Google & OpenAI are FORCING You to Pay: The AI Ad Overhaul

Growing Ecommerce – The Retail Growth Podcast

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30d ago 26:39

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It's here! Ads are officially landing inside your AI search results, and Google’s not asking for permission.

In this episode, Mike Ryan and Chris break down the massive global rollout of AI Overviews (AIO) and AI Mode (AIM). They reveal the experimental phase where ads will soon appear inside the AI content itself, and expose the most critical issue: advertisers currently have neither an opt-in nor an opt-out for these new properties. This means your existing ad budget is being automatically pushed into this new environment—a fundamental shift in search since the smartphone.

But the real disruption isn't just Google—it's OpenAI. They've launched an aggressive e-commerce shopping assistant model, complete with in-chat checkout and integrated with giants like Walmart and Target.Our hosts explain why this completely changes the game, essentially turning the AI into a marketplace. They discuss the only way retailers can survive this new reality: providing maximum information density (feeds, structured data, landing pages) to be visible to the AI, even as you are forced to compete in its new commission-based ecosystem.

About smec (Smarter Ecommerce):

At smec - Smarter Ecommerce, we specialize in transforming business goals into optimized ad campaigns. With over 16 years of experience in Google & Microsoft Ads, our intelligent software and expert services help retailers achieve superior results.

We're committed to giving you the tools and insights needed to stay ahead in the ever-evolving world of digital advertising.

Make sure to follow smec - Smarter Ecommerce for more performance marketing insights:

smec - Smarter Ecommerce: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.com
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/smarter-ecommerce-gmbh
Newsletter: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/newsletter/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smarterecommerce/

Chapters

1. Google & OpenAI are FORCING You to Pay: The AI Ad Overhaul (00:00:00)

2. Intro & Chris is in "awe" of Mike Ryan (00:00:09)

3. AI Overviews (AIO) and AI Mode (AIM) launch (00:01:46)

4. The monetization strategy: Ads are coming inside AI content (00:02:30)

5. Why Google is "over-delivering" AI Overviews (00:04:31)

6. Google's "fluffy" answers on performance impact (00:09:56)

7. The Problem: No opt-in or opt-out for AI ads (00:10:17)

8. The new search behavior: The "Online Beratungsgespräch" (00:12:14)

9. The Retailer's Survival Kit: Max information density (00:12:58)

10. OpenAI's massive move: In-chat checkout & the app store (00:17:25)

11. Why giants like Walmart and Target are cooperating (00:18:03)

12. The Walmart/OpenAI referral traffic data (00:21:33)

13. The future: Universal cart and multi-retailer checkout (00:23:51)

14. This is the "biggest thing since smartphones" (00:25:41)

80 episodes

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