AI ads · UK & US · Updated October 2026
Where you can advertise in AI search right now.
Ads are arriving inside AI answers, but not everywhere, and not the same in the UK as the US. Here's what's actually live on Google, ChatGPT, Copilot, Amazon and the rest, and what it means if you're spending on ads.
First, a definition
Not ads made by AI. Ads shown in AI.
Search "AI ads" and you'll mostly find tools that write ad copy or generate video. This page is about something else: paying to appear inside or next to the answers AI engines give, on Google, in ChatGPT and elsewhere.
Platform by platform
UK and US, side by side.
| Placement | UK | US | How you buy it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google: above and below AI Overviews | Live | Live | Automatic from Search, Shopping, Performance Max and App campaigns. No opt-out. |
| Google: inside the AI Overview | Not yet | Live | Broad match, AI Max, Performance Max or Shopping. Exact-match-only accounts miss out. |
| Google AI Mode | Not confirmed | Testing | Same campaigns. New formats in test. |
| ChatGPT | Live since June 2026 | Live since February 2026 | Self-serve Ads Manager. Full guide → |
| Microsoft Copilot | English-language markets | Live | Automatic from Microsoft Ads Search, Shopping and Performance Max. |
| Amazon Rufus | Not confirmed | Live | Sponsored Products and Brands, pay per click, via Amazon Ads. |
| Perplexity | Stopped | Stopped | Ended ads in February 2026. |
| Gemini app | No ads | No ads | Google hasn't announced any. |
| Meta AI | No ads in the chatbot | No ads in the chatbot | Meta uses AI chats to target its normal ads, but not in the UK or EU. |
This changes most months. Last checked October 2026.
You're probably already in.
If you run Google Search, Shopping or Performance Max campaigns in the UK, your ads can already appear above and below AI Overviews. There's no setting to switch it on or off, and no separate report. Those clicks are folded into your normal Search figures.
Ads inside the AI Overview are live in the US, Canada, Australia and a handful of other English-speaking countries, but not the UK yet. When they arrive, only broad match, AI Max, Performance Max and Shopping will be eligible. An account built purely on exact match won't show there.
That makes the usual problem more expensive. Automated bidding decides where your money goes based on your conversion data, and nine out of ten accounts I audit have broken tracking. How I run Google Ads →
ChatGPT
The only one that's a new platform to learn.
ChatGPT ads are small sponsored cards under the answer, shown to Free and Go users. There are no keywords: you describe the conversations you want to appear in, and OpenAI's system decides. Self-serve is open in the UK with no minimum spend, and new advertisers can currently get £500 of credit when they spend £500 (October 2026).
Financial, health and legal services are mostly off-limits outside the US, so check before you start. ChatGPT ads in the UK: the full guide →
The rest
Copilot, Amazon, and the ones that said no.
Comes with Microsoft Ads
Eligible Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns are opted in automatically, with no separate Copilot switch. If you run Microsoft Ads, you're likely already there.
US first
Sponsored Products and Brands now show inside Amazon's shopping assistant, paid per click. Early reports say it drives few sales. UK availability isn't confirmed.
No ads
Perplexity stopped its ads over trust concerns. Google says there are no ads in the Gemini app for now. Claude has none.
Paid vs earned
An ad next to the answer isn't the answer.
Every AI ad sits beside the response, labelled as sponsored. The answer itself, the businesses the AI actually recommends, can't be bought. You earn your way in with a site AI engines can read and trust, which is the bigger prize for most businesses.
Questions
AI ads, answered.
Can I advertise in Google's AI Overviews in the UK?
Around them, yes, automatically through Search, Shopping and Performance Max. Inside them, not yet. That's live in the US and around a dozen other countries.
Can I advertise on ChatGPT in the UK?
Yes. ChatGPT ads went live in the UK in June 2026 and the self-serve Ads Manager is open, with no minimum spend.
Does Perplexity still have ads?
No. Perplexity ended its ads in February 2026, saying sponsored answers risked user trust.
Are there ads in Gemini?
Not in the Gemini app. Google's AI ads run in Search, around AI Overviews and in tests within AI Mode.
Should I move budget into AI ads?
Not out of a Google account that's working. Test ChatGPT with a separate budget, give it 60 days, and judge it on cost per sale or lead against the same tracking.
Start here
Fifteen minutes. Your account, not a pitch.
I'll look at your website, your Google Ads and your tracking, and tell you where AI changes the picture for your business and what needs fixing first. No report to wade through, no sales script.