Google to bring ads to AI Overviews in India later this year; unveils AI-powered marketing tools

These ads would appear directly within AI Overviews when relevant to both the query and the response provided and will be labelled as "Sponsored", the company said.

In AI Overviews, ads would appear when relevant to both the query and the response provided  and will be labelled as "Sponsored" (Image source: Google)

In May, Google announced that it has also started testing ads in AI Mode, the company's answer engine-style search experience. Ads may appear "where relevant" below and integrated into AI Mode responses during this test, the company said.

Google rolled out AI Mode to India earlier this week, making it the first country outside the United States where the feature is widely available.

Advertisers who are using Performance Max, Shopping and Search campaigns with "broad match", including AI Max for Search campaigns, will be eligible to have their ads appear in AI Overviews and AI Mode, the company said.

AI-powered ad tools

Google is also launching a new 'Generated For You' feature within Product Studio, a suite of AI-powered tools designed to help businesses create and enhance product images, later this year.

The feature generates images and videos by identifying the most relevant products from a merchant’s catalog that can be used across Google's platforms such as Google Shopping, Google Business Profiles and Google Ads. It also analyses trends to suggest fresh campaign concepts and seasonal promotions to help products stand out.

"In the past year, advertiser adoption of Google AI for generating creative has gone up by over 250 percent. We think this new tool will help advertisers scale even higher quality creative that resonates with audiences and make every interaction in the journey count," Taylor said.

These announcements were part of a slew of new features and AI-powered tools the tech giant unveiled at Google Marketing Live India, the company's annual conclave for advertisers and marketing professionals.

Taylor stated that Google is also soon introducing agentic capabilities across its ads products, starting with Google Ads and Google Analytics, helping advertisers set up campaigns that drive higher performance.

"These agentic tools can learn from advertiser inputs, including data sets, landing pages, assets and real time campaign performance to take the guesswork out of achieving their business goals," he said.

For instance, in Google Ads, the agent will deliver personalised recommendations for new and existing campaigns proposing effective keywords, audience strategies, and crafting compelling ads. In Google Analytics, marketers will be proactively provided new insights or trends that can help them make more informed decisions about their marketing campaigns.

YouTube's shoppable connected TV ads now in India

Google has also extended shoppable connected TV ads on YouTube to India, along with shoppable mastheads on its mobile platform.

YouTube’s masthead is the platform’s most prominent placement, allowing brands to showcase new product launches and drive traffic during key moments.

"YouTube on CTV is the most-watched streaming service on televisions in India, and has been for the past 12 months," said Roma Datta Chobey, Managing Director - Digital First Businesses, Google India.

YouTube's Shoppable Masthead on mobile phones (Image source: Google)

87 percent of Indian consumers are watching YouTube or Shorts as part of their shopping journey, she said.

The company is also rolling out an enhanced version of its ad solutions, enabling marketers to build high-performing campaigns with minimal effort and drive profitable growth through Search and YouTube.

This includes AI Max for search campaigns, which learns from a brand’s landing pages, ads, and keyword lists to better understand what they offer and shows their ads at the most relevant moments.

Another tool, Smart Bidding Exploration, actively explores new high-performing searches across a range of unique categories to help businesses identify new conversion opportunities. This enables marketers to predict and capture less obvious opportunities.

Cashify and Swiggy were among the first beta testers of these new offerings, the company said. For instance, Cashify ran an early test of AI Max search campaigns, which led to a 15 percent increase in conversions and a 12 percent reduction in customer acquisition costs.

Arjun Choudhary, Swiggy's VP (Revenue and Growth - Head Food Delivery and Instamart), said "Testing Retention Mode has helped cut re-engagement costs by nearly two-thirds, and we’re looking to scale this success across new business lines,"

"Google AI is supporting every stage of our marketing - from accelerating creative production to smarter bidding and more effective measurement. These capabilities have helped us improve results while making our campaigns more efficient," he added.

India is Google's largest market in terms of users and a critical region for its future growth, including its AI efforts.

Google India's gross advertising revenue grew to Rs 31,221 crore for the financial year ended March 2024 (FY24), a 11.3 percent increase year-on-year (YoY) from Rs 28,040 crore in FY23. Net advertising sales stood at Rs 2,743.4 crore in FY24, up from Rs 2,323.1 crore in FY23.

The company's total revenues surged 26 percent YoY to Rs 5,921.1 crore for FY24, compared to Rs 4,700 crore revenue in FY23. Net profit saw a modest 6 percent increase to Rs 1,424.9 crore in FY24, from Rs 1,342.5 crore in FY23.