What do product ads actually look like in Google AI Mode?
five different product ad formats
Many merchants assume showing up in Google Search means showing up in AI Mode too. Same Google, same catalog, so why wouldn't it carry over?
A recent study found it doesn't. Only 1.28% of products that show up in a normal Google search also show up in AI Mode for that same search.
And when a product does show up in both places, AI Mode's price usually shows up on the higher side. Same product database feeding both surfaces - yet two completely different outcomes depending on which one a shopper lands in.
So I tried to find what different ad formats look like today.
What's actually showing up
Five types of ad shapes render inside Google AI Mode right now.
Except the first one - the other four are built specifically for products.
1/ The general ad
A plain box with a favicon, the advertiser's name, a headline written for the specific question that was asked, and a short description underneath.
It has a shaded background and Google puts it below the answer the same way it stacks the citation, so it reads like one more source. This format shows up more often than other formats and is not just limited to businesses that sell products.
2/ The shopping carousel
Products from one or more stores line up at the bottom of the answer, each with an image, a price and a rating if it has one, and you can swipe across them.
3/ The blended-in shopping ad
Instead of sitting in its own section, a sponsored product slots directly into the list of results AI Mode is already showing and carries a small "Sponsored" tag.
Since last month, the same placement can hold several sponsored products in a row instead of one, still inside the results list rather than pulled out into a separate carousel, so a list that reads as organic can be partly paid without most people noticing.
4/ The slim shopping ad
A smaller version, usually sitting higher up in the response.
It drops the rich imagery down - there's only a favicon, the store's name and the price, sometimes with a shipping line. Two of these can appear side by side in their own shaded box when more than one advertiser qualifies for the same slot.
5/ The grid placement
This one sits inside the actual grid of products AI Mode shows for a shopping question, the section that otherwise reads as entirely organic.
One or more tiles get labeled "sponsored" right next to everyone else, so a paid placement sits where a shopper would assume is neutral.
What actually qualifies you
For the four shopping formats, it comes down to Merchant Center, the same feed that already powers ordinary Shopping ads. Google needs the basics filled in on every product: title, description, price, availability, brand and a GTIN for most categories. Skip one and the product drops out of the bidding pool.
Pull up how many products Google Ads is bidding on and compare that against how many sit in the Merchant Center feed. A gap between those two means products are getting rejected and Merchant Center's Diagnostics tab will tell you why.
Once your products are synced, it comes down to the same thing - whether your product feed behind it is complete. Audit your Shopify catalog →
What Google says is coming
Source: Google
A few more formats have been announced but haven't fully shipped.
1/ Direct Offers - a time-limited discount bundle directly into the response, complete with a code and a running subtotal - closer to a mini checkout screen than a standard ad.
2/ Conversational Discovery - here Gemini will write the entire pitch tailored to questions, instead of pulling from a fixed headline someone wrote in advance.
3/ Highlighted Answers - a paid recommendation slots directly into AI Mode's own list of suggestions, sitting among picks the model would have made anyway.
4/ Business Agent for Leads - opens a live chat with a brand's own AI agent instead of sending someone to a landing page.
Source: Google
This is different from Rothy's Business Agent I shared recently - a chat feature that responds to questions based on products and brand info stored in Merchant Center.
I also covered ChatGPT's ad formats in an earlier issue if you want to see that.
Atomz AI reads through your entire catalog and fills in exactly what's missing, so the feed qualifies for every type of listing - organic and paid both.
- Ankit
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