Google appears to be testing a new video feature in Shopping ads, featuring a play icon that turns into a “watch” button on hover.

How it works.

• Shopping ads display with a video play icon.
• The icon changes to a “watch” button when users hover over it.
• One click opens an online video player displaying looping product footage.
• Videos play in the search results page.

Why we care. By allowing users to view product videos directly in search results without leaving the page, your ads could benefit from higher interaction rates, as video ads often outperform static ads in terms of engagement.

However, this change could also reduce traffic to landing pages, as Google appears to be focused on retaining users within its ecosystem. This could change how you measure success, prioritizing in-ad interactions over website visits.

The big picture. This isn’t Google’s first attempt at video search ads. A similar feature was tested in 2018, suggesting the company’s continued interest in rich media advertising formats.

By the numbers. Although performance metrics are not yet available for this test, video ads generally see higher engagement rates than static alternatives.

What to watch. Whether Google will roll out this feature more widely and what impact it could have on e-commerce conversion rates.

Between the lines. This test suggests that Google continues to blur the lines between traditional search ads and rich media advertising, potentially providing advertisers with more engaging ways to showcase their products.

There is also an aspect of testing aimed at making the search experience more interactive, similar to last week’s test of expandable product ad carousels. These tests could indicate that Google wants to keep more users on the Google search results page instead of clicking through. This will definitely affect traffic to the advertiser’s landing pages.

Credit. The feature was first spotted and shared by Saad AK on X: