Google is considering inserting ads into the responses of its smart assistant, “Gemini,” in an expected move that may hold great profit opportunities for the company, similar to what OpenAI did in ChatGPT.
These statements came during the announcement of the company’s latest quarterly financial results, as Philip Schindler, responsible for the business sector at Google, explained that the company is currently focusing on integrating ads into the “AI Mode” in the search engine, but he pointed out that any successful form of ads there can later be transferred to the “Gemini” application.
Schindler added that ads, if carefully designed, could constitute “useful commercial information” for the user, stressing at the same time that the company is not in a rush to implement this step.
Google is already displaying ads within the “AI Overviews” feature in search results, and is also testing its inclusion in the “AI Mode,” which allows interaction with “Gemini” directly within the search engine.
However, the standalone version of Gemini is still ad-free so far, even for users with free accounts.
Google had confirmed last January that its priority was focusing on ads within the search engine, and not within the “Gemini” application, but the recent statements of its officials reflect greater openness to the idea.
OpenAI has already begun displaying ads within ChatGPT to those with free accounts and the low-cost “Go” subscription, as these ads appear below the responses with a clear tag that they are “sponsored,” amid assurances from the company that they do not affect the content of the answers.
On the other hand, Anthropic is committed to not introducing ads in its competing app, Claude, and had previously mocked this trend in a TV commercial. (aitnews)
