Google Says Again, Google To Test Ads In AI Overviews

By Chris Barnhart Last updated Jul 25, 2024

Google Says Again, Google To Test Ads In AI Overviews

Google said it again, it will soon test ads within its AI Overviews. Philipp Schindler, senior vice president and chief business officer for Google, said this in the earnings call on Tuesday night. He said, “soon we’ll actually start testing search and shopping ads in AI Overviews for users in the U.S.”

He did repeat that this is something Google announced at Google Marketing Live in May, which we covered here. We did see some early ad tests in AI Overviews (SGE) but those vanished.

Philipp Schindler said:

We announced at GML, soon we’ll actually start testing search and shopping ads in AI Overviews for users in the U.S. and they will have the opportunity to actually appear within the AI Overview in a section labeled as sponsored when they’re relevant to both a query and the information in the ai overview and really giving us the ability to innovate here and take this to the next level.

He said this at the 38:46 mark in this call:

I spotted this via Glenn Gabe on X and Gagan Ghotra’s post. Plus Danny Goodwin covered this at Search Engine Land.

Here is a copy of my coverage of what to expect from Ads in AI Overviews from GML a few months ago:

Ads In AI Overviews

As expected, Google showcased ads directly in the AI Overviews. Google said it will “start testing Search and Shopping ads in AI Overviews for users in the U.S.” This will “start with a small experiment in the U.S. and take a responsible approach, applying learnings from user, advertiser, and publisher feedback,” Google added.

AI-Powered Recommendations Ads

Google has these new “AI-powered experiences that provide personalized recommendations,” the company announced. The example provided was that it can “create a whole new way for customers to express demand where they can share more about what they want through multimodal inputs like photos and receive tailored recommendations.” Google said these AI-powered recommendations ads will be tested with select advertisers in the U.S. over the coming weeks.

Here is what they look like:

Visual Brand Profile Ads

Let’s get crazy big with ads at the top of Google Search with these new visual brand profile ads. Google said you can “highlight your brand’s unique story with the visual brand profile on Google Search, showcasing your images, videos, and promotions.” “Ads will continue to appear on the page along with the brand profile,” Google added. This is rolling out in the coming months.

Here is what it looks like:

Shopping Ads with AI Visuals

Video highlights for ads: Google said video highlights ads are coming aater this year, for a small group of advertisers. This is to “introduce a new immersive experience in Shopping ads for select apparel and beauty categories. This experience invites shoppers to explore curated short videos from your brand, discover helpful customer quotes about a product, and browse additional brand offerings.”

Virtual try-on in Shopping ads for both men’s and women’s tops. “This experience will help shoppers see how your clothes fit on a variety of body types to build the confidence to buy.” Google said.