Strategy

Advertising in AI Answers: What to Do Before the Formats Reach Lithuania

Google is moving ads into the middle of AI answers, where users converse instead of clicking links. The formats are being tested in a narrow market, but preparation takes months and can start today. Fix your product data feed, asset variety, and landing pages now, so you are not starting from zero when the formats reach Lithuania.

By Darius Lukosius, Google Ads strategist Published September 5, 2026 Updated September 5, 2026 11 min read

The short version

In May, Google introduced two ad formats for AI answers. The model generates the creative for each query, and a separate explanation is written next to it describing why the offer fits.
The test began in the US, for English-language queries. Features like this usually reach Europe within 6-12 months.
Not all campaigns land in these placements, only specific types: Performance Max, AI Max with search term matching, Shopping campaigns, and broad match.
There is no separate line in reports - impressions from AI Overviews flow into the overall top-of-page metrics.
What you need to prepare is not ad copy but what the model builds it from: the product data feed, asset variety, and landing page quality.

1. What is changing in search results

The classic flow was straightforward: a user types a query, ads compete in an auction, a person clicks and lands on a website. In conversational search, that line breaks. The user asks a long question, gets a summarized answer, refines it, compares options, and gets close to a decision without ever returning to the usual list of results.

For advertising, that means two things at once. First, some informational queries no longer produce clicks - the answer is delivered on the spot. Second, a new place appears to be visible earlier, before a person narrows their choice down to two brands.

In practice this shifts the center of gravity. Before, the winner was whoever managed the keyword list better. Now the winner is whoever has the data, assets, and pages that let the system assemble a convincing answer.

2. Two new formats

At its May event, Google introduced two formats designed for conversational search. Both are labeled as sponsored, in both the creative is generated by the model for the specific question, and both come with a separate explanation of why the offer is considered a suitable answer.

Format	Where it appears	Best for
Conversational discovery ads	In the answer to a specific user question	Decisions that need explaining: services, technically complex products
Highlighted answers	In recommendation lists and summaries	Products where making the shortlist at the comparison stage matters

The first phase of the test applies creative restrictions - for example, ads with pinned assets or text disclaimers are not eligible. This matters for regulated industries, where exactly those elements are often mandatory.

Why the healthcare sector is worth watching. One of the first tests was launched in healthcare - one of the most strictly regulated advertising categories. If ads are let in there, expansion into other fields is a matter of time, not principle. For advertisers in finance, law, and other sensitive sectors, this is the best signal available.

3. Which campaigns land there

Not just anything gets into AI answer placements. According to Google's communication, the eligible types are Performance Max, AI Max with search term matching, Shopping campaigns, and broad match. The common denominator is obvious: everywhere the system is left free to interpret intent.

An unpleasant but useful conclusion follows. An account built from strict exact-match keywords and pinned headlines simply does not get into these placements. That does not mean you need to tear everything down - it means you should have at least one campaign that can participate there, and watch what it brings.

Related to this is the automatic switch to AI Max: some accounts received this capability on their own, without a separate decision.

4. Why you do not see it in reports

There is no separate "ads in AI Overviews" line in reports. Impressions from these placements are counted in the overall top-position metrics. That means the question "how much did the new placements give me" cannot be answered directly.

What you can do instead:

Watch the nature of your search terms. Longer, question-style queries are an indirect sign.
Track the ratio of click-through rate (CTR) to impressions. Stable impressions with a falling CTR often mean part of the answers are consumed without a click.
Do not force assumptions. Until there is a separate breakdown, any "AI traffic" analysis is a guess with a tidy chart.

5. What to prepare now

The preparation work has nothing to do directly with the new formats - it is the same things that improve ordinary campaigns today. That is what makes it good: even if the formats reach Lithuania later than expected, the investment does not go to waste.

Fix your product data feed Complete titles, accurate categories, descriptions with real attributes, up-to-date prices and stock levels. When the system assembles the creative, the feed is its raw material. A missing field means a missed argument.
Increase asset variety Instead of five similar headlines, write headlines about different things: price, delivery, warranty, experience, specialization. The system needs something to choose from, not five versions of the same thing.
Rebuild key landing pages as answers A page that answers a specific question with a clear structure is better material than a page stuffed with keywords. Concrete numbers, terms, prices, and a frequently asked questions block work better than generic copy.
Add structured data Markup for product, price, availability, organization, and frequently asked questions helps systems understand the page content without guesswork.
Check your conversion data The more decisions automation makes, the more an inaccurate conversion costs. This is a separate topic that we covered here.
Get speed and the mobile version in order Poor landing page quality is a direct barrier to entering these placements. It is no longer "nice to have" but a condition of entry.

Want to know whether your account could get in at all?

We review campaign types, the data feed, asset variety, and landing pages, and deliver the result as a prioritized preparation checklist.

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6. Why website content has become part of advertising

For a long time, content marketing and paid advertising lived separately - different teams, different budgets, different metrics. In conversational search, that wall comes down. The system that decides what to say about your business reads the same pages you wrote for organic search.

In practice, this means the blog, the frequently asked questions section, and product descriptions have stopped being an "SEO matter." They are the material from which the explanation next to your ad is built. A business whose website clearly states who the product is for, what it costs, and how it differs from alternatives has an advantage you cannot buy with a bigger budget.

7. A sober look: what to realistically expect

Every new Google feature is introduced with a promise of better results. Independent observations are usually more restrained, and this case is no exception.

Three things worth keeping in mind:

Some of the "new" traffic is not new. Tests show that new formats often take clicks from the same campaigns, and the account-level gain is smaller than the campaign-level gain.
Measurement lags behind capability. Until there is a separate breakdown, you will have to make decisions with less information than usual.
Testing costs money. The first months in any new placement are pricier. It is worth deciding in advance how much you are prepared to pay for learning.

This is not an argument against taking part. It is an argument for taking part with a clear budget, a set deadline, and an agreed criterion after which you stop or expand.

8. Frequently asked questions

Are these new campaign types?

No. They are new places where existing campaigns can appear. You do not need to build new campaigns - you need the right type and enough quality input data.

When will this reach Lithuania?

There is no exact date. The tests began in the US for English-language queries, and similar formats usually reach Europe within 6-12 months. That is exactly why it is worth doing the preparation work now - it is useful even without the new formats.

Can I opt out of showing in these placements?

There is no separate switch to opt out of these placements alone. An indirect way is to avoid the campaign types that land there, but then you also lose everything else they deliver.

Will my ad copy be rewritten?

In these formats, the creative is generated for the query rather than taken as static text. So what matters most is not a perfect headline but accurate product data, asset variety, and a clear landing page.

What should advertisers in regulated fields do?

Watch the restrictions on pinned assets and mandatory disclaimers - in the first phase, such ads were not eligible. If certain wording is mandatory in your field, it is worth working out in advance how to present it without breaking the requirements.

Where do I start if I have little time?

With your data feed and your three most important landing pages. That pays off immediately, before any new formats arrive.

Let's prepare in advance

We set up the data feed, asset structure, and landing pages so the new placements are within reach when they open. We start with an account review.

Talk to a specialist

Sources

Darius Lukosius

Google Ads strategