Google's Gemini set to introduce ads by 2026, reveals details to advertisers

What you need to know

• Reports claim that Google is holding calls with advertisers, as it actively seeks to bring ads to Gemini in 2026.
• It's still unknown how the company could display these ads in Gemini on web and, potentially, its mobile app.
• Recent rumors claim that OpenAI was preparing to roll out ads in ChatGPT's mobile app, a feature that would leverage the AI's "memories" about the user.

A recent development in the AI chatbot space reports that Google is preparing to slip even more ads into an app that Android users may lean on.

Word broke on X via a post by Walter Bloomberg (DeItaone), which states that Google is seeking to bring ads to its AI chatbot, Gemini. The social media post states that the company has "told advertisers" that it will bring ads to Gemini in 2026. What's unclear here is whether or not these ads would appear on the mobile app alongside the web app, though it's hard to imagine one without the other.

More importantly, the report doesn't state in what capacity users could see ads appear in Gemini next year.

The Gemini app is currently quite clean, offering an easy-to-use chatting space with the AI, as well as a sidebar with additional options on the left. There's a chance ads could appear within chats themselves, potentially as a footnote, or in that sidebar for more "creative" ad space. Aside from the theories, the X post adds that this report was the result of "agency buyers familiar with the conversations," according to Ad Week (paywalled), which published the exclusive.

The publication adds that, in a few calls with advertisers, Google has expressed its intent to roll out "ad placements" in Gemini next year. Supposedly, this new venture for Google for ads in Gemini is separate from what it's trying to do with AI Mode, though the details are still being hashed out.

Entering (another) new era

Google and ads seem like familiar territory for many users, especially those targeted by their recent searches. The company announced that it would bring ads to its bite-sized search results, AI Overviews, in 2024. During that time, Google said that it would only display ads if they were "relevant" to what the user had searched. If you're looking to compare cleaning products, it's likely you'll see ads for those same brands the AI compared for you.

We're entering an interesting juncture, as Google, at the time, stated that ads in AI Overviews were "helpful." This was a statement facilitated by user studies and tests where the company offered ads depending on the search and AI results. Perhaps these ads are more "helpful" or "accepted" in a web or search form, but to see them in Gemini, a chatbot and chatting space, might be a different story.

Regardless, this is seemingly the future we're staring at.

This report, highlighted by Walter Bloomberg on X, comes a few days after rumors claimed that OpenAI was looking at rolling out ads in ChatGPT. This would affect its mobile app experience, and it seems that ChatGPT could show ads based on its "memory," essentially, what it remembers about the user through their ads and frequent asks.