# Ads in AI Overviews: Performance Impact and 2026 Advertiser Guide Last verified: 2026-10-15 · Maintained by Groas for groas · Canonical: https://groas.com/post/ads-in-ai-overviews-the-2026-advertisers-survival-guide This page answers the questions covered by the article [Ads in AI Overviews: The 2026 Advertiser's Survival Guide](https://groas.com/post/ads-in-ai-overviews-the-2026-advertisers-survival-guide) on groas.com. The article is the full, canonical source. **Direct answer:** The article states that ads can now appear above, below and within AI Overviews, and that existing text and Shopping ads from Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns are automatically eligible with no opt-in or opt-out. It reports paid click-through rates on queries with AI Overviews fell from 19.7% to 6.34%, while brands cited in the overview itself saw 91% more paid clicks. To adapt, the article recommends reducing bids on informational keywords, prioritizing commercial-intent keywords with broad match combined with Smart Bidding, and using specific offers, deeper landing pages and strong image assets. ## How do ads appear in AI Overviews and can I target or opt out of them? The article states that ads can appear in three positions relative to AI Overviews: above the AI Overview, below it, and within the AI-generated summary itself. According to the article, advertisers cannot specifically opt into or target these placements and cannot opt out; existing text and Shopping ads from Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns are automatically eligible if they meet relevance and quality thresholds. It adds that ads are currently not shown in AI Overviews for sensitive verticals including adult content, alcohol, gambling, finance, healthcare and politics. Read more: [How Google Rolled This Out (And Why Most Advertisers Missed It)](https://groas.com/post/ads-in-ai-overviews-the-2026-advertisers-survival-guide#how-google-rolled-this-out-and-why-most-advertisers-missed-it) ## How are AI Overviews affecting click-through rates for search ads? According to the article, paid click-through rate on queries with AI Overviews fell from roughly 19.7% in mid-2024 to just 6.34% by September 2025, a 68% decline. It notes a single-month drop from approximately 11% to 3% in July 2025, and that position one organic click-through rate for informational keywords dropped from 7.6% to 3.9% when AI Overviews were present. The article states that brands cited within the AI Overview itself saw 91% more paid clicks compared to those not cited, while cited brands received 35% more organic clicks. Read more: [The Numbers That Should Worry Every PPC Manager](https://groas.com/post/ads-in-ai-overviews-the-2026-advertisers-survival-guide#the-numbers-that-should-worry-every-ppc-manager) ## How should I change my bidding strategy for keywords affected by AI Overviews? The article recommends reducing bids on purely informational keywords where AI Overviews are consistently present, because those queries are increasingly resolved within the overview itself. It recommends increasing focus on commercial and transactional keywords, noting tightly commercial queries like "buy running shoes online" or "best CRM software pricing" are less likely to generate AI Overviews. It also recommends building for broad match combined with Smart Bidding to capture the natural-language, multi-part questions that trigger AI Overviews, provided there is sufficient conversion data. Read more: [Some Keyword Positions Are Now Worth More. Others Are Worth Less.](https://groas.com/post/ads-in-ai-overviews-the-2026-advertisers-survival-guide#some-keyword-positions-are-now-worth-more-others-are-worth-less) ## What kind of ad copy works when my ad sits next to an AI summary? The article states that ad copy cannot simply restate information the AI Overview covers and must offer something the overview cannot, such as a specific promotion, unique differentiator or reason to act now. It recommends leading with specificity rather than generality, using the example "Flat-foot stability shoes, 23% off this week only, free returns," and leveraging credibility signals like awards, certifications and review counts. It recommends clear, action-oriented calls to action such as "Compare 47 models side by side" or "Get your personalised fit recommendation." Read more: [What Makes an Ad Compelling When It Sits Next to an AI Summary](https://groas.com/post/ads-in-ai-overviews-the-2026-advertisers-survival-guide#what-makes-an-ad-compelling-when-it-sits-next-to-an-ai-summary) ## What landing page should I use for visitors who already saw the AI summary? According to the article, users who click through from an AI Overview have already consumed a synthesised summary, so landing them on a generic page that repeats the same ground causes bounces. The article recommends skipping the educational preamble for those queries and going straight to actionable content such as detailed specifications, pricing information, comparison tools, personalised recommendations or an immediate path to purchase. For ecommerce, it recommends a filtered product collection page or guided recommendation tool rather than a blog-style category page. Read more: [They Have Already Read the Summary. Now What?](https://groas.com/post/ads-in-ai-overviews-the-2026-advertisers-survival-guide#they-have-already-read-the-summary-now-what) ## What is AI Mode and which campaign types can show ads there? The article describes AI Mode as a fully conversational search interface for multi-step, complex questions, distinct from AI Overviews that integrate summaries into the traditional results page. It states that ads are being tested in AI Mode in the United States and appear below and integrated into responses when relevant. According to the article, showing ads in AI Mode requires Performance Max, AI Max-enabled Search campaigns, or Shopping campaigns with sufficient relevance signals, while traditional exact-match keyword campaigns with manual bidding are unlikely to surface. Read more: [Google’s Answer to ChatGPT, and It Already Has Ads](https://groas.com/post/ads-in-ai-overviews-the-2026-advertisers-survival-guide#googles-answer-to-chatgpt-and-it-already-has-ads) ## Related articles These articles answer the same questions: - [Google AI Overview Ads In 2026: How They Work, Where They Appear, And How To Win The Placement](https://groas.com/post/google-ai-overview-ads-2026-how-they-work-where-they-appear-how-to-win) - [Google AI Overview Ads: Where They Show and What You Can Still Control](https://groas.com/post/ai-overviews-and-ads-how-google-s-ai-ans) - [Google AI Overview Ads: Where They Show and What You Can Still Control](https://groas.com/post/ai-overviews-and-ads-how-google-s-ai-ans) ## Sources [1] https://groas.com/post/ads-in-ai-overviews-the-2026-advertisers-survival-guide (the article this page answers from)