The second is advertiser tools. If you’re a small business, you’re not thinking about all the queries people are going to type. AI is very good at figuring out what keywords to use, what the optimal creative is, and generating all that.
The third part is the newest: ads with new experiences. Our general philosophy is to create a great consumer product, then monetize. Because the business is so strong and healthy, it’s a luxury for us.
What have you learned from experiments with ads in AI mode?
Ads are always separate from organic results and clearly labeled. If we don’t think an ad is relevant, we don’t show an ad. Probably the biggest principle of all is that ads should be useful.
What [ads in AI Mode] Most of the things shown are intuitive. If it’s relevant, the user will click on it. If not, they won’t.
In Davos, Demis Hassabis said Google has no plans to bring advertising to Gemini. How are you thinking about it now?
We’ve focused on ads in AI Mode and AI Overview because we see them as an extension of the search experience. This is the most natural place for us to experiment early.
I would hope that the learnings we learn from ads in AI mode will lead to what we want to do in the Gemini app going forward. We’re able to take all those learnings in a context and a structure that users are already familiar with from ads. It’s a strange thing to say, but our research shows that users really like ads in the context of search. Over time, we’ll figure out what makes sense in the Gemini app.
So aren’t you guys completely dismissing ads in Gemini?
No, we are not dismissing them. This is not where we are focusing.
Gemini is a huge product now—it’s grown very quickly. OpenAI is already trying out advertising in ChatGPT. Why do you think Gemini is not ready for commercials?
We are extremely pleased with how well it is growing. I would say it’s more a question of priority – what is the right area of focus right now?
Do you think OpenAI introduced ads too early?
It is difficult for me to say. I think it will really depend on how they do it. We’ve found that when we advertise correctly, it complements the product experience. But the really important thing is to do it right, and that means relevance, quality, and not putting ads where users don’t want to see ads.
it is difficult to. We have over 20 years of experience learning how to do this. It’s less a question of timing and more a question of doing it right, and in a way that’s respectful of users.
Google recently launched Gemini and Personal Intelligence in AI mode. I think advertisers would love to get their hands on that data. How are you thinking about it?
Personal intelligence is incredibly useful. For example, I was skiing and couldn’t see properly through my glasses—it was cloudy outside. I asked the AI mode a fairly vague question about what lens I needed for the circumstances. From my email, it was able to tell what resort I would be staying at, what mountain I would be skiing, and what the weather would be. It also contained the receipt my wife had sent me for my glasses—turns out she had purchased an extra lens for me. It’s like subtle magic.
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