Google is bringing ads to its AI Overviews in India later this year. At its recent Marketing Live India event, the company confirmed that ads will soon appear inside its AI-generated summaries that show up at the top of Google Search results, sitting above standard web links.

This move follows a similar rollout in the U.S., where users began spotting ads in AI Overviews. The company officially rolled them out to all U.S. Now, Indian users will begin seeing sponsored product listings and services directly inside AI-generated overviews. These ads will be labeled with a “Sponsored” tag, Google said. This will ensure users can tell the difference between organic summaries and paid promotions.

Google is also expanding other ad tools to the Indian market. The company confirmed that Hindi is supported across the new tools to improve local campaign performance. Roma Datta Chobey, Managing Director of Digital First Businesses at Google India, said the goal is to help marketers “move from responding to market dynamics to being able to get ahead of them.”

AI Max for Search Campaigns

The company is bringing AI Max for Search Campaigns to the region. AI Max is designed to identify high-performing queries that go beyond a brand’s existing keyword lists. The tool was first rolled out in the U.S. in May. 

According to Google, AI Max learns from the advertiser’s landing pages, current ad copy, and keywords to infer what products and services to highlight, and when it’s relevant to serve the ad.

New tools to generate on-brand visuals

Google is also rolling out “Generated for You” under its Product Studio. The new feature uses AI to create branded images and videos based on a merchant’s product catalog.

The tool suggests creative assets that align with the brand’s identity, which advertisers can then save, publish, and track across Google properties. The system can also analyze product trends and recommend seasonal campaign ideas.

YouTube shoppable formats now live on TV in India

Advertisers in India are also getting access to YouTube’s shoppable Connected TV (CTV) ads. These ads let viewers explore and engage with products directly from their smart TVs. For example, a viewer watching a video ad on YouTube can now click through to buy the featured product without needing to switch devices.

Google also confirmed that its YouTube Masthead — the premium ad placement at the top of the app — will now serve shoppable links underneath mobile ads in India.

Chobey said YouTube on connected TVs has been the most-watched streaming service in the country over the past year. This explains Google’s decision to lean into TV ads in the region.

Smarter bidding and measurement tools for advertisers

In addition to AI-generated content and ad placements, Google is introducing Smart Bidding Exploration. This feature enables advertisers to bid on new search queries they may not have considered, such as longer or intent-based queries. The idea is to reach potential customers who are earlier in the funnel or exploring their options.

According to Google, brands will now get more visibility into post-ad engagement, such as how many times a user searched for the brand after seeing a video ad.

Advertisers in India are also getting access to new AI agentic tools inside Google Ads and Google Analytics. These agents analyze data from past campaigns, assets, and audience behavior to recommend new keywords, creatives, and optimization strategies. Inside Google Analytics, marketers can use them to surface trends or test campaigns.

Performance Max gets a boost with retention-focused updates

Google also introduced Retention-Only Mode to its Performance Max campaigns. The tool allows advertisers to specifically target users, such as someone who downloaded an app but hasn’t made a purchase in the last 30 days.

These rollouts follow India’s removal of the “Google tax”

The rollout comes just months after the Indian government scrapped the 6% tax it had placed on foreign digital ad service providers, a policy informally known as the "Google tax." The removal of that tax reduces overhead for companies like Google and Amazon that sell digital advertising in India.

Google is expanding its AI-powered advertising into one of its biggest markets. India is the first market outside the U.S. where Google is releasing its AI marketing tools. The company rolled out AI Mode in Search to Indian users this week, ahead of most other markets.

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