September 2026 in Google AI Mode: ads, agents and native checkout
In September 2026 Google tested new ad placements in AI Mode, opened monitoring agents to all users, auto-enabled native checkout for some merchants and tested AI Overview links that open AI Mode.
The short answer
AI Mode changed in four ways in September 2026. Google tested two new ad placements inside it, opened its monitoring agent to every user, began switching on native checkout for eligible Shopify merchants by default and tested links in AI Overviews that open AI Mode instead of a website. Only some of this was announced. The rest was spotted in the wild, and the table below says which is which.
What changed, and how sure is each item?
| Date (2026) | Change | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 2 September | Gemini 3.8 Flash available in AI Mode for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers | Announced on Google’s blog |
| 4 September | Text ads from exact and phrase match keywords serving in AI Mode | Confirmed by Google’s Ads Liaison as a small experiment |
| 15 September | Ads written as text links inside the AI Mode answer, labelled Sponsored | Spotted; no Google comment |
| 21 to 22 September | Links at the foot of AI Overviews that open AI Mode | Spotted test; no Google comment |
| 22 September | Native checkout switched on for Shopify stores matched to Merchant Center | Merchant emails, reported |
| 28 September | Monitoring in AI Mode rolling out to all users globally | Announced by Google’s Robby Stein on X |
The model change is the only item we found with a Google blog post. Google’s 2 September post on Gemini 3.8 Flash says the model is available to AI Pro and Ultra subscribers in AI Mode in Google Search. It does not say which model serves free users.
What changed in AI Mode ads?
Two things, both small and both worth tracking.
On 4 September Search Engine Roundtable reported that standard Search campaigns using exact and phrase match keywords were serving text ads in AI Mode. PPC specialist Anthony Higman spotted it and said that until then the only routes into those placements were AI Max, Performance Max or broad match with smart bidding. Google’s Ads Liaison, Ginny Marvin, told Search Engine Roundtable it was “a small experiment that recently kicked off” and limited to explicit, direct intent.
On 15 September Sachin Patel posted ads in AI Mode that look like the answer text itself: plain anchor-text links inside the response with a Sponsored label above it. Standard AI Mode ads sit apart from the answer, below it. Google has not commented, so treat this as a test.
For organic sites the second one matters more. If paid links can sit inside the answer text, they compete for the same attention as the cited sources.
What did the agents and checkout changes add?
Monitoring lets a user tell AI Mode what to watch for and get an alert in the Google app when the condition is met. It had been limited to AI Pro and Ultra subscribers. On 28 September Robby Stein, Google’s vice president of product for Search, said on X that it was going to everyone globally, with a gradual rollout.
On 22 September merchants whose Shopify stores are matched to Merchant Center reported emails saying their products were now eligible for native checkout in AI Mode and Gemini. Eligible products are included automatically, and the email said there was nothing to set up. Merchants who want buyers to finish on their own site have to turn it off in the Shopify admin, under Sales channels and then Agentic.
Native checkout means a product can be found, compared and bought without the buyer visiting the merchant’s site.
Why does the AI Overview to AI Mode test matter?
On 21 September Gagan Ghotra posted a video of links at the bottom of AI Overviews that look like ordinary links but open an AI Mode conversation. Search Engine Roundtable covered it the next day. Google has not commented.
AI Overviews sit on the main results page, where an outbound click is still the default. A link that looks like it leads to a website and instead opens AI Mode keeps the searcher inside Google for another turn.
Google is also pushing AI Mode on its own surfaces. TIME reported on 29 September that many users now see an AI Mode button on the Google homepage, and that Google says AI Mode has more than 1 billion monthly users. That figure is Google’s own and has no published method.
What it means for you
- Separate announced changes from sightings. Plan around the Google blog post and the Ads Liaison’s confirmation; watch the rest.
- If you sell through Shopify and Merchant Center, check your Agentic sales channel setting and decide whether native checkout should be on.
- If you run exact and phrase match campaigns, do not assume they stay out of AI Mode. Google calls it a small experiment, so ask your Google Ads contact whether your account is in it.
- If you depend on informational traffic, expect more of the click path to stay inside Google. Being cited inside AI Mode answers is the visibility left to compete for.