Google to experiment with ads that appear in its AI chatbot in Search

AI chatbots have only just been put into consumers’ hands, but tech giants are rushing to monetize them. Shortly after Bing Chat’s arrival, Microsoft began slipping ads into the experience, for instance. Today, Google says it will do something similar, detailing its plans for running Search and Shopping ads inside its conversational AI experience in Search, via the recently announced Search Generative Experience (SGE) in the US.

At the company’s I/O developer event earlier this month, Google showed how ads could run above and below this new experience. For instance, if you were searching for a new bike on Google using the generative AI feature, you may get information about what factors to consider when buying and then matching products that fit your interests. You could then ask a follow-up question or be guided to other suggested next steps. In this experience, Search ads would continue to appear in dedicated ad slots throughout the page.