In the past, online ads were easy to spot. They were banners, short videos, or links on a search page. But conversational AI is changing that. Now people ask long questions, compare choices, and continue with follow-up questions in one chat. This gives companies a new chance to reach users at the exact moment when they are thinking, learning, or shopping. Google says AI Overviews are already used by more than one billion people, so this new space is becoming very important. (blog.google)
Google is moving fast. According to Google Ads Help, ads can appear above, below, or inside AI Overviews. Google also said that in 2025 it expanded Ads in AI Overviews to desktop and more countries, and it began testing ads in AI Mode in the United States. In simple words, advertising is no longer only next to search results. It is starting to appear inside AI-made answers. (support.google.com)
OpenAI first took a softer path. In April 2025, OpenAI said ChatGPT could show product recommendations for shopping questions, and those product results were chosen independently and were not ads. Later, the company changed course. On February 9, 2026, OpenAI announced that it had started testing ads in ChatGPT in the U.S. for logged-in adult users on the Free and Go plans. OpenAI says these ads are clearly labeled as sponsored, do not change ChatGPT’s answers, and do not give advertisers access to users’ chats or personal details. Users can also manage ad settings and delete ad data. (openai.com)
Other AI companies are trying new ideas too. In November 2024, Perplexity said it would test ads in the U.S. as sponsored follow-up questions beside an answer, while promising that advertisers would not control the content of answers. (perplexity.ai)
The big question is trust. If AI feels helpful, users may accept useful ads. But if ads feel hidden or pushy, people may lose confidence quickly. The new relationship between AI and advertising is not just about selling. It is about whether a conversation can stay honest while money enters the chat. (openai.com)










