Google: AI search doesn’t make enough money, so there’s more advertising
Google lives from advertising, which also applies to its core business with the search engine, which is increasingly fueled by generative artificial intelligence. In order to make more money, Google is now introducing more advertising in the AI search mode.
Advertising in AI mode in more countries
Google is continuing to expand the delivery of advertising in the AI-powered functions of its search engine. According to Shashi Thakur, vice president and general manager of Google Search Ads and Ads on Google Experiences, more countries are now incorporating ads in Google Search AI mode. The advertising therefore not only appears in the AI overviews, next to or below, but also increasingly in the AI mode itself.
According to Thakur, the advertising in the AI search answers will initially be expanded in Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Singapore. This year, Brazil, Mexico and Great Britain will also begin expanding the use of advertising in Google search AI mode, the company said in a statement Blog entry.
Advertising now also in further answers
In the USA, Google is also starting to expand advertising in the AI mode, which works as a kind of chatbot, during conversations. Users will now also be shown appropriate advertising when they answer further questions that they ask the AI bot after an initial query. In all cases, the advertisements should be clearly marked as “sponsored,” Thakur continued. With regard to advertising in AI mode, Google claims that users accept the ads well. The number of clicks on advertising in the AI answers is already comparable to the click rates for advertising on the classic search results pages.
This is also because many users find the advertising relevant, said Google’s Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler when announcing the Internet company’s latest business figures. However, the fact that Google is taking such a step now is the result of a development that is obviously disappointing for shareholders. Revenues from the company’s search business recently no longer rose as strongly as before, which led to the share price of Google parent company Alphabet falling sharply after the publication of the latest financial figures, despite reporting a 25 percent increase in sales for the third quarter compared to the same period last year.
