Adthena reported that about 175,100 paid ad placements were established inside Google’s AI Overview panel as fine as AI Mode panels inner the U.S. during the duration of June to September. This included five holiday buying categories; however, the bulk of these paid placements belonged to apparel and person electronics.
The Holiday AI Paid Search Report additionally counts 204,489 ChatGPT ad placements in the identical five categories complete the identical months. Adthena sells ad tracking for Google and ChatGPT, and the study closes alongside an recommendation for a liberated test of its ChatGPT Ads product.
Some U.S. apparel and electronics advertisers may already be using portions of their existing campaigns to assist ads to users who see AI Overviews and AI Mode. The study identifies anywhere the ads appeared, but does not track which ads were clicked, how much was spent, nor what conversions were achieved on either surface.
Ads Inside Google’s AI Answers
The total figure of ads in Google’s AI Answers (in the U.S.) in this study is based upon a blended total for the two AI Overviews and AI Mode. In that count, apparel has about 111,000 placements; person electronics have concerning 55,000; journey has approximately 6,500; attractiveness has concerning 2,100; and toys and games have about 685.
There are no distinct ad buys for these placement types. According to Google’s Help Page concerning Ads in AI-Powered Experiences, all Search, Shopping, and Performance Max campaigns that be are automatically eligible to appear in AI-Answers. Although advertisers cannot specifically mark lone AI Overviews or AI Mode, or opt out of those placements distinct from Search, they may motionless utilize negative keyword targeting and/or brand exclusions.
The study additionally reviewed how many times AI Overviews appeared in Google Results for the two August of 2025 and August of 2026. Going from 304 myriad to 575 million, U.S. appearances saw an 89% addition complete that period. The UK/EU saw an addition of 160%, during Australia saw an addition of 536%. The study doesn’t depict the queries rearward those counts or say whether the set stayed the identical throughout the two years.
ChatGPT Ads In Five Holiday Categories
The study counts 204,489 ChatGPT Ads placements throughout five categories, Apparel, Consumer Electronics, Travel, Toys & Games and Beauty, from June through September 2026.
Adthena’s press release frames it additional broadly, stating additional than 200,000 promotion placements occurred since OpenAI started allowing others to buy promotion area on the chatbot.
In the report’s count, apparel accounted for the largest figure of promotion placements at 90,517. Next was Consumer Electronics alongside 56,569; afterward Travel alongside 48,134; followed by Toys and Games alongside 4,694 and lastly Beauty alongside 4,575.
In addition, the business reported that there were 1,082 distinct advertisers in those five categories using the assistance in June, 3,741 advertisers in July, and 6,333 advertisers in August. The business projected the figure of advertisers in September.
According to the report, the advertisers in its data in Toys and Games risen the most during that period example from June to August, expanding 13 fold, from what the business calls a comparatively low base.
The study states that the total figure of advertiser placements included in their investigation covered all markets, but does not acknowledge which markets or province whether they continued to detect the identical market(s)/queries throughout the complete four-month period. In addition, OpenAI expanded its footprint during that time.
On August 18, OpenAI announced that ChatGPT Ads would be accessible in 31 European countries. The business began offering this assistance one week later. Additionally, on September 23, OpenAI began rolling out ChatGPT Ads to seven additional Asian markets.
For perspective, on October 21 OpenAI stated that additional than 100,000 advertisers have run campaigns on ChatGPT Ads since the promotion capability was opened up to exterior parties fair complete eight months earlier. This fig represents all categories and the complete duration of period that ChatGPT Ads has been open to third-party advertisers, so it isn’t immediately comparable to the report’s monthly counts.
Which ChatGPT Prompts Carried Ads
In supplement to that, the study groups ChatGPT ads according to the nature of the hunt that an ad was run against. It describes investigation and finding queries as “people comparing or asking what’s finest fairly than naming a product.”
In beauty, 83% of ads ran on those queries, during journey and toys & games were at 69% and 67% respectively. Apparel and person electronics came in under half, at 48% and 42% respectively.
Again, the media publish references lone the data connected to beauty, journey and toys. The study provides no data concerning how questions were categorized.
Why This Matters
Since Google includes searches that immediate ads in AI Overviews and AI Mode in total in its norm reports for all of Search, they are intermingled throughout your hunt conditions report.
In ChatGPT, best-of and difference prompts carried most of the observed ads in beauty, journey & toys, and small than 50% of those seen in apparel and electronics.
Looking Ahead
After the report’s period example closed, Google’s ads inside their AI answers continued to evolve. Google announced that they were launching multi-turn ads in the United States on October 28. These authorize advertisers’ ads to display up on consequent searches (queries) in AI Mode. In addition, Google stated that ads in AI Mode are scaling to ten additional countries including Canada and Australia. They additional stated that Brazil, Mexico and the United Kingdom were planned for Q4 2026.
OpenAI’s October 21 notice expanded ChatGPT Ads to 89 countries. The most latest Adthena data is from September so does not contain these new developments nor the weeks surrounding Black Friday.
Featured Image: Spiximcreation/Shutterstock. Source: Google.
