Google says AI Overviews will carry ads above or below answers
Google's VP and GM of Search Ads, Shashi Thakur, discussed the rollout of AI Overviews in the US and its implications for advertisers. He stated that ads would appear alongside AI answers, sometimes above or below, complementing content with commercial intent. Thakur also addressed concerns from publishers about potential revenue loss, asserting that user engagement with commercial queries and embedded links would continue to drive clicks.
Key Takeaways
- Shashi Thakur said ads in AI Overviews can appear above the AI answer or directly below it.
- Google has already been showing ads alongside AI answers during the U.S. rollout of AI Overviews.
- Thakur said Google did not directly involve advertisers in Search Labs and beta tests because they were already bidding for top search positions.
- He argued that commercial queries still require a click-through to insurers, merchants, or travel sites to complete an action.
- Google said links embedded inside AI answers increase the diversity of publishers users click into.
Why It Matters
Google is folding AI Overviews into Search Ads from the start, so the monetization question is not whether ads appear, but where they sit relative to AI-generated answers. That matters for publishers and advertisers because Google is explicitly tying the format to commercial queries and embedded links, while dismissing near-term revenue-loss concerns. The broader competitive signal is that Google is treating AI search as an extension of existing search-ad inventory, not a separate product category. Next to watch: whether Google shares any click data or advertiser performance metrics beyond Thakur’s statement that users are engaging with ads and links inside AI answers.
Read full article at marketingbrew.com
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