Google Ads in AI Mode: 3 New Formats Explained

Zara Imrie, Google Ads & AI Marketing Specialist, Bizi Digital

This post was drafted with AI assistance and reviewed by Zara Imrie.

Table of contents

What this means right now

Google announced at Google Marketing Live 2026 that it’s testing Google Ads in AI Mode, the Gemini-powered search experience that generates full answers instead of a list of blue links. Three new formats are being trialled in the US: Direct Offers, Conversational Discovery, and Highlighted Answers. None of this is live in the UK yet. But the structure of how ads work is shifting, and advertisers who wait for the rollout to start preparing will already be behind.

What changed in how ads appear

For years, the game was simple. Your ad competed with 9 other results on a page. Someone scanned the list, clicked what looked right, and left. Your job was to be the most relevant thing in a column of text.

AI Mode changes the shape of that page entirely.

There is no longer a list of 10. There is an answer. Google’s Gemini model reads the query, synthesises sources, and writes a response. The ads that appear inside that response aren’t sitting beside the answer. They are part of it.

Think about what that means for a service business. A solicitor’s firm, a heating engineer, a marketing agency. In the old world, someone searching “best Google Ads agency for small businesses” would see a list. Your ad might be position 3, sitting between two directories and a competitor. They’d scan the titles, maybe read two descriptions, and click.

In AI Mode, they ask. Google answers. And if your ad earns a place in that answer, your brand isn’t a link to be clicked. It’s the response they’re reading.

That’s a different kind of visibility. And it comes with a different kind of risk. If your assets aren’t built to slot into a generative response, you don’t slip to position 4. You disappear from the answer entirely.

The three new formats

1. Direct Offers

Direct Offers lets advertisers surface exclusive discounts and promotions directly inside the AI-generated answer, at the moment someone is ready to act.

Originally built around product shopping, Google has expanded it into AI Mode. It supports bundled offers: discounts, giveaways, coupons. Merchants on Google’s Universal Checkout Platform can take payment without the user leaving the search experience. Travel advertisers get access too, with hotel rates pulled directly into AI responses.

For a service business, think of it this way. Someone types “boiler service deals near me” into AI Mode. Instead of seeing a list of sites to visit, they see an answer with an offer embedded. “Book a boiler service this week, £89 with same-day availability.” That offer came from a Direct Offers campaign tied to a high-intent, time-specific query.

The mechanic rewards specificity. Vague promotions won’t cut it. “10% off” sitting in a generic sitelink is not the same thing as a structured offer tied to a product or service with a clear condition and a clear value.

2. Conversational Discovery

This one changes where in the buying process ads can appear.

Traditional search ads appear when someone already knows what they want. They have a search term. They show intent. You bid on that intent. Conversational Discovery sits earlier in that process, inside a back-and-forth exchange, where someone is still working out what they need.

Here’s the scenario. Someone starts with “I need to sort out my company’s marketing but I don’t know where to start.” They’re not searching for an agency yet. They’re thinking out loud. AI Mode responds with a series of questions and suggestions. Conversational Discovery means your ad can appear inside that exchange, relevant to the direction the conversation is heading.

For service businesses, this matters. A lot of the buying journey for anything above a certain spend starts with confusion, not clarity. A business owner doesn’t search “fractional CMO services London” on day one. They ask something broader first. If your ads can appear in that early conversation with the right message, you get in front of people before your competitors even see them.

3. Highlighted Answers

Highlighted Answers is the format most likely to feel familiar, because it looks closest to what people already see in standard search.

Your ad appears as a highlighted block of content within the AI-generated response. It’s clearly labelled as sponsored. But it’s positioned as part of the answer, not as an aside.

Think of a user asking “what should I look for in a Google Ads agency?” The AI response might walk through a few criteria: transparency, proven process, sector experience. A Highlighted Answer ad could sit inside that response, tied to one of those criteria, with copy that speaks directly to it.

This is where asset quality starts to matter more than bid strategy. The ad copy that gets selected as a Highlighted Answer needs to read like part of an expert response. Short, clear, specific. If it reads like a tagline written for a banner, it won’t fit. It will look out of place, and users will feel it even if they don’t consciously notice.

