Michał Stekla
AI in Advertising: The Era of Boring Banners is Coming to an End
Not going to click? No worries. Now, a chatbot will sell you a product before you even have the chance to ask about it. Google is just launching a new generation of ads that won’t appear alongside content – they will become the content. AI, instead of suggesting something objective, will present you with a sponsored link, a product from an AdSense campaign, and explain why it’s worth clicking.
Sounds familiar? Yes, but now it’s happening not on Google’s page, but in your AI assistant.
Ads in AI? It's no longer "if", but "when"
Google is testing a new form of advertising as part of the AdSense for Search programme, but not in the classic search engine – only in third-party chatbots. Partners? Including iAsk and Liner. Sponsored content appears in real-time during a conversation with AI.
At the same time, the giant is developing two new search systems: AI Overviews and AI Mode – both heavily based on generative responses. You're no longer provided with a list of links. Instead, you receive a personalised page with an answer, guiding questions, charts, maps, and… advertising inserted between words. It seems AI is advising you, yet it is selling.
Bot as a Salesperson. And what next?
Experts warn: if companies do not separate objective information from advertisement, users will stop trusting AI. Because a chatbot as an advisor is one thing, and a chatbot as a salesperson is another. And if everything is sponsored, how can you recognise what is "the truth"?
Daniel M. McCarthy from the University of Maryland notes: advertisements spoil the user experience, but companies cannot afford to forgo them – because maintaining large AI models is a massive cost.
According to WordStream, already 66% of searches on Google end without a click, and on phones – over 75%. This is a blow to AdSense. People are not visiting websites, not clicking on banners, but just asking the bot. In Europe, over 41 million people actively use ChatGPT monthly – and Poland is in the Top 5.
Google sees this and is panicking. Gemini (their own chatbot) is not yet catching up with ChatGPT, which has 84% of the market, but is eating a piece of its own cake. Every question to Gemini is one less for the classic search engine. And every question without a click means... less money from ads.
Google has no choice. It must advertise in AI
As Ireneusz Piętowski from Brainwave says, Google cannot abandon its existing model overnight – it is the foundation of its revenues and of millions of businesses worldwide. But it also cannot ignore the fact that people already prefer quick, convenient answers from chat rather than laborious clicking through links. That’s why Google is moving ads into the heart of AI responses. And this is just the beginning. However, OpenAI has already hired people from advertising agencies. Microsoft is experimenting with ads in Copilot. Perplexity is testing sponsored follow-up questions. And no one is asking whether this will catch on – only how quickly and how profoundly it will change the internet.
Because if you don’t want to click an ad, the ad will click you.
AEO, not SEO. The New Art of Being Noticed
The future of online marketing is no longer just SEO (Search Engine Optimization), but AEO – Artificial Intelligence Optimization. That is: let the chatbot choose your site as a source. In other words: write text so that AI deems it "useful".
This will demand a completely new approach from marketers. No more racing for keywords. What matters is what AI considers credible, complete, and useful. Otherwise, you will fail.
Google has already announced the Personal Context mode – an AI that analyses not only search history but even... your emails. In return, you will receive hyper-personalised results and advertisements that hit the mark exactly. For advertisers, it is a dream. For users? For some – a nightmare.
And what if someone has had enough? Google – or perhaps OpenAI – will probably soon offer a subscription without ads. Because privacy will become a luxury commodity.
Bot as a salesperson. And what next?
Experts warn: if companies do not separate objective information from advertising, users will stop trusting AI. Because a chatbot as an advisor is one thing, and a chatbot as a salesperson is quite another. And if everything is sponsored, how can we recognise what is "truth"?
Daniel M. McCarthy from the University of Maryland notes: advertisements ruin the user experience, but companies cannot give them up – as maintaining large AI models is a substantial cost.
The future? A chatbot that remembers what you are looking for. One that knows when you are planning a holiday, what shoes you like, and what you buy for Christmas. And which – quite "incidentally" – offers you deals, discounts, and links to shops. Without clicking. Without choosing. Without asking.
Is this what we want? Not necessarily. But it is coming.
Source: Rzeczpospolita
