# How to advertise in Google AI Overviews and AI Mode

> Source: CitedIndex — https://citedindex.com/guides/how-to-advertise-in-google-ai-mode-and-ai-overviews/
> By: CitedIndex Editorial, Research desk
> Claims last verified: 2026-10-24
> Last updated: 2026-10-24
> Read time: 6 min read
> Covers: Where ads show, Which campaigns are eligible, What you cannot control, New formats Google is testing in AI Mode, How you pay

Which Google Ads campaigns can show in AI Overviews and AI Mode, the 12 countries for ads inside an AI Overview, and what you cannot target or report, from Google's own pages.

## The short answer

You do not buy AI Overviews or AI Mode on their own. Ads from your existing Google Ads campaigns can show there: Search campaigns with broad match or AI Max, Shopping and Performance Max. Ads above and below an AI Overview can show in every market that has AI Overviews. Ads inside an AI Overview show in English in 12 countries. Ads in AI Mode were still a test in the US when we checked. You cannot opt out, cannot target these places on their own, and Google reports them with your other top ads. Every fact below is from Google's own pages, checked on 24 October 2026.

## Where ads show

**Table 1. Google's ad placements in AI search, as of 24 October 2026**

| Placement | Where | Which ads |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Above or below an AI Overview | "All 200+ markets where AI Overviews are available" | Text, Shopping, local or app ads from Search, Shopping, Performance Max and App campaigns |
| Inside an AI Overview | English, on mobile and desktop, in Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore and the US | Text and Shopping ads from Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns |
| In AI Mode | A test in the US | Ads "may appear below and integrated into AI Mode responses" |

Source: Google Ads Help, About ads and AI Overviews, and Google's posts of 21 May 2025 and 8 December 2025 (see Sources).

An ad inside an AI Overview has to fit both the search and what the AI Overview says. Google says it does not show ads inside AI Overviews for "sensitive verticals like adult, alcohol, gambling", nor for finance, healthcare and politics.

## Which campaigns are eligible

Google, on 21 May 2025: "Advertisers who are already using Performance Max, Shopping and Search campaigns with broad match" are eligible "to have their ads appear in AI Overviews and AI Mode." Its help page adds that it "requires AI-powered targeting solutions like broad match on Search", or the keywordless targeting in AI Max for Search campaigns. For ads inside AI Overviews it also names Dynamic Search Ads.

- **Search:** with broad match keywords, or with AI Max.
- **Shopping:** your existing Shopping campaigns.
- **Performance Max:** your existing campaigns.

Eligible does not mean shown. The ad still has to win the auction.

## What you cannot control

- **Opting out.** "No, you can't opt out of serving ads in AI Overviews."
- **Targeting.** "No, you can't directly target ad placements in the AI Overviews."
- **Reporting.** Ads inside AI Overviews "are reported as Top Ads", and Google Ads "currently doesn't offer segmented reporting" for them. You cannot see which clicks came from an AI Overview.

Google's pages do not say whether the same holds in AI Mode.

## New formats Google is testing in AI Mode

**Table 2. Google's AI Mode ad tests, by the date Google announced them**

| Announced | Format | What Google said |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 11 January 2026 | Direct Offers | A pilot: retailers "present exclusive offers for shoppers who are ready to buy", such as a discount, set up in their campaign settings. Early brands named include Petco, e.l.f. Cosmetics and Samsonite. |
| 11 February 2026 | Sponsored retailers | A test showing retailers that offer the products in AI Mode's own shopping picks, "clearly marked as sponsored". Similar tests in travel. |
| 20 May 2026 | Conversational Discovery ads and Highlighted Answers | Two tests: "your ad answers a person's specific question", and a relevant ad can appear on an answer's list "as a Highlighted Answer". |

Google says these ads are labeled "Sponsored". Its pages give no country list and no sign-up for them: they are tests and pilots, and Google names AI Max for Search, AI Max for Shopping and Performance Max as the campaigns to build on.

## How you pay

These placements have no price of their own. They come from your existing campaigns, so you pay what those campaigns bid, within the budgets you set. Google's pages on AI Overviews and AI Mode name no minimum spend.

## Before you start

- Check that your country and language are in Table 1 for the placement you want.
- Run Search with broad match or AI Max, Shopping, or Performance Max. Exact match alone is not enough for ads inside an AI Overview.
- Plan without separate numbers: AI Overview clicks are counted with your top ads.
- Ads are one way in. Being cited in the AI Overview itself is free and separate: see [how to get cited in Google AI Overviews](/guides/how-to-get-cited-in-google-ai-overviews/).
- Other engines that sell ads in answers: [ChatGPT](/guides/how-to-advertise-on-chatgpt/) and [Microsoft Copilot](/guides/how-to-advertise-in-microsoft-copilot/). [Perplexity](/guides/how-to-advertise-on-perplexity/) sells none publicly.

## FAQ

### Can I buy ads only in AI Overviews?

No. Google says you cannot target ad placements in AI Overviews directly. Ads from eligible Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns show there when they win the auction.

### Which countries have ads inside AI Overviews?

Twelve, in English: Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore and the US. Ads above and below AI Overviews show in all 200+ markets that have AI Overviews.

### Are there ads in AI Mode?

Google was testing them in the US. It is also testing Direct Offers, sponsored retailers, Conversational Discovery ads and Highlighted Answers there.

### Can I see how my ads do in AI Overviews?

No. Google reports them as top ads, with no separate figures.

### Can I stop my ads showing in AI Overviews?

No. Google says you cannot opt out.

## Sources

Every page below is Google's own, checked on 24 October 2026. The date after each is the one the page carries.

1. [Google Ads Help, About ads and AI Overviews](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16297775) (no date on the page)
2. [Google, New ad formats built with Gemini coming to Google Search](https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/google-marketing-live-search-ads/), 20 May 2026
3. [Google, What to expect in digital advertising and commerce in 2026](https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/digital-advertising-commerce-2026/), 11 February 2026
4. [Google, New tech and tools for retailers to succeed in an agentic shopping era](https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/agentic-commerce-ai-tools-protocol-retailers-platforms/), 11 January 2026
5. [Google Ads Help, Google Ads highlights of 2025](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16756291), 8 December 2025
6. [Google, New ways AI in Search helps your business](https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/google-search-ai-brand-discovery/), 21 May 2025