Google AI Mode Ads - everything brands need to know to win
Hannah McBain
Hannah McBain is a Paid Search Partner at Open Partners, with 10 years' experience in paid media and paid search.
Working closely with our partners at Google, the Open Partners PPC team attended Google’s From the Future of Search summit to assess how AI is reshaping search and what it means for advertisers.
Currently in U.S. trials, Google is embedding ads directly into Google AI Mode; a product that is already enhancing Google’s generative search experience (following AI Overviews). Google calls AI Mode one of its most successful launches in the past decade, placing generative AI in front of more users than any other platform. This reach is opening unprecedented opportunities for advertisers in the U.S., and soon, the UK.
Google’s message is clear: “The only way to win in the new era of search is with AI-powered campaigns.”
Below, we examine why brands must move now to secure early advantage, protect performance, and capture growth as AI Mode Ads come online.
Source: Google Ads & Commercial Blog
About AI Mode Ads
Following the rollout of AI Overviews and the more robust AI Mode, in H2 2025, Google began testing AI Mode Ads in the U.S., delivering predictive, hyper-relevant ads based on user intent, not just keywords.
With Google AI Mode/AI Overview interpreting the “why” behind a query, the new advertising functionality surfaces ads even before explicit commercial signals appear / at the earliest stage of purchase consideration. This is a window of influence that never previously existed for brands.
Launching AI Mode and trialling ads in rapid succession, Google is not just defending its dominance in search -it is positioning itself as the world’s most powerful generative AI platform.
Why brands must prepare for change
There’s no going back
Ultimately, as AI continues to shape user behaviours and expectations within search, traditional PPC structures and strategies will become obsolete.
This is not an eventuality; AI Mode / Ads is already here. As the rollout continues, brands will have no choice but to optimise around generative search to ensure their brand, products, and services are visible at the earliest opportunity.
Your unpreparedness = your competitor’s advantage
Those who act fastest will outperform those who don’t. The opportunity for growth in this channel is significant, but as with all advances in AI, keeping ahead of the curve is the key to success.
Inaction will rapidly erode brand relevancy, performance outcomes, and ROI.
The message from Google is clear: move with the times, or fail in this new era of search. Key KPIs that are used to track performance, secure marketing investment, and drive material business outcomes will suffer.
The opportunity is huge
Google says 15% of AI Mode queries are brand new, with longer, multi-layered questions showing deeper intent – the opportunity and insight grows daily.
This level of insight has never before been available to advertisers; it is impossible to predict, plan against, and manually optimise for using traditional PPC account structures.
AI advertising strategies allow brands to do just that – it offers intelligence, speed, and scale, reaching users at the earliest possible opportunity, building awareness and shaping decisions before slower acting competitors ever enter the picture.
Who’s most affected?
While this will irreversibly change the trajectory in AI-powered advertising for all, those heavily reliant on PPC to drive incremental revenue will be amongst the first to be impacted.
At the summit, Google showcased examples of generative searches in two PPC-centric verticals and how ads appear at the earliest sign of intent:
Retail: A search for “how to bring small dogs on flights” could trigger an ad for dog carriers, before the user even asks.
Lead Generation: A search for “why are my gutters overflowing” could prompt ads for local gutter cleaning services, accelerating conversion from question to action.
Verticals like these, and others using PPC as a core advertising channel, will either reap the rewards of preparedness or feel the sting of inaction as faster-moving competitors overtake them.
The urgency of action
AI adoption consistently rewards first movers. Those who hesitate face steeper costs and missed revenue opportunities.
AI Ads have already proven successful in the U.S. and are expected to scale rapidly. Targeting solutions are available today in the UK, and brands should be testing now to ensure a running start when AI Ads launch fully in the very near future.
What to do
Ensure visibility in AI Overviews and AI Mode
As a first point of action, brands must be actively optimising for generative search.
Google recommends:
- Creating unique, valuable content designed for multimodal search, supported by rich imagery and video.
- Making sure content is structured and accessible to Google for maximum discoverability.
- Tracking and analysing how users engage across the full journey (not just clicks) to understand real conversion value.
Testing and preparing accounts for AI Ads
With a strong GEO strategy in place, brands must then ensure that their accounts are optimised for success prior to the UK launch of AI Mode Ads. They can do this through:
- Testing with Broad Match, AI Max for Search, Performance Max, and Google Shopping now.
- Applying learnings to optimise ahead of launch, ensuring your campaigns are AI-ready on day one.
The bottom line
Change isn’t coming. It’s here.
Google’s latest AI Ad product will guarantee disruption and performance impacts for those who fail to prepare. In the AI era, speed wins.
Brands that ready themselves now will command visibility, capture new demand, and leave slower competitors behind.
