Google Expands Ads in AI Overviews: What B2B Marketers Do Now
AI search is moving from “interesting” to “monetized” — fast. If you’re a B2B marketer or media buyer, that matters because monetization is usually the moment a platform’s priorities shift from experimentation to scaled distribution.
Google just gave two clear signals that AI search ads aren’t theoretical anymore. First, a Google executive explicitly framed why ads make sense inside AI search experiences. Second, Google confirmed it’s expanding ads in AI Overviews into additional markets. Together, that’s a directional change you should treat like breaking news, because it affects how your brand shows up when buyers ask questions — not just when they type keywords.
The news: Google is validating and expanding ads in AI Overviews
Two verified updates from Google News coverage of AI Overviews ads:
1) A Google executive is drawing a line between AI search and Gemini when it comes to advertising.
A Google VP’s position is summarized directly in the provided quote: “A Google VP explains why ads make sense in AI search but not Gemini — yet.” (Source: Google News: AI Overviews Ads, official_announcement)
The key takeaway for marketers is the framing: Google is treating “AI search experiences” as an environment where ads are logically compatible, while Gemini is positioned differently for now.
2) Google is expanding ads in AI Overviews to additional markets.
This is stated plainly in the provided quote: “Google to expand ads in AI Overviews to more markets.” (Source: Google News: AI Overviews Ads, official_announcement)
That expansion matters because it signals broader rollout intent rather than a limited test. If your pipeline depends on search visibility, you should assume more of your audience will encounter AI Overviews with ads embedded.
What this means for B2B marketers (and AEO)
1) AI answers are becoming paid media surfaces
When ads “make sense in AI search,” it’s a statement about the role of AI Overviews in the search journey. It implies Google sees AI-generated summaries not just as an informational layer, but as a place where commercial intent can be met.
For B2B, that’s a big deal because your buyers often start with broad, high-level questions. Those are exactly the moments AI Overviews are designed to serve. If ads are present there, you’re now competing for attention inside the answer — not just below it.
This also applies to how you think about other answer engines. Even if the announcement here is specifically about Google AI Overviews, you should view it as part of a broader pattern across ChatGPT, Copilot, Perplexity, Brave, and Meta AI: answer experiences are becoming the interface. When one major platform proves monetization works in an answer layer, others will be pressured to define their own approach.
2) “AI search” and “Gemini” are being positioned as different ad contexts
The quote explicitly distinguishes AI search experiences from Gemini: ads make sense in the former, “not Gemini — yet.” (Source: Google News: AI Overviews Ads, official_announcement)
For you, the practical implication is segmentation. Don’t lump every AI product under one strategy. Treat “AI Overviews in Search” as closer to traditional search behavior (and therefore closer to performance media), while Gemini may be framed differently in how users engage and how ads might (or might not) appear.
3) Market expansion means your competitive set changes market-by-market
Google expanding ads in AI Overviews “to more markets” means competitive dynamics won’t be uniform. (Source: Google News: AI Overviews Ads, official_announcement)
In practical terms: if you run multi-region campaigns, you may see differences in how often AI Overviews appear, how ads are presented around them, and how that impacts click distribution. Even without additional specifics, the expansion itself is enough to trigger a readiness plan.
Action items: what to do right now
1) Update your reporting to isolate “AI Overview” impact
You can’t manage what you can’t see. Treat AI Overviews as their own visibility layer. Build a simple internal dashboard or weekly review that answers:
- Which priority queries are most likely to be answered rather than clicked?
- Where are you losing attention because the answer is “good enough” without a site visit?
- Where do you still win because buyers need depth, proof, or pricing?
Keep this grounded in the fact that Google is expanding AI Overviews ads to more markets (Source: Google News: AI Overviews Ads, official_announcement). Expansion increases the odds your funnel will be affected.
2) Rework your content for “answer inclusion,” not just rankings
AEO is about being the brand the answer engine pulls from or aligns with. With AI Overviews becoming more monetized, you need content that is:
- Specific enough to be quotable
- Structured enough to be extractable
- Clear enough to be trusted
You’re not changing this because of a vague trend. You’re changing it because Google is explicitly validating ads inside AI search experiences and expanding those ads more broadly. (Source: Google News: AI Overviews Ads, official_announcement)
3) Treat AI Overviews ads as a new creative constraint
If ads appear in AI Overviews, your messaging will be adjacent to (or embedded within) an AI-generated summary. That means:
- Your value prop must be instantly legible
- Your differentiation must be simple enough to survive comparison
- Your proof points must be easy to recognize
This is especially important in B2B where claims can sound similar. If the AI Overview compresses the category into a few lines, your ad has to do the work of making you distinct.
4) Plan for experimentation budgets by market
Because Google is expanding AI Overviews ads to more markets, you should pre-allocate test budgets by region rather than waiting for performance volatility to force your hand. (Source: Google News: AI Overviews Ads, official_announcement)
Even a modest “AI Overviews readiness” line item helps you respond quickly when the experience changes in your key markets.
5) Align paid + organic around the same question set
AI search experiences are built around questions. Your paid search, your landing pages, and your organic content should map to the same buyer questions — and answer them in consistent language.
This is the practical response to the Google VP’s framing that ads make sense in AI search. (Source: Google News: AI Overviews Ads, official_announcement) If the interface is question-first, your strategy needs to be question-first.
Bottom line
Google is both justifying ads inside AI search experiences and expanding ads in AI Overviews to more markets. (Source: Google News: AI Overviews Ads, official_announcement) For B2B marketers, that’s your cue to treat AI answers as a paid-and-organic battleground — and to operationalize AEO now, before your competitors do.