appear Inside AI Overviews: Mechanics Every Advertiser Must Know

Ads are eligible to be shown above, below, or within AI Overviews on Search, allowing advertisers to reach customers in new moments of exploration. There are three distinct positions, and each behaves differently.

Ads are eligible to show above or below the AI Overview in all 200+ markets where AI Overviews are available. They serve following the existing auction ranking system and signals. Existing text, shopping, local, or app ads in your Search, Shopping, Performance Max, and App campaigns are eligible for these positions.

Placement within the AI Overview itself is more restrictive. Currently, only text and Shopping ads from existing Search, Shopping, and Performance Max campaigns are eligible to show within AI Overviews. Google does not show ads in AI Overviews for sensitive verticals like adult, alcohol, gambling, finance, healthcare, and politics.

The Double-Relevance Requirement

Here is what separates AI Overview ads from traditional search ads: Ads can trigger on a subset of queries when AI Overviews show if certain conditions are met, including commercial intent detection and quality ads relevant to the user query. For ads to show within the AI Overviews, they must additionally be relevant to the content of the AI Overview itself.

Google's own example illustrates this well. When a user searches "why is my pool green and how do I clean it," they may view an AI Overview with suggestions to test pool water or clean by removing debris. While the query itself may not be directly commercial, Google's understanding of the query plus the content of the AI Overview helps detect commercial intent and serve relevant ads for pool vacuum cleaners.

This dual relevance check-matching both query and generated answer-is a fundamental change. It rewards advertisers who think about the full context of a user's problem, not just the keywords they type.

The Broad Match Imperative

Google clarified that while exact and broad match keywords can trigger different placements, only broad match keywords can serve within AI Overviews. When both match types are eligible above or below the AI Overview, exact match gets prioritized in auctions. However, broad match is needed for placement within the AI Overview itself.

This is a critical technical detail that many advertisers miss. AI Overviews trigger for complex questions-queries where a simple blue link isn't enough. Google's AI looks for answers, not keyword matches. If your account is structured rigidly around exact match keywords and manual bidding, you are effectively opting yourself out.

What You Can't Control (And Why That's the Biggest Concern)

Several frustrations define the current advertiser experience with AI Overview ads. No opt-in. No opt-out. You can't directly target ad placements in AI Overviews, and you can't opt out of serving ads in them.

There is no opt-in or opt-out. If you are running any of the eligible campaign types, you might show ads.

No segmented reporting. Performance from ads in AI Overviews and AI Mode is bundled into your regular campaign data. You cannot isolate the data to see if these new placements are actually working. Without being able to measure the return on investment, you're spending in the dark.

No dedicated bidding. Advertisers still cannot bid specifically for AI Overview placements, target conversational intent separately, or see granular performance metrics for these impressions.

This trifecta-no targeting, no reporting, no dedicated bidding-is what makes the current state so contentious. Results from these ads are lumped in with the rest of your data, and advertisers are being asked to increasingly place trust in Google's algorithms. This is a significant ask considering the lack of transparency within PMax and the ways Google has already taken control over ad spend.

The 2026 outlook is that Google will introduce dedicated controls, bidding strategies, and reporting specifically for AI Overview and AI Mode placements as these surfaces mature. Until then, practitioners operate with incomplete data.

The CTR Crisis: What the Data Actually Shows

The click-through rate impact of AI Overviews is severe and well-documented.

Organic click-through rates for informational queries featuring AI Overviews fell 61% since mid-2024, while paid CTRs on those same queries plunged 68%, according to Seer Interactive's study.

The analysis covered 3,119 informational queries across 42 organizations, spanning 25.1 million organic and 1.1 million paid impressions from June 2024 to September 2025.

Ahrefs found that the presence of an AI Overview now correlates with a 58% lower average click-through rate for the top-ranking organic page as of December 2025. The damage extends beyond organic. Paid CTRs for queries with AI Overviews suffered an even more dramatic decline overall, starting at 19.70% in June 2024 and hitting a low of just 3.26% in July 2025.

But the picture is not uniformly bleak. Brands cited in AI Overviews earned 35% more organic and 91% more paid clicks than those not cited. This is the single most actionable insight in all the data: citation in the AI-generated answer is the new competitive moat.

The Counterintuitive Zero-Click Finding

AI Overviews appear more often on searches that already tend to generate no clicks. But when researchers looked at the same search terms before and after AI Overviews appeared, people actually clicked slightly more. The overall zero-click rate for keywords with AI Overviews has slowly declined since January 2025.

This complicates the narrative. AI Overviews may be absorbing clicks that were never going to happen anyway while simultaneously creating new commercial moments on queries that previously had no ad inventory. Google's revenue growth seems to confirm this- search and advertising revenue rose 17% to $63.07 billion in Q4 2025, with the growth rate accelerating from 10% in Q1 to 17% in Q4.

AI Mode: The Next Frontier (And It's Already Here)

AI Overviews are just one surface. AI Mode represents Google's answer to ChatGPT and other conversational AI platforms. This feature handles multi-step, complex queries through a fully conversational interface where users can ask follow-up questions and refine their searches naturally.

