Google Tests Classic Search Ads Inside AI Mode

Google is trialling exact and phrase match Search ads in AI Mode for high-intent queries, giving advertisers a route in without AI Max or Performance Max.

Google has started a small trial that lets traditional Search campaigns show text ads inside AI Mode, its AI-driven search experience. The company is testing whether campaigns built on exact and phrase match keywords can appear there, a placement previously tied to its more automated ad products. Google Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin confirmed the experiment.

Until now, advertisers who wanted a presence in AI Mode generally leaned on AI Max or Performance Max for Search. The new test opens a different door: standard keyword campaigns can qualify for AI Mode placements without being converted to those automated formats. The trial applies only when a user's query signals a clear and direct purpose.

Marvin described the effort as a "small experiment" that recently began. She said exact and phrase match keywords can serve text ads in AI Mode only in situations where Google detects "explicit and direct user intent." That restriction keeps the placement narrow for now and ties it to searches where a shopper's request lines up closely with an advertiser's chosen terms.

The behaviour was first noticed by Anthony Higman, founder of the agency AdSquire. Higman said he verified the ads appearing across several campaigns and separate tests before it drew wider attention.

What it means for keyword control

The change matters because it gives marketers running tightly targeted campaigns a possible path into AI Mode while keeping their existing setup intact. Advertisers using restrictive match types would not have to widen their targeting or hand their campaigns over to Google's automated systems to gain some exposure in the AI experience.

That is a notable shift for teams that prefer precise keyword targeting. Exact and phrase match give advertisers firmer say over which searches trigger their ads. The test suggests those advertisers can extend the reach of campaigns they already run rather than rebuild them around newer products.

Still, the eligibility is not open-ended. Google is not letting every keyword-based campaign flow into AI Mode. The placement depends on Google's own read of the query, and only searches judged to carry explicit intent will qualify. Advertisers cannot force their way in simply by using exact or phrase match keywords.

Where AI Max and Performance Max still fit

Google continues to present AI Max and Performance Max for Search as the tools built for longer, conversational queries. Those campaign types remain the route to the company's newer AI Mode ad formats, including Highlighted Answers. By contrast, the current test limits traditional Search campaigns to text ads connected to clearer intent.

The distinction points to how Google is dividing the work. More automated products are aimed at complex, back-and-forth searches, while classic keyword campaigns are being tried for straightforward requests where the match is direct. The experiment shows Google weighing how its long-established keyword advertising system sits alongside its automated offerings inside AI Mode.

Rather than reserving AI Mode advertising for AI Max and Performance Max alone, Google is checking whether narrowly aimed Search campaigns can take part when a user's intent maps neatly onto an advertiser's keywords. It is an early look at how the older auction model adapts to an AI-led results page.

Several questions remain open. Google has not said how widely the test is running, how many advertisers are involved, or whether it will graduate into a standing feature. For the moment, exact and phrase match advertisers may start to notice AI Mode as one more surface where their current Search ads can turn up, but only when Google's systems decide the intent behind a query is explicit and direct.

Advertisers watching the space will want to track whether the trial expands beyond its current limits and whether Google extends it to more ad formats. For now, it stands as a limited experiment rather than a confirmed change to how ads work in AI Mode.

Google AI Mode ads, exact match keywords, phrase match keywords, Google Search campaigns, Ginny Marvin, AI Max, Performance Max, Google Ads