Google has begun testing ads in AI Mode, its conversational search experience, for people who opted into Personal Intelligence and linked their apps. Search Engine Land reported the test on October 16. The feature launched without ads, so this reverses Google’s original position.
Google says the ads will still reflect the query, the generated answer, and the person’s interests. What changes is that insights from connected apps may now also shape which ads appear. Advertisers do not get direct access to those apps. Google also revised its privacy policy to describe how linked-app information can be used for ad personalization.
The announcement does not spell out the privacy protections it refers to. It also names no new advertiser controls, targeting options, or wider rollout, so nobody can yet plan spend around it.
The direction is clear: personal context is becoming ad inventory. Advertisers should ask their Google representatives how the test is scoped before assuming any eligibility.
Search Engine Land, Anu Adegbola, October 16, 2026.
