Google AI Mode Begins Testing Text-Link Ads

Google is testing ads shaped like ordinary text links inside AI Mode answers, Search Engine Roundtable reported on September 15. The ad looks like a normal text link, carries only a "Sponsored" label above it, and blends naturally into the AI-generated answer. The label sits directly above the ad copy, in the same spot as the answer text.

The test first came to light through screenshots Sachin Patel posted on X and Search Engine Watch. The screenshots showed three examples: the ad as it appeared on desktop, a regular ad format placed separately below the answer for comparison, and a mobile screen. Google had shown text anchor links in AI Mode answers before, back in April, but Search Engine Roundtable said that was not an ad, and this is the first time the format has been used for advertising.

Search Engine Roundtable's Barry Schwartz said the ad was so natural-looking it was hard to tell it was an ad. He noted that "people tend not to click links inside AI answers much, so a more noticeable ad format is needed," offering the view that this text-link ad's click-through rate could end up lower than a regular ad's.

Google's official position was not included in the report. The exact date the test started and which countries' advertisers it covers are also not known, so the full scale remains unclear.

Around the same time, Google Ads appears to be widening AI Mode ad placements from another direction. According to Search Engine Land's report on September 7, Google is testing ads appearing on exact-match and phrase-match keywords within AI Mode. AdsSquare founder Anthony Higman first noticed this test, and Google subsequently confirmed it was real.

Until now, new ad formats such as highlighted answers in AI Mode were only usable in AI Max and Performance Max campaigns. If this test expands, regular search campaigns would also become eligible, though ads would only appear when a user's intent clearly and directly matches the search query, according to Google Ads liaison Ginny Marvin on LinkedIn. Both tests are still in an early stage, running on a limited scale rather than for all users.

With two such reports emerging in the same week, Google appears to be widening ad space in AI Mode from several directions at once.

In Korea

Whether either test is also running in Korean-language AI Mode is not stated in this material. Marketers running Google Ads in Korea would need to check their own accounts directly to see whether these ad formats have been added.

Source: Search Engine Roundtable, Barry Schwartz, September 15, 2026. Checked September 15, 2026. Read the original