AI ads: where you can actually buy them in 2026
AI ads are paid placements inside AI assistants and AI-powered search. Today you buy them mainly through Google (AI Overviews and AI Mode carry your existing Search and Performance Max ads) and Microsoft Copilot (Bing ads). ChatGPT and Perplexity are testing formats but are not broadly buyable yet. The lever that works now is being the source the assistant cites, which is answer-engine optimisation.
- AI ads are paid placements inside AI assistants and AI-powered search results.
- Buyable today: Google AI Overviews and AI Mode carry your Search and Performance Max ads; Microsoft Copilot carries Bing ads.
- Still emerging: ChatGPT and Perplexity are testing formats, but neither is broadly self-serve in the UK yet.
- The bigger lever right now is being the source the assistant cites, which is answer-engine optimisation, not paid media.
- Prepare the budget and tracking now, so you are ready the day the AI ad inventories open.
AI ads are advertising placements that appear inside AI assistants and AI-powered search results, rather than on a traditional list of links. The category is real, search demand for the term is climbing, and most of the inventory is not broadly buyable yet. Here is what you can actually buy in 2026, what is still in testing, and the lever that works right now while the rest matures.
What AI ads actually means
When people say AI ads they mean one of two things. The first is an ad placed inside an AI assistant, such as a sponsored answer in a chat interface. The second is an ad served inside AI-powered search, such as the AI Overviews and AI Mode that now sit above Google's classic results. Both put your brand next to a machine-generated answer rather than a ranked list of blue links.
What you can buy today
Two of these surfaces are live and buyable now, and if you run search ads you may already be appearing in them.
- Google AI Overviews and AI Mode: Google serves ads inside its AI answers from your existing Search and Performance Max campaigns. If you run Google Ads, you are already eligible to appear, with no separate buy.
- Microsoft Copilot: Copilot carries ads from the Microsoft Advertising network, the same platform behind Bing Ads, so a Bing campaign can surface inside Copilot answers.
What is still emerging
The assistant-native ad formats everyone is waiting for are still in testing, not open self-serve products.
- ChatGPT: OpenAI has publicly discussed advertising and has been testing formats, but there is no broad, self-serve way to buy placements in ChatGPT in the UK as of 2026.
- Perplexity: has trialled sponsored follow-up questions with a limited set of advertisers, rather than an open auction anyone can enter.
- Gemini: Google has signalled that ads will extend further into its assistant, building on the AI Overviews model already live in search.
The businesses that win the first AI ad auctions will be the ones already cited in the answer above them.
The lever that works right now
While the paid inventory matures, the reliable way to appear in AI answers is to be the source the assistant cites. That is answer-engine optimisation: structuring your content, entities and evidence so an assistant can read it, trust it and quote it. It is organic, it is available today, and it compounds. When the paid formats do open, the brands that are already cited will carry the lower cost and the higher trust into the auction.
How to prepare your budget
You do not need to hold budget for a product you cannot buy yet. You do need the groundwork that will make AI ads pay the day they open, which is the same groundwork that pays now.
- Get conversion tracking clean and server-side, so you can measure a lead from any surface.
- Tighten your audiences and your Performance Max feeds, because the AI surfaces already draw on them.
- Invest in being a cited source through AEO, so you appear in the answer whether or not you are paying.
- Keep a watching brief on ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini, and be ready to test the moment self-serve opens.
We run paid media to contribution margin across Google, Meta and Bing today, and we track the AI ad formats as they open so you are ready first. If you want to be found and cited in AI answers as standard, that is the work.
Common questions
Can I buy ads in ChatGPT?
Not broadly yet. OpenAI has been testing ad formats, but as of 2026 there is no open, self-serve way to buy placements in ChatGPT in the UK. We track it and will tell you the day that changes.
Do my Google Ads already show in AI Overviews?
Yes. Google serves ads inside AI Overviews and AI Mode from your existing Search and Performance Max campaigns, so if you run Google Ads you are already eligible to appear in some AI results.
What is the difference between AI ads and AEO?
AI ads are paid placements inside AI products. AEO, answer-engine optimisation, is the organic work that gets you cited as a source in the answer itself. They sit side by side, and right now AEO is the bigger lever.
Should I wait until AI ads are fully available?
No. The groundwork that makes AI ads pay, clean tracking, tight audiences and being a cited source, is the same groundwork that pays today. Prepare now and you are ready when the inventory opens.
Which platforms should I watch?
Google and Microsoft are live today. ChatGPT (OpenAI), Perplexity and Gemini are the ones to watch for self-serve ad formats.
Written to our editorial policy: named author, sourced claims, corrected in public. Spot an error? Tell us.