All three formats are clearly labelled as sponsored. Google has been consistent on that point. But labelled or not, if the copy feels like an ad in a conversation, it breaks trust. If it reads like a useful, specific answer, it earns attention.

What this means for UK advertisers

None of these formats are live in the UK yet. They’re US-only, English-only, and still in experimental phase. So there’s no immediate action required on campaign structure.

But the testing phase is where the rules get written. By the time Google rolls this out to UK advertisers, the formats will have been iterated on for months. The advertisers who had their assets ready will get more out of the early access. The ones who scramble to adapt will spend money learning lessons that were already available.

There’s a pattern I’ve watched repeat with every major Google Ads format change, going back to responsive search ads, to Performance Max, to Shopping feed quality requirements. The advertisers who treated each one as a “wait and see” situation consistently paid more for the same results once adoption became mainstream.

This time, the shift is structural. It’s not a new bidding option. It’s a different surface entirely. Your ad has to work inside a generated response, not beside one.

How to get ready now

Build your ad assets for context, not just for clicks

Every headline and description you write should be able to stand on its own inside a paragraph. Read it in isolation. Does it answer something? Does it make a specific, clear claim? Or does it only make sense as a headline on a dedicated landing page?

Responsive search ads were a step towards this. AI Mode is the full shift. If your ad copy depends on the surrounding page layout to make sense, it won’t survive being embedded inside a generated answer.

Audit your offer structure

Direct Offers rewards specific, time-bound, conditional promotions. Go through your current promotional assets and ask whether each one has a clear mechanic. What is the offer? Who is it for? What triggers it? When does it expire?

“Up to 50% off” is not an offer in this context. “Three months’ Google Ads management for the price of two when you start before 30 June” is an offer.

Check your structured data

Google needs clean signals to pull your business into AI-generated answers accurately. If your site is missing structured data for your services, location, reviews, and pricing (where applicable), you’re making it harder for Gemini to use your content as a source.

If you’re on WordPress, this is a one-hour job with a plugin like Rank Math or Schema Pro. If you’re on a custom build, it may take a developer a morning. Either way, it’s a small job with outsized impact when AI Mode starts pulling from your site.

Keep responsive ad structures tight

AI Mode will surface ad components, not full ads. Headline 1 might appear without Headline 3. Description 1 might appear on its own. Every asset needs to work as a standalone unit.

Run through your current RSAs and flag any headline or description that relies on another asset to make sense. Rewrite those individually. The standard is: if you pulled it out of context and read it aloud, would it still communicate something real and useful?

FAQ

Is Google Ads in AI Mode live in the UK?

No. As of May 2026, AI Mode ad formats are being tested in the US only, in English, and are running as experiments. There is no confirmed rollout date for the UK.

Will these ads cost more than standard search ads?

Google hasn’t published AI Mode-specific CPCs yet. Based on the pattern with other high-intent formats, expect initial costs to be variable while auction dynamics settle. The more important question for most advertisers is conversion quality, not just click cost. A more contextual placement should in theory drive stronger intent.

Do I need a different campaign type for these formats?

Not right now. The new formats are being tested as extensions of existing campaign types, not as standalone campaign structures. When they roll out more broadly, Google will confirm whether there are dedicated campaign settings or whether it will sit within responsive search or Performance Max structures.

What kind of businesses are best placed to benefit?

Any business with a specific, describable offer and a clear service. The formats favour advertisers who can write with precision: specific services, specific locations, specific outcomes, real pricing or strong incentives. Generalist positioning will not translate well into a conversational answer.

Should I change my Google Ads account structure now in preparation?

Not structurally, not yet. Focus on asset quality and offer clarity. The account architecture will matter once Google confirms how the formats are bought and managed. For now, the work that will pay off is at the creative and structured data level.

Ready to build an account that’s built for what comes next?

If you want someone to look at your current Google Ads setup and tell you honestly what needs work before AI Mode changes the rules, that’s exactly what I do at Bizi Digital.

Get in touch and tell me where you’re at.

Last updated: 21 May 2026

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