ChatGPT just landed ads, Now, Google won’t rule out ads in Gemini app, of course.
Google is not ruling out the possibility of introducing ads into its Gemini app, though it currently has no immediate plans to do so. The company is prioritizing monetization through subscriptions and AI features in Search, while observing how ad models perform in AI chatbots. OpenAI's move to test ads in ChatGPT has prompted speculation that Google may follow a similar path to offset high AI operating costs.
- ▪Google has not ruled out ads in the Gemini app but has no immediate plans to introduce them.
- ▪The company is focusing on monetizing AI Mode in Search and subscription services first.
- ▪OpenAI's ad testing in ChatGPT highlights the growing trend of using ads to fund free AI access.
- ▪Ads could help keep Gemini free for users, similar to Google's existing ad-supported products.
- ▪Monetizing AI chatbots via ads is challenging due to difficulty tracking user intent and ad effectiveness.
- ▪Tracking ad performance in AI chatbots is harder than in traditional search due to complex, multi-step user interactions.
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OpenAI recently started testing ads inside ChatGPT, and AI companies are already trying to figure out whether advertising inside an AI chatbot can work without annoying users. Now Google is making it clear that Gemini may not avoid that business model forever. During Alphabet’s Q1 2026 earnings call, Google Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler was asked directly about ads in the Gemini app. He kept the answer measured, saying Google’s current focus is the free tier, subscriptions, and AI plans, while the company is working on monetizing AI Mode in Search first. Google Could ads really come to the Gemini app? While not revealing any immediate plans, Schindler did say that if Google finds an ad format that works well in AI Mode, the same idea could eventually be used in the Gemini app.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Digital Trends.
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