Learn how Google Ads appear inside AI Overviews

Google has quietly changed the most valuable real estate in search.

AI Overviews now sit at the top of many results pages, summarising answers before users ever scroll. And in certain cases, Google Ads now appear inside that AI-generated experience.

This does not mean Google Ads are dead.
It means the way they work has changed.

If you want your ads to show in AI Overviews, and actually perform once they do, you need to understand two things:

1. How Google decides which ads are eligible to appear inside AI Overviews.
2. How user behaviour changes after the AI has already done the explaining.

Most advertisers are still operating as if neither has happened.

How ads appear inside Google’s AI Overviews

There is no separate campaign type called “AI Overview Ads”.

Google automatically selects ads when it believes a user, after reading an AI-generated summary, would benefit from a relevant next step. These placements are contextual, intent-driven, and powered by the same AI systems that generate the Overview itself.

That distinction matters.

Ads shown above or below an AI Overview are standard search placements.
Ads shown within the AI Overview are not.

To be eligible for placement inside the AI Overview itself, your campaigns must allow Google to interpret intent beyond literal keywords. In practice, that means relying on AI-led matching.

Campaign types that consistently qualify include:

• Search campaigns using Broad match with Smart Bidding
• AI Max for Search
• Performance Max
• Dynamic Search Ads

These formats give Google the flexibility it needs to match ads to meaning, not phrasing. Exact and phrase-heavy structures simply cannot cover the long, conversational queries that trigger AI Overviews in the first place.

Eligibility, however, is only the entry ticket.

Performance is where most accounts fail.

The real shift: AI Overviews change the user, not just the SERP

By the time someone sees your ad inside an AI Overview, they are no longer starting from zero.

They have already read:

• an explanation of the topic,
• a breakdown of options or approaches,
• and often, a short comparison of trade-offs.

The AI has done the educating.
The user is no longer asking “what is this?”

They are asking, often subconsciously, “what do I do next?”

This is the single most important shift advertisers need to understand.

Running the same sales-driven ads and sending traffic to generic landing pages is no longer just inefficient. It actively works against you.

Why most AI Overview ads underperform

Most Google Ads are still written for uninformed users.

They push price.
They push urgency.
They push action.

That made sense when the ad was the first explanation.

Inside an AI Overview, it feels jarring.

The user has just consumed a neutral, balanced summary. When your ad suddenly demands a commitment, the contrast creates friction.

The ad is not rejected because it is irrelevant.
It is rejected because it is premature.

How winning advertisers think about AI Overview traffic

High-performing AI Overview ads assume one thing: The user is already informed.

That changes the role of the ad.
Your ad is no longer the pitch. It is the bridge.

The best ads in AI Overviews do not shout. They guide.

They signal that you understand what the user has just learned, and that you can help them apply it to their own situation.

Instead of pushing for a conversion, they invite a decision.

What effective AI Overview ad copy actually does

Strong AI Overview ad copy focuses on reassurance and clarity.

It suggests a logical next step rather than a transaction.

Examples of this shift include:

• Moving from “Get a free quote” to “See if this is right for your situation”
• Moving from “Buy now” to “Understand your options before deciding”
• Moving from “Best price guaranteed” to “See how this works in real-world scenarios”

These are not softer ads. They are smarter ads.

They match the user’s mindset instead of fighting it.

Landing pages must change too

The fastest way to waste AI Overview traffic is to send it to a traditional sales page.

Users coming from an AI Overview do not want a homepage.
They do not want a wall of marketing claims.
They do not want a form before context.

They want confirmation.

The most effective landing pages for AI Overview traffic act as decision-assist pages. Their job is to help the user answer one question: “Is this the right next step for me?”

This means:

• Clearly stating who the solution is for, and who it is not for.
• Acknowledging alternatives rather than pretending they don’t exist.
• Explaining trade-offs honestly.
• Providing examples, scenarios, or ranges that reduce uncertainty.

When a form exists, it comes after clarity, not before it.

The quiet advantage of AI Overview traffic

There is a misconception that AI Overviews reduce commercial opportunity.

In reality, they concentrate it.

Users who click from inside an AI Overview are typically more qualified, more realistic, and more intentional. They convert differently, not worse.

But only if you let them.

Winning in this environment requires advertisers to stop treating every click as a closing attempt, and start treating it as a progression.