Yes, you can now get ads in AI Mode, but only in a limited U.S. test, and you can’t buy them with a special button. At Google Marketing Live in May 2026, Google showed two new formats that put paid placements inside AI Mode answers, plus a few more headed for regular Search. If you run Google Ads, the practical question isn’t whether to chase them today. It’s whether your account is set up so you’re in the room when they open up.
This post covers what each format does, what Google has actually said about eligibility, what’s still unknown, and what to fix before the rollout reaches you. It fits alongside our paid search work, and it builds on two earlier pieces: the move from keywords to intent in Google AI Max for Search and the new account-level automation in Google Ads automated promotions.
Can you run ads in AI Mode right now?
Only if Google picks your account for a test. According to PPC Land’s May 20, 2026 report, the two AI Mode formats are in U.S. testing on mobile and desktop, with no wider timeline announced.
Google had already said in May 2025 that it was testing ads in AI Mode, and that ads in AI Overviews were expanding to more places. What changed in 2026 is that Google named specific formats and described how they’ll look. Search Engine Roundtable’s Barry Schwartz put the motive plainly in his May 21 write-up: Google has to make AI Mode pay, so expect it to keep testing. So treat everything below as a preview, not a product you can switch on.
What are Conversational Discovery ads and Highlighted Answers?
They’re the two ad formats Google is testing inside AI Mode. Both are labeled “Sponsored,” and both come with a separate Gemini-written explainer next to the advertiser’s own creative.
Conversational Discovery ads use Gemini to build creative around the specific question someone typed. Google’s example was a long query about making a home smell like a spa while keeping upkeep low. Highlighted Answers work differently. When AI Mode lists recommendations, say the best language apps for a trip, a relevant, high-quality ad can appear as one item in that list. Google’s own blog post describes both, dated May 20, 2026.
One detail changes how you think about creative: the explainer. Google generates it independently, from what its model judges relevant. PPC Land reports that advertisers can’t directly control what it says. That’s a real shift. You’re no longer the only voice in your own ad.
What other new AI ad formats did Google announce?
Three more, and they live in regular Search results rather than AI Mode. Google’s May 20 post lists AI-powered Shopping ads, Business Agent for Leads, and an expansion of its Direct Offers pilot.
- AI-powered Shopping ads: Gemini pulls relevant products and writes a custom explainer for why one fits the search. Google said “in the coming months.” PPC Land says a U.S. rollout is planned for later in 2026, without a date.
- Business Agent for Leads: a brand agent built with Gemini sits inside the ad. People click Chat and get answers drawn from your website, instead of filling in a static lead form. PPC Land reports it as an open beta in the U.S., English-language accounts only.
- Direct Offers: a pilot that began in January 2026 with brands such as Chewy, Gap and L’Oreal. Google says promotion bundling is coming soon, native checkout has been added for merchants on the Universal Commerce Protocol, and Booking and Expedia will show offers inside AI-assisted trip planning. It stays a U.S. pilot per PPC Land.
How do you become eligible for ads in AI Mode?
Google hasn’t published a checklist. What it has said is that you should build on AI Max for Search, AI Max for Shopping and Performance Max. It doesn’t say those are hard requirements for the new formats.
The older statement is clearer. Google’s May 21, 2025 post said advertisers running Performance Max, Shopping, and Search campaigns with broad match, including AI Max for Search, can appear in AI Overviews and AI Mode. For Highlighted Answers specifically, The Register reported that Google applies standards similar to its existing ad filtering and the same auction mechanics, and that the quality threshold wasn’t spelled out.
Put those together and the safe reading is this: broad match, AI Max and Performance Max campaigns are the ones likely to be considered first, and keyword-by-keyword exact match campaigns are the least likely. Google didn’t mention keywordless targeting in any of the pages we reviewed, so we can’t tell you how it fits. Dynamic Search Ads are being retired and auto-upgraded to AI Max starting September 2026, per PPC Land’s report on Google’s April 15 announcement, which means a chunk of accounts are moving that direction anyway.
How will you measure ads in AI Mode?
Not cleanly, at least not yet. Google hasn’t described reporting or controls for the new formats, and the trade press has flagged the gap.
PPC Land noted a May 2026 change to the search terms report, where AI Mode query data may reflect AI-inferred intent rather than the literal words someone typed. Search Engine Journal’s Brooke Osmundson wrote that conversational queries may make it harder to see which prompts influenced performance. Both are analysis, not Google documentation. For you, it means the search terms report will tell you less about what people asked. Plan to judge results at the campaign and conversion level, and keep a holdout where you can. Our write-up on the paid search incrementality test walks through how.
What should you do before the rollout reaches you?
Get the foundation right and wait for real data. You don’t need to rebuild anything for a test you can’t join, but a few jobs pay off whichever way Google goes.
- Check your landing pages. Business Agent for Leads answers from your website. If your pricing, service area or policies are vague or out of date, the agent will repeat that. Search Engine Journal also pointed to landing page content as a priority.
- Clean up your product feed. AI-powered Shopping ads draw on product data, and structured product data was another point Osmundson raised. Titles, attributes and availability should match the page.
- Set your brand text guidelines. Google made text guidelines global for AI Max and Performance Max on February 26, 2026. Use them to steer the words Gemini writes for you. They won’t control the independent explainer, but they limit the rest.
- Look at your first-party conversion tracking. If the search terms report gets blurrier, your own conversion signals carry more weight.
- Decide your appetite now. Write down what you’d accept: test budget, brand risk, what you’d pause if the explainer says something off. It’s easier before an invitation lands.
On the broader pattern, if you’ve been following the Performance Max black box debate, you’ll recognize it. More of the ad is assembled by Google, and the part you control shrinks to inputs: your assets, your data, your budget and your guardrails.
A word of caution: nearly everything published about these formats traces back to one Google announcement. No independent performance data exists yet, and the price, placement frequency and lift are all unknown. Anyone quoting results is guessing.
Ads in AI Mode are a U.S. test, not a feature you can turn on. Two formats, Conversational Discovery ads and Highlighted Answers, run inside the answer, and Google writes an explainer next to your ad that you can’t edit. Spend this quarter on landing pages, product data and conversion tracking so you’re ready, and don’t move budget until someone shows real results.
Want to know if your account is ready for AI-driven ad formats?
We’ll review your campaign structure, feeds and landing pages and tell you what to fix first.
Sources
- Google Ads & Commerce blog, “A new generation of ads for the AI era of Search,” May 20, 2026.
- Search Engine Roundtable, Barry Schwartz, “Google Conversational Discovery Ads & Highlighted Answers,” May 21, 2026.
- PPC Land, Luis Rijo, “Google’s new AI search ad formats reshape how brands reach buyers,” May 20, 2026 (source for U.S. testing status, Business Agent for Leads beta, Adthena figure, AI Max conversion claim and the search terms report change).
- Search Engine Journal, Brooke Osmundson, “Google introduces new ad formats in AI Mode,” May 20, 2026.
- The Register, Brandon Vigliarolo, “Google explains how it will infuse ads into AI answers,” May 21, 2026.
- Google Ads & Commerce blog, “More opportunities for your business on Google Search,” May 21, 2025.
- Question wording in the section headings reflects common search questions and was not validated against a keyword tool for this post.