Google just briefed brands on its new AI Mode ads. The pitch? “We’re moving from queries to conversations.” The reality? We’re moving from one algorithmic echo chamber to another.
The shift nobody asked for (but everyone’s getting anyway)
Google is fundamentally rewiring how search ads work. Instead of bidding on keywords like “best running shoes,” your ads will now appear based on the entire context of an AI conversation. Sounds sophisticated, right?
Here’s what it actually means: Google’s AI will read the room, analyse the chat, and decide whether your brand fits the vibe. You’re no longer targeting intent. You’re targeting… context. Whatever that means.
And before you ask — yes, this is happening whether you like it or not. Over 100 million users are already in AI Mode. By Q4, your ads will be there too.
The uncomfortable truth about conversational advertising
Let’s be honest about what’s really happening here. Google is asking you to trust its AI to understand nuance, context, and human conversation better than you understand your own customers.
The same AI that sometimes tells people to put glue on pizza.
But here’s the kicker: Google needs this to work. Search ads are their cash cow — $175 billion in 2023 alone. They can’t afford to let ChatGPT or Perplexity eat their lunch. So they’re betting the farm on AI Mode, hoping advertisers will follow them into this brave new world where machines decide when your brand is relevant to a conversation.
Why this should terrify you (if you’re doing marketing right)
Remember when Meta’s algorithm started optimising everyone’s ads into the same beige, conversion-focused drivel? That’s about to be your Google Ads experience.
Here’s what’s coming:
- Your carefully crafted brand voice? Reduced to whatever the AI thinks fits the conversation
- Your targeting strategy? Replaced by Google’s black-box “context matching”
- Your creative differentiation? Good luck standing out when every ad is served based on the same algorithmic interpretation of “relevance”
Google says advertisers using Performance Max or AI Max will automatically appear in AI Mode. Translation: you’re already opted in. The machine is already learning. The homogenisation has begun.
The questions Google doesn’t want you asking
Will people even click on ads in an AI conversation? Nobody knows. Google’s banking on it, but early data from ChatGPT’s experiments with ads suggests users treat conversational AI differently than search results.
What happens when users realise they’re being advertised to based on their entire conversation, not just their query? The privacy implications are… uncomfortable.
And here’s the big one: If Google’s AI is deciding when and how your ads appear based on conversational context, what happens to brand control? You’re essentially handing over your media strategy to an algorithm that thinks in probabilities, not positioning.
What businesses should actually do about this
1. Stop playing defence, start playing offence
While everyone else is scrambling to understand AI Mode, you need to be building a brand that transcends algorithmic placement. This isn’t about optimising your Google Ads campaigns anymore. It’s about creating something the algorithm can’t ignore.
Action steps:
- Audit your current creative. If it looks like everyone else’s, bin it.
- Develop a distinctive brand voice that works across contexts — because you won’t control when it appears
- Create modular creative assets that maintain impact whether they’re shown in search, AI Mode, or anywhere else
2. Double down on your owned channels
If Google controls when your ads appear in AI Mode, you need channels where you control the narrative. Your website isn’t just a landing page anymore — it’s your last line of defence against algorithmic homogenisation.
What to focus on:
- Build robust SEO foundations that don’t rely on paid placement
- Create content that answers questions before AI Mode does
- Optimise your landing pages to convert traffic you do control
3. Master the fundamentals (because the robots can’t)
Google’s AI might understand context, but it doesn’t understand culture. It can’t read a room the way humans can. It can’t create the unexpected connection that makes someone stop scrolling.
Here’s your competitive advantage:
- Invest in proper tracking. If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it. Set up comprehensive analytics that goes beyond Google’s black-box reporting.
- Test radical creative. While others optimise for the algorithm, test creative that breaks the mould. The weirder, the better.
- Build direct relationships. Email lists, SMS, push notifications — anything that doesn’t require an algorithm’s permission to reach your audience.
4. Prepare for the pay-per-impression reality
Google’s hedging their bets with CPM (cost per thousand impressions) pricing for AI Mode. They know clicks might tank. This changes everything about your economics.
Strategic shifts you need to make:
- Calculate your true cost per acquisition across impression-based models
- Develop creative specifically designed for impression value, not just clicks
- Build attribution models that account for view-through conversions
5. Use AI Mode as intelligence, not infrastructure
Instead of letting AI Mode dictate your strategy, use it as market intelligence. What conversations is Google inserting your brand into? What contexts does it think you’re relevant for? This data is gold — if you know how to mine it.
Intelligence gathering tactics:
- Track which queries trigger your AI Mode placements
- Analyse the context patterns where you appear (and where you don’t)
- Use these insights to inform your broader digital strategy
The uncomfortable conversation about creative
Here’s what nobody wants to admit: Most brands are boring. And AI Mode will expose this ruthlessly.
When your ad appears mid-conversation, it needs to earn its interruption. This isn’t about clever targeting or pristine product feeds. It’s about having something worth saying.
The creative principles that will matter:
Be unexpectedly useful. Don’t just advertise — add value to the conversation. If someone’s asking about running injuries, don’t just push your shoes. Offer insight.
Embrace creative contrast. When everyone’s ads sound like ChatGPT wrote them (because it probably did), human weirdness becomes your superpower.
Tell micro-stories. You’ve got seconds of attention in a conversation flow. Make them count with creative that doesn’t need context to land.
A final provocation
In twelve months, every brand will be using AI Mode. Every competitor will have access to the same contextual targeting. The same algorithmic placement. The same automated optimisation.
What will make you different?
If your answer is “better product feeds” or “cleaner data” or “higher bids,” you’re already losing.
The only sustainable advantage in an AI-dominated world is creativity that algorithms can’t replicate and competitors can’t copy. Everything else is just feeding the machine.
And machines don’t buy products. People do.
At least for now.
