It sure sounds like chatbots are about to enter their ad era

Google’s Search business is a big part of the company’s revenue. This business is held up by all the ads that are served alongside search results. Soon, it could be further bolstered by ads served alongside conversations with your favorite chatbot.

According to Bloomberg, Google conducted tests last year to create an ad business model around chatbots, with the help of AI startups like iAsk and Liner. These tests allowed the tech giant to expand its AdSense for Search network earlier this year to include chatbot conversations. Now, the ad network is starting to show ads in the flow of conversations with chatbots run by AI startups.

“AdSense for Search is available for websites that want to show relevant ads in their conversational AI experiences,” a Google spokesperson told the publication. If you’re wondering what form this could take, the outlet mentions iAsk shows ads below generated responses. Meanwhile, Perplexity lets brands sponsor follow-up questions to a submitted query.

It’s not surprising that Google is toiling away, trying to find a way to monetize chatbots. When generative AI first caught people’s attention a few years ago, Google saw AI tools, like ChatGPT, as serious potential threats to its Search business. As more people turn to AI to have their questions answered, the smaller Search’s audience gets. Google doesn’t want to lose its edge in digital advertising. It’s not hard to imagine that Google could eventually shift its focus to its own chatbot and start serving ads in Gemini.