Google confirmed to Search Engine Land that it's testing ads in AI Mode for people who connect apps such as Gmail and Google Photos through Personal Intelligence. Until now, those users saw no ads there. Ads still follow the query, the AI answer and the person's interests, and the connected apps can now help personalise them. Google's help page says ads won't be based directly on someone's inbox or photo library but on 'summaries, excerpts and inferences' from them, and never on sensitive categories such as health or religion.
This reverses what a Google spokesperson told Search Engine Land in March, when Personal Intelligence was ad-free. My read: the most personal version of Google search is also the most valuable to advertisers, and Google was never going to leave it empty for long.
For brands, there's no new targeting to buy, and advertisers can't see anyone's connected apps. What changes is who might see the ads you already run in AI Mode, and why. That puts the weight on what Google understands about your products: the feed, the titles, the landing pages.
Our Google rule fits: clean data in, better results out. Google can now match ads to a richer picture of the person, so make sure the picture of your product is just as rich. And keep an eye on trust. People notice when an ad feels too close to their inbox, and the brand in the ad wears that feeling.