Google has added advertisements within chatbot conversations run by AI startups as part of its AdSense network.

This move strengthens Alphabet Inc.’s position in the digital advertising sector as generative AI grows in popularity.

A Google spokesperson confirmed that “AdSense for Search is available for websites that want to show relevant ads in their conversational AI experiences.”

AI startups are adopting advertising models to offset the high costs of operating AI systems.

This initiative comes as Google faces regulatory scrutiny over its dominance in the online advertising market.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Google’s defensive pattern: extending ad dominance to new interfaces

Google’s move into chatbot advertising follows its 20-year pattern of strategically adapting its ad business to emerging technologies and user interfaces.

When AdWords launched in 2000, it revolutionized digital advertising with a simple auction system for text ads, before expanding to include display ads, video, and mobile formats as these technologies gained prominence1.

In 2018, Google rebranded its advertising ecosystem from AdWords to Google Ads specifically to reflect this broader reach beyond search, acknowledging that advertisers increasingly needed to reach consumers across diverse digital touchpoints2.

This latest chatbot integration demonstrates how Google’s ad strategy consistently evolves to maintain dominance as user behavior shifts—from websites to mobile apps and now to conversational AI interfaces.

Google’s ability to rapidly extend its advertising reach into AI chatbots is particularly crucial as its core search advertising business (which generated $198 billion in 2024, nearly 60% of Alphabet’s revenue) faces increasing competition from AI-native alternatives like Perplexity.

2️⃣ Regulatory pressure accelerates Google’s move into new territories

Google’s expansion into chatbot advertising comes amid heightened antitrust scrutiny, suggesting a strategic pivot to establish footholds in emerging markets as its core business faces legal challenges.

In April 2025, a federal judge ruled that Google violated antitrust laws in the markets for advertising exchanges and publisher ad servers, potentially threatening its dominant position in digital advertising technology34.

Recent Google developments