By Lawrence Bonk
Publication Date: 2025-11-21 19:28:00
We now know what Google’s ongoing tests for AI Mode ads look like. An SEO consultant named Brodie Clark discovered that the company was inserting ads into query results through its AI mode. These ads appear at the bottom of search results in Gemini-powered AI mode. They are marked as “sponsored” content, but otherwise look similar to other links created by the chatbot.
Despite Clark’s claims that this was “the first time ever,” a Google spokesperson says the result shown is comparable to similar tests conducted this year. “Humans seeing ads in AI mode in the wild is simply part of Google’s ongoing testing that we have been conducting for several months,” the spokesperson said. The push to offer ads in AI mode was announced in May. The company also announced this 9to5Google that there are currently no plans to fully update AI mode to include ads. Those are nice words, but you have to make money somehow with AI, and advertising seems like a good way to do that.
At the moment the software seems to be setting priorities…
