Many of Google’s most widely used services are free. That’s no accident, as the company makes its money from advertising. Gemini’s free tier is free of such ads, and that’s surprising given the heavy investment Google is currently making in AI. A recent report suggested ads could be coming to the Gemini next year, but a couple of Google executives have shot down such rumors.
An Adweek report, citing agency buyers, claimed that Google has supposedly informed at least two of its ad buyers about its intention to roll out ads in Gemini in 2026. The report further mentioned that details on the pricing, formats, and other technical specifics were not clear.
The VP of Google Ads, Dan Taylor, responded to the report on X, saying it is based on “uninformed, anonymous sources” making inaccurate claims. Google currently doesn’t serve any ads in the Gemini app, and “there are no current plans to change that.”
Google ads product liaison also reconfirmed this, confirming Google’s current plans do not include showing ads in the Gemini app anytime soon.
Google last revealed in October that Gemini has over 650 million users. That number must have increased by at least 50–100 million users post the launch of Gemini 3 and Nano Banana Pro.
It’s only a matter of time before Gemini gets ads
Not everyone will be on a paid Google One AI or Workspace plan, which means Google is serving free Gemini access to hundreds of millions of users every day.
That’s a significant challenge, especially given the current scarcity of AI compute resources. The demand is so high that Google had to adjust the limit on its free tier for the time being.
Given Google’s long history of monetizing free services with ads, it seems only a matter of time before ads find their way into Gemini as well.
Another report from earlier this month pointed to ads coming to ChatGPT’s free tier. Based on user feedback surrounding promotional messages appearing in chats, OpenAI’s Chief Research Officer Mark Chen confirmed that the company has paused displaying them for now. And whenever it returns, users will have more controls to tone down the suggestions’ intensity or turn them off altogether.