Google began testing ads in AI Mode during Q3 2025, and AI Mode has grown to more than 75 million daily active users since its March 2025 launch.

Queries in AI Mode are three times longer than traditional searches, and a significant portion now lead to follow-up questions.

The advertising implications are significant. Rather than responding to a single query, AI Mode evaluates the full conversational context. As a result, ad placements are matched not just to keywords, but to evolving intent over time. This is fundamentally different from traditional search advertising-and it rewards advertisers whose campaigns give Google flexibility to interpret intent.

Direct Offers and Shopping in AI Mode

Google is moving fast to make AI Mode shoppable. In February 2026, Google launched shopping ads with Direct Offers inside AI Mode, creating an entirely new paid channel within chat-based search.

Google announced the Universal Commerce Protocol in partnership with Shopify, Etsy, Wayfair, Target, and Walmart, establishing open technical standards for AI agents to execute purchases. Target and Walmart launched integrations enabling product discovery and checkout directly within Google's Gemini app and AI Mode.

Although Google continues to test ads in AI Mode, users who connect apps to enable Personal Intelligence won't see ads. Google has been testing ads inside AI Mode in the U.S., and early results indicate users find these business connections "helpful." But there's a clear carveout: no ads for users who opt into app-connected, highly personalized experiences.

This signals a future where ad-supported and ad-free AI search experiences coexist-a tiered model that PPC professionals need to factor into reach estimates.

What Practitioners Should Do Right Now

Given the constraints-no targeting, no dedicated reporting, no opt-out-the strategic response requires working within Google's system while building optionality. Shift to broad match and AI-native campaigns. Shopping and Performance Max campaigns currently have the strongest visibility inside AI Overviews, while standard Search campaigns most often appear above or below the AI-generated content. If you want placement within the overview, Google indicates that advertisers must use broad match, AI Max, or Performance Max.

Rewrite ad copy for informed users. High-performing AI Overview ads assume one thing: the user is already informed. That changes the role of the ad. Your ad is no longer the pitch. It is the bridge.

The best ads in AI Overviews do not shout. They guide. They signal that you understand what the user has just learned, and that you can help them apply it to their own situation. Instead of pushing for a conversion, they invite a decision.

This is perhaps the most underappreciated tactical shift. Traditional PPC copy-urgency-driven, discount-forward, action-demanding-creates friction inside an AI Overview, where users just consumed a neutral, synthesized answer. The winning approach treats the ad as a next step, not a first impression. Prioritize product feed quality for Shopping. In AI surfaces, Google considers the AI content itself when matching ads. The practical implications mean having rich product data and detailed landing pages is likely important. Thin product feeds and generic landing pages will struggle to meet the double-relevance threshold. Build for citation. The Seer Interactive data is unambiguous: when you are cited in an AI Overview, you get 35% more organic clicks and 91% more paid clicks. Earning a citation in the AI-generated content is no longer just an SEO play-it directly lifts paid performance. Content marketing and PPC strategy must be unified. Reserve budget for AI Mode. Discovered Labs recommends reserving 10-15% of paid search budget for AI Mode testing when ads launch, since the auction infrastructure is production-ready and monetization could activate with little advance notice.

The Industry Tension Google Isn't Resolving

There is a deep structural tension at the core of this shift. For advertisers, AI-generated summaries are no longer just a visibility concern; they directly threaten PPC revenue. Generative summaries fundamentally change the math of a successful campaign. When an AI Overview pushes paid ads below the fold, it triggers a chain reaction: lower CTR leads to fewer clicks, which leads to fewer conversions.

Meanwhile, publishers-the ecosystem that produces much of the content AI Overviews synthesize-are being devastated. When an AI Overview is featured at the top of Google's search page, just 1% of users click the links it cites, according to Pew Research. Just 8% of users click on the blue links under an AI Overview, compared with 15% who click when no AI Overview is present.

Google argues the system is working. The company claims AI Overviews generate ad revenue equal to traditional search results.

Google says these claims are based on controlled experiments comparing identical search queries with and without AI Overviews, using standard A/B testing methods.

But the advertiser community remains skeptical. Adthena's analysis found that in the Technology vertical, queries featuring AI Overviews consistently show higher CPCs than those without-a clear signal that AI Overview presence pushes up the cost of visibility. Revenue parity for Google does not necessarily mean performance parity for advertisers. --- The integration of ads into AI Overviews is not a single product launch-it is the beginning of a multi-year reconstruction of how Google monetizes search. The shift from keyword-matched ads to intent-matched, context-aware placements inside AI-generated content changes what it means to be a competent PPC practitioner.

As Google's own product managers have noted, users are no longer submitting single queries-they are having conversations with multiple queries, creating more opportunities to connect users with advertisers throughout the journey. That expanded surface area is real. So are the risks: less control, less transparency, and a growing dependence on Google's algorithms to decide when your ads appear. The advertisers who will thrive are those who stop treating AI Overviews as a disruption to manage and start treating them as a channel to master. That means investing in broad match, writing copy for educated users, unifying organic and paid strategies around citation authority, and preparing measurement infrastructure for a world where Google has not yet decided to share the data you need. Waiting for perfect information is itself a strategy-and it is the wrong one.