Why Google Search Results Have More Ads Than Ever in 2026
PB
Patrick Bushe
June 7, 2025 · 5 min read
If Google search feels more crowded with ads than it used to, you're not imagining it. Ads now appear in more places on the page and in more formats, and on a phone they can fill the whole first screen.
Where ads appear now
- Text ads: up to four above the results and more below, labeled "Sponsored".
- Shopping ads: product images with prices, often at the top for anything you might buy.
- Local ads: sponsored businesses in map results, and service ads for trades like plumbers and lawyers in many areas.
- Ads in AI Overviews: Google began placing ads within and beside AI Overviews in 2024, and in AI Mode in 2025.
- Ads mixed into shopping sections such as popular products and deals.
Why there are more
- Ads pay for search: search advertising is Google's largest source of revenue.
- AI answers take space: as AI Overviews answer more questions on the page, fewer people click through, and ads in and around those answers keep advertisers visible.
- Commercial searches: searches with buying intent, such as products, services and travel, show the most ads.
- Phones: smaller screens mean the ads take a larger share of what you see first.
How to tell ads from results
Look for the "Sponsored" label. In late 2025, Google began grouping top text ads under a "Sponsored results" heading that you can collapse. See telling ads from organic results.
How to see more regular results
- The Web filter: click "Web" under the search box (sometimes under "More") for plain links, with no ads blocks, AI Overview or extra sections.
- Be specific: informational searches ("how does a heat pump work") show fewer ads than buying searches ("best heat pump").
- Hide sections: Search Cleaner has switches for sponsored results, shopping carousels, popular products, deals and AI Overviews, so you choose what appears.
A note on clicking ads
Ads aren't always bad. Sometimes the official site is the first ad. But scammers also buy ads that imitate real brands, so check the web address before entering details. See spotting fake websites.
