Have No Fear, Google Has Plans to Enshittify AI Search With Ads, Too

"Per the report, Google Vice President of Search, Robbie Stein, said that he doesn't see advertisements going away any time soon, and in fact expects that they will evolve to integrate into AI tools. Stein said the company has already started some experiments on ads within AI Mode and within Google AI experiences, and expects that new and novel ad formats will be introduced in the future so advertisers can continue to target users and give Google money for the right to do so."

"What are those new and novel formats, exactly? Stein floated one example of a person searching for information during a home remodel, in which a person could provide information to the AI-powered search, and it could give even more fine-tuned recommendations or potential other services that you could consider, or deals that could be more useful to you. So likepersonalized and sponsored advertisements, but spit out by AI, apparently?"

"It's not entirely clear what is novel about that, other than the fact that the person searching will likely be less discerning about what sort of paid placements they are being exposed to. Of course, there's always the possibility that your favored chatbot will collect even more detailed data about you, but that's not really an innovation on the ad side of things."

Google's AI Overview has reduced user engagement with search results, producing fewer clicks and less fact-checking. Google plans to introduce advertisements inside AI experiences and expects ad formats to evolve and integrate into AI tools. Experiments on ads within AI Mode and Google AI experiences have already begun, and new ad formats aim to let advertisers target users and pay Google for placements. AI-powered recommendations could offer personalized, sponsored options—such as tailored product or service deals during a home remodel. Personalized AI ads may make users less discerning about paid placements and could enable additional data collection. The company emphasizes consumer product development while exploring monetization.

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