Google’s AI mode showed text ads in 29.45% of marketing queries in a new SE Ranking study, less than a year after ads started appearing in AI-generated search results.
The ads appeared in 14,733 queries in the study, which analyzed US commercial searches where text ads can appear, excluding product carousels.
AI mode ad adoption has been accelerated. SE Ranking said ads will start appearing in AI mode responses in late 2025. By mid-2026, nearly one in three commercial queries in its data set showed a text ad. SE Ranking said that the actual ad rating may be higher because AI Mode results are not the same at all times.
The two advertisers often appeared together. Most AI mode ad blocks include more than one advertiser. SE Ranking found that 71.1% of ad queries displayed two ads in the same AI Mode response, while 28.9% displayed only one.
Better predicted ad impressions CPC. Keywords with higher costs are more likely to trigger AI mode ads.
- Ad reach was 24.33% for keywords with CPCs under $2.
- It increased to 32.45% of keywords between $2 and $10, then jumped to 53.56% of keywords at $10 or more.
- SE Ranking said search volume and keyword difficulty do not show the same relationship as ad frequency.
Ad availability varies across categories. Pets had the highest rate, with ads appearing in 72.38% of the keywords analyzed. Health care had the lowest, at 2.64%.
- The top ad categories were often the best markets with clear paths to paid conversions.
- Lower ad categories will likely include YMYL information or purpose, where the commercial need may be lower or Google may be more cautious.
Advertisers were rarely quoted. AI mode ad buying did not make advertisers more likely to be mentioned as a source in the same response. Only 11.53% of advertisers’ domains appeared among the identified sources for the keywords they advertised on. At the URL level, the overlap is down to 1.95%.
- This was true even after comparing advertisers with similar non-advertising domains based on domain strength, backlinks, referring domains, and organic visibility, SE Ranking said.
Biological overlap was limited. Advertisers also rarely rank organically for the same keywords. Only 2.32% of advertised URLs ranked organically in the queries where their ads appeared. At the domain level, the overlap increased to 15.35%.
- About 85% of advertisers did not appear in the organic results for the same keywords where they showed AI Mode ads, according to the study.
Why do we care. Buying visibility in AI Mode does not increase your chances of being cited or ranked organically. Manage AI-mode ads, targeted sources, and organic rankings as separate visual channels.
About the data. SE Ranking analyzed 50,032 commercial keywords across 20 niches, an average of 2,500 keywords per niche. The data shows US AI Mode results collected on June 30. SE Ranking noted that ad behavior may change as Google expands AI-specific formats.
Lesson. AI mode now shows ads for about 1 in 3 ad queries
Search Engine Land is owned by Semrush. We are committed to providing the highest quality of marketing articles. Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is written by an employee or paid contractor of Semrush Inc.
