Google AI search summaries officially include ads

Google is introducing ads in AI reviews, which means products will now be evident in some AI-generated summaries on the search engine.

Let’s say you’re looking for a way to remove a grass stain from your pants. If you ask Google, the AI-generated response will include tips and suggestions for products to buy that will support you remove the stain. Products will appear under a “sponsored” headline, Google spokesman Craig Ewer said Edge will only appear if the question has a “commercial aspect”.

Google has been testing AI advertising since May, but says it’s rolling out it fully because it helps people “quickly connect with the right companies, products and services to take the next step exactly when they need it.” For now, ads only appear on AI Reviews in the US on mobile devices. Microsoft similarly enables ads in its Copilot i chatbot the way they emerge has recently been changed in replies.

Google is also making some tweaks to the formatting of AI overviews. Following the August test, Google will now display cited websites more prominently on the right side of the summary, as it said it “resulted in an increase in traffic to supported sites compared to the previous design.”

It also introduces AI-organized search pages, a feature that displays a custom results page with relevant information, rather than just displaying a list of links. This feature is currently only available on mobile devices in the US for searches related to recipes and meal ideas.