Google begins broad rollout of ads in AI review search results

Alphabet’s Google is starting a broad rollout of ads that will appear in and alongside artificial intelligence-generated summaries that appear at the top of some search results. This is intended to show investors that expensive artificial intelligence projects can generate revenue.

Some investors worry that generative artificial intelligence, the technology that underlies Google’s artificial intelligence summaries, could cannibalize the tech giant’s search business, which is still by far its most lucrative unit. In May, the company said it would begin testing ads in search summaries called AI Reviews, and now it’s making the feature available to anyone in the U.S. who uses the Google mobile app.

Sponsored panels placed above, below and within summaries began to suggest products related to the search term. At a demonstration for reporters held before the announcement, the question was how to remove a grass stain from jeans? brought AI-generated instructions, followed by ads for Tide and OxiClean laundry products.

A company spokesman said the company would not share advertising revenue with publishers whose material is cited in AI Reviews.

For some queries, Google places AI overviews, which summarize the content of search results, at the top of the page. First introduced in May, they were criticized for displaying inaccurate information and limiting the need to navigate to cited sites that would generate advertising revenue from visits.

The company was under pressure to prove it did not have an unfair advantage over competitors in the search and advertising technology markets, which could have consequences for its progress in artificial intelligence. The U.S. Department of Justice has filed two antitrust cases against the company in recent years, and in August a judge ruled that Google had illegally monopolized its search engine business.

The Justice Department is considering remedies, including forcing the search engine giant to share valuable search data with competitors – which they could use to improve their own artificial intelligence tools and services – or even disbanding the company, according to Bloomberg. In a separate case, the Justice Department brought similar charges against Google’s advertising technology unit. The trial ended at the end of last month.