Ads in Google AI Overviews and AI Mode: which campaign types and settings qualify, and how placements are selected

Google AI Overviews and AI Mode introduce new places where existing Google Ads can show, but they are not new campaign types and they do not come with separate controls. For an evaluator, the core questions are whether your current campaigns are eligible, where those impressions can appear, and how much attention this surface deserves relative to the rest of Search and Shopping.

Timeline of ads in AI Overviews and AI Mode

Google announced testing of Search and Shopping ads in AI Overviews for US users on 5/21/2024, as part of its Google Marketing Live updates. That test covered Search and Shopping formats on AI Overview queries before any broad rollout. Per Google’s October 2024 update, ads in AI Overviews launched for US mobile users on 10/3/2024.

On 5/21/2025, Google announced that AI Overview ads were expanding to US desktop, with English expansion to select additional countries later that year. The same May 2025 announcement stated that AI Mode ad testing had begun, with ads appearing below and integrated into AI Mode responses when relevant. Google’s 2025 highlights recap still described AI Mode ads as a US test, so they were not documented as a global rollout.

Where AI Overview and AI Mode ads can appear

Google documents two distinct ad placements tied to AI Overviews. The first is above or below the AI Overview unit, which uses the existing auction system and can run in all 200+ markets where AI Overviews are available. In these cases, the overview appears between standard ad blocks, and the ads are labeled Sponsored in a clearly marked section.

The second placement is inside the AI Overview itself, where ads are integrated into the generated answer. Google states that this integrated format is currently available in English on mobile and desktop in 12 countries: Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, and the US. Ads can also appear below and integrated into AI Mode responses where relevant, within the scope of the US test.

A common misconception is that AI Overview ads are everywhere AI Overviews are. In reality, only the above and below placements run in all AI Overview markets, while within-overview ads are limited to those 12 English-language countries.

Campaign types and settings that qualify

Eligibility for ads above or below AI Overviews is broad. Google’s help documentation states that existing text, Shopping, local, or app ads from Search, Shopping, Performance Max, and App campaigns can serve in those positions. Advertisers do not need to create new campaigns for this surface, and Google’s announcements emphasize that no action is needed for these campaigns to have the opportunity to appear.

Eligibility for ads inside AI Overviews is narrower and tied to AI-powered targeting. Within-overview placements can show text and Shopping ads from existing Search, Shopping, and Performance Max campaigns, but only when those campaigns use Google’s AI-driven matching systems. Google specifies that this includes broad match on Search, or the keywordless technology used in AI Max, Performance Max, Shopping, or Dynamic Search Ads.

This means the misconception that all search ads can appear inside AI Overviews is incorrect. Campaigns that rely only on exact or phrase match without broad match or the AI-powered systems in AI Max, Performance Max, Shopping, or Dynamic Search Ads are not matched into the integrated overview placements. Google’s May 2025 statement names Performance Max, Shopping, and Search with broad match including AI Max as eligible for AI Overviews and AI Mode, which aligns with this AI-powered targeting requirement. For the targeting layer that makes Search campaigns eligible, see how AI Max for Search works.

How Google selects which ads show in AI Overviews

Google describes selection for AI Overview ads as an extension of the existing auction, with additional conditions. Ads can trigger on a subset of AI Overview queries when Google detects commercial intent and when quality, relevant ads are available. This means not every AI Overview query will show ads, even if the advertiser is bidding on related terms.

For ads inside the overview, Google adds another filter. The ads must be relevant both to the user’s query and to the content of the AI Overview itself. Google states that winners of the auction that address both the query and the overview content become automatically eligible for integrated placement. The same systems decide whether an eligible ad appears above, below, or inside the overview, using existing signals rather than a separate bidding mechanism.

Control, targeting, and reporting limits

Google’s documentation is explicit that advertisers cannot opt out of serving ads in AI Overviews. The FAQ also states that advertisers cannot directly target ad placements within AI Overviews. This corrects the misconception that you can opt into or out of AI Overview ads, since eligibility is automatic for qualifying campaigns and there is no placement-level switch.

On reporting, Google says that no segmented reporting exists for ads within AI Overviews. Instead, these impressions are reported as Top Ads, grouped with other top-of-page Search and Shopping impressions. Google notes that it is still working out future reporting, and there is no separate reporting segment documented for AI Mode either. This means the belief that you can measure AI Overview ad performance separately is incorrect, because there is no dedicated reporting slice for those impressions.

Google also reiterates that no special action is required for eligible campaigns to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode. Existing Search, Shopping, Performance Max, and related campaigns that meet the AI-powered targeting criteria participate in the same auction, and the system decides when to show them on AI surfaces.

Verticals and content excluded from AI Overview ads

Google applies additional restrictions on what can appear in AI Overviews. The help documentation lists sensitive categories that are excluded from ads in AI Overviews, including adult content, alcohol, gambling, finance, healthcare, and politics, among others. These exclusions apply to the AI Overview environment even if similar ads might be eligible to show on standard Search results.

For advertisers in these sensitive verticals, this means AI Overview placements are not available regardless of campaign type or targeting settings. The exclusion is based on policy category, not on bidding or creative quality.

What advertisers should do: eligibility checklist and practical stance

Given the constraints, the practical move is to treat AI Overviews and AI Mode as incremental surfaces your existing campaigns can reach, not as a separate channel to plan around. Google cites internal data that AI Overviews drove more than a 10% usage increase for query types that show them in the US and India between September 2024 and April 2025, against more than 5 trillion annual searches, which explains why these surfaces matter but does not change the control reality.

An eligibility-focused checklist looks like this. First, confirm that your core Search and Shopping investment runs through campaign types Google names as eligible: Search, Shopping, Performance Max, and App campaigns. Second, for Search, ensure that at least some campaigns use broad match or AI Max so they qualify for AI-powered targeting into AI Overviews and AI Mode. Third, use Shopping and Performance Max where appropriate, since Google treats their keywordless systems as eligible for within-overview matching.

Fourth, accept that you cannot isolate or optimize AI Overview placements separately while they are reported as Top Ads with no segmentation. Any attempt to claim AI-Overview-specific performance is not grounded in Google’s reporting. Fifth, if you operate in sensitive categories such as adult, alcohol, gambling, finance, healthcare, or politics, assume AI Overview ads are off the table under current policies and focus on standard Search and Shopping inventory.

Temper And Forge’s practice is consistent across AI-surface advertising: these are emerging placements worth being eligible for, not yet placements to build strategy around. On Google the practical move is cheap, because eligibility rides on settings Temper And Forge often already favors (Performance Max, broad match under Smart Bidding, AI Max), so qualifying campaigns are already in the running without extra spend. Temper And Forge will not pretend to optimize what cannot be measured, so with no segmented reporting any claimed AI-Overview-specific performance read is fiction, and these impressions are judged inside the same weekly ROAS read as everything else. When Google ships segmentation, that is when AI-surface strategy becomes a real conversation.