Google can now sell ads against billions of queries it never monetized before, thanks to AI Max, Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler told analysts on the Q2 call. The tool matches ads to phrasing that keyword targeting couldn't parse, and it has left beta with over 500,000 advertisers on board. Campaigns running AI Max or Performance Max average a 15% improvement in conversions or conversion value at roughly the same ROAS, per Google. Gemini has sharpened Shopping ad relevance on knotty queries by about 20%. Two new AI Mode formats are in testing, one dropping marked sponsored links into AI-written lists and another pulling sitelinks out of the conversation itself, plus Direct Offers, where IHG Hotels & Resorts is lined up as an early partner.
