google is putting ads inside AI Mode. UK by the end of the year

by Maya Patel

Google is rolling ads in AI Mode out to ten more countries, Canada and India among them, with the UK, Brazil and Mexico planned for Q4. Same week, Reddit's CEO said AI Mode and AI Overviews are the main reason their search referrals are falling. Put those together and the deal changes. For years organic was what you earned and ads were what you rented, side by side on one page. If the answer takes the click and the only paid slot sits inside the answer, a lot of small sites end up renting visibility they used to earn. I'm not calling the end of organic. Clients who get named inside answers are doing fine. But has anyone actually run ads in AI Mode yet? Does it convert, or is it pricey brand awareness?

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rach.h 1 hour ago

this is exactly my worry tbh. loads of our new customers used to say they found us on maps or some "best brunch in leicester" list. now people ask the AI thing and it seems to name the same few places every time, and were not one of them cant see a cafe paying to get inside the answer either. does anyone know if keeping the google listing and reviews up to date still counts for anything or is that pointless now

James Carter 1 hour ago

Maya, I'd draw the line somewhere else. The sites that feel this first are the pass-through ones, the roundups and "best X in Y" pages. They were renting attention from Google all along, they just paid in content instead of cash. rach, I'd worry less for a cafe than for the list that used to mention you. When someone asks for brunch in Leicester the answer has to be built from something, and your listing and reviews are a big part of what it can see. Keep them current. That's not pointless, it's most of the job now. What I'd want to know before calling it is how ads get labelled inside an answer. If people can't tell a paid mention from an earned one, trust in the whole box drops, and that hurts Google more than any of us.