u/mr_google_DE

Stream kicks off at 11:00 BST. Yesterday's US keynote covered a lot (Ask Advisor, AI Max for Shopping, Asset Studio, Universal Commerce Protocol, Ads in AI Mode) but will EMEA bring a different angle?

I'm curious about:

• Any concrete EU rollout timelines for the big announcements
• How Universal Commerce Protocol fits with PSD2 and the EU payments landscape
• Anything specifically built for EMEA markets that didn't make the US stage

What's on your list? Anyone tuning in? Maybe we can play Bingo with how many times "AI driven" is said :D

Heads up for everyone running Google Ads: there are now confirmed sightings of paid ads showing up directly inside Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode results. Chris Long posted a screenshot on X that shows sponsored ads in Googles AI Mode (https://x.com/chris_nectiv/status/2056352519777927397).

https://preview.redd.it/3p7dprsjv12h1.png?width=960&format=png&auto=webp&s=fcc19f460ac667a8ed81ad981eaaccb5b528cf2d

Some quick context: ads in AI Mode were first spotted back in November last year, but it was sporadic. Now it looks like the rollout is expanding to both AI Overviews and AI Mode more broadly.
What the ad units look like based on a screenshot Chris Long shared on X:
-> Headline with link
-> Short description
-> Brand name with logo
-> Thumbnail image
-> Sponsored Tag

So visually they sit pretty natively inside the AI-generated answer, which is interesting (and a bit concerning) from a user-trust perspective. And they kinda look just like Google Search Ads in SERPS. This doesn't seem to be rolling out across all languages yet. For example, in German-language search results there are no sightings so far. So if you're running campaigns in non-English markets, you might not see this in your accounts immediately but I am quite sure it's coming later this year for all markets.

Question for the community: Has anyone here already seen their ads served inside AI Overviews or AI Mode? And how are you thinking about bidding strategy and creatives for these placements. Are you treating them like regular search ads or somewhat differently?