Early Insights on AI Mode and AI Overviews Ads

Google is steadily reshaping Search into something more conversational, more answer-driven, and less dependent on traditional click paths. Ads are now woven into AI-generated responses, often before a user ever considers visiting a website (and often pre-empting website clicks).

That shift has meaningful implications for intent, measurement, and how we think about paid search strategy moving forward.

Here’s what we’re seeing so far and how we’re working with our clients to pivot.

AI Search Queries Are Longer and Show a Different User Mindset

AI Mode and AI Overviews tend to capture users who are firmly in research mode. These users aren’t saying “show me options.” They’re saying, “Just tell me the answer.”

A few clear differences compared to traditional paid search:

• Intent is informational-first. Users are looking for clarity, explanations, and guidance, not necessarily to buy or sign up immediately.
• Language is more natural and expansive. Queries are often long-tail, conversational, or even paragraph-length. This gives Google’s LLMs more context to work with, but it also means keyword compression matters less than semantic understanding.
• Ads get fewer clicks by design. AI options save users time by answering questions directly on the SERP. In many cases, users get what they need without ever leaving Google.
• The journey is iterative, not linear. AI Mode introduces a back-and-forth experience: ask → refine → ask again. That’s a very different path than search, where query → ad → landing page → conversion.
• Attribution is murkier. Brands can be referenced or recommended inside AI responses without a click ever occurring, which complicates how we think about influence versus direct response.

In short: AI-powered Search is closer to a conversation than a point in the purchase funnel.

Where Ads Actually Show Up in AI Experiences

Based on Google’s current rollout, ads can appear:

• Above or below AI Overviews
• Integrated within AI Overview content (U.S. only, for now)
• Below or within AI Mode responses (currently experimental in the U.S.)

To even access this inventory, advertisers must be running:

• Broad match search
• Performance Max
• AI Max for Search–enabled campaigns

This reinforces a broader pattern we’ve seen across Google launches: access comes at the cost of control. (If you don’t have expertise in building guardrails to train Google’s algorithms, we don’t recommend you tap into the new AI ads.)

Measurement: Welcome Back to the Black Box

The biggest (and least surprising) caveat so far is reporting. At the moment (and despite Google having recently improved visibility into PMax campaign performance):

• Advertisers cannot bid separately for AI Mode vs. AI Overview inventory
• There is no segmented reporting that isolates AI placements from traditional search
• Performance data is fully blended into existing campaign metrics

This mirrors the early days of Performance Max. Despite years of advertisers asking for more transparency, Google has once again launched a major product inside a reporting black box.

Google has stated that while segmented reporting may come later, timelines and specifics are still undefined.

What Can Marketers Learn Right Now?

Even without clean segmentation, there are signals worth watching.

We’re paying close attention to:

• Shifts in CTRs on AI-eligible campaigns
• CPC volatility after enabling AI-eligible settings
• Changes in CVR and assisted conversion behavior
• Differences in on-site engagement from search traffic overall

These aren’t perfect answers, but they help frame directional impact while we wait for better tooling.

The key is not to over-interpret early data or to assume that one placement is “better” than another without proof.

Targeting & Creative: Yes, Play the Game (For Now)

To show up in AI Mode and AI Overviews, advertisers have to lean into Google’s automation stack.

That means:

• Enabling AI Max for Search, broad match, or PMax
• Allowing text customization and URL expansion
• Providing strong on-site creative and messaging that the algorithm can reuse
• Letting Google remix headlines, descriptions, and landing destinations dynamically

Is this comfortable? Not always.

Is it currently the price of admission? Yes.

If visibility in AI-powered Search matters to you, you’ll have to bite the bullet and give Google more control. Again, though, we don’t recommend you do this without a track record of training the Google algo to work effectively in broad match, PMax, or the like.

One Early Surprise Worth Calling Out

Perhaps the most notable surprise is how familiar this rollout feels. Much as in the early days of PMax, Google has launched a major new product with:

• Limited transparency
• Blended reporting
• Heavy reliance on automation
• Promises of “more insights later”

That doesn’t mean advertisers should sit it out. But it does mean expectations need to be set correctly, especially with stakeholders.

How We’re Thinking About AI Search Ads Right Now

At this stage, AI Mode and AI Overviews should be treated as:

• An extension of upper- and mid-funnel search behavior
• A signal amplifier, not a standalone performance lever
• A long-term shift, not a short-term optimization play

The biggest mistake would be trying to judge these placements by last-click logic alone.

AI Mode and AI Overviews are changing how users interact with Search and how ads influence decisions.

They reward:

• Clear, helpful messaging
• Strong intent signals
• Comfort with ambiguity
• Patience with imperfect measurement
  
  

For now, the goal isn’t to “crack” AI Search. It’s to show up credibly while the rules are still being written. You may take an ROI hit, but you’ll also gain familiarity to leverage as the campaigns and tracking (hopefully) improve.

If you’re looking to tap into Google’s new AI-powered real estate and would like a guiding hand, reach out to us for a free strategy call.