Google has been making a huge push with AI over the past year or so, doing its best to inject its apps and services with as many AI features as it can. The brand recently introduced Gemini 3 into Google Search, enhancing the search experience for many users by offering more thoughtful and complete responses.
And while some of the AI features can be useful, and others even amazing, it’s all about Google increasing its business at the end of the day. So, as you can imagine, it was only a matter of time before we saw ads being injected into AI spaces, with Brodie Clark sharing on X that Google’s AI Mode will incorporate ads in its search results going forward (via 9to5Google).
Are we even really that surprised this is happening?
As much as I’d love to be alarmed or even shocked, it’s pretty much par for the course at this point. Google’s business revolves around ads, so anywhere where the brand can make a dollar, you can bet that it’s going to utilize that space. Personally, I don’t use AI Mode for my daily searches, but did try it out in order to see whether this was live on any of my accounts.
For the time being, I wasn’t able to replicate ads popping up in AI Mode, but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before it rolls out to all accounts. As far as how it looks, Brodie Clark offers a pretty good example, sharing that the ad, for the moment, will appear towards the bottom of search results. Just like other ad results you see on Google products and services, you’ll see a small “Sponsored” disclaimer on the banner, making it easier to spot.
Again, this isn’t all that surprising, but I think what is probably important to most people after seeing this sort of thing happen is whether ads will start popping up on Gemini. A lot of people have come to rely on this tool for everyday use, and some even pay to get access to advanced features. For now, Gemini appears to be free from ads, but that could always change in the near future, and may even cause quite an uproar.
