Eseandre Mordi
⬤ Google made a big move with ads in 2025, and the numbers tell the whole story. Throughout the year, the search giant quietly cranked up advertising inside AI Overview results, finding new ways to monetize its AI-powered search without killing the user experience.
⬤ Here's where it gets interesting: back in March 2025, Google Ads showed up in just 5.17% of searches that included AI Overviews. Fast forward to October, and that number exploded to 25.56%. Semrush tracked over 10 million keywords to spot this trend, and the pattern is crystal clear.
⬤ The middle months told a different story though. Between April and August, ad presence bounced around—hitting 6.93%, dropping to 3.83%, then 6.09%, 4.31%, and 3.90%. Google was clearly testing the waters, figuring out the sweet spot between ads and AI content.
⬤ That 394% jump over eight months isn't just a random stat—it shows Google is getting serious about making money from AI search. As AI Overviews become standard in search results, where ads sit and how often they appear will directly impact both user experience and Alphabet's bottom line. This is the new battlefield for search monetization.
Eseandre Mordi
