Paid Ads in AI Mode SERP API

Google’s AI Mode search results can now include sponsored content within AI-generated responses. To help you track and analyze these placements, the AI Mode SERP API now returns paid ad elements displayed within AI Mode results.

What’s new

The AI Mode SERP API now returns a new ai_overview_paid item when paid advertisements are present in the model’s response. The element includes alignment of the element, introductory text preceding the ad in the response, content of the ad element formatted in Markdown, and an items array containing individual paid advertisements.

Each individual ad has the type ai_overview_paid_element and comes with:

• title – title of the advertisement;
• url – URL of the advertiser’s homepage;
• domain – domain of the advertiser’s website;
• ad_aclk – unique ad click referral parameter;
• website_name – displayed name of the advertiser’s website;
• breadcrumb – breadcrumb path displayed in the ad;
• snippet – description shown in the advertisement;
• images – images displayed in the ad.

How it works

When Google displays sponsored results in AI Mode, the API now returns them as an ai_overview_paid element.

For example:

{
  "type": "ai_overview_paid",
  "position": "left",
  "text": "To get an estimate based on your home's details, you can get a quote from these providers.",
  "markdown": "To get an estimate based on your home's details, you can get a quote from these providers.",
  "items": [
    {
      "type": "ai_overview_paid_element",
      "title": "Get a Free Quote Online - Get Your Fast, Free Quote",
      "url": "https://www.amica.com/",
      "domain": "www.amica.com",
      "ad_aclk": "DChsSEwifmI70xcWVAxU7bg8CHf0iOMoYACICCAIQABoCdGI",
      "website_name": "Amica Mutual Insurance",
      "breadcrumb": "https://www.amica.com",
      "snippet": "Rated One of 'America's Best Insurance Companies' of 2026 by Forbes. Get Your Quote Today!",
      "images": [
        {
          "type": "images_element",
          "alt": null,
          "url": null,
          "image_url": "https://api.dataforseo.com/cdn/i/07091500-8407-0066-0000-bd6cd37fd173:0"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "ai_overview_paid_element",
      "title": "Progressive®️ Home Insurance - Quote Homeowners Online Today - Quick & Easy Online Quoting",
      "url": "https://www.progressive.com/",
      "domain": "www.progressive.com",
      "ad_aclk": "DChsSEwifmI70xcWVAxU7bg8CHf0iOMoYACICCAIQARoCdGI",
      "website_name": "Progressive",
      "breadcrumb": "https://www.progressive.com › home › insurance",
      "snippet": "Protect Your Home and Possessions at an Affordable Price. See How Much You Can Save Today!",
      "images": [
        {
          "type": "images_element",
          "alt": null,
          "url": null,
          "image_url": "https://api.dataforseo.com/cdn/i/07091500-8407-0066-0000-bd6cd37fd173:1"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Please note that the url field contains the advertiser’s homepage rather than the complete landing page URL of the ad. Because this is a paid placement, Google does not expose the final destination without following the ad click referral. To support further ad analysis, the response also includes the ad_aclk parameter, which contains the unique referral value associated with the advertisement.

Why it matters

Using data from the new ai_overview_paid element, you can:

• detect the presence and position of paid ads in AI Mode;
• analyze advertisers, ad titles, descriptions, and displayed URLs;
• monitor sponsored visibility for specific queries and locations;
• build more complete AI search monitoring, competitor research, and paid search analysis workflows.

Check out the updated AI Mode SERP API documentation to start working with paid advertisement data from AI Mode results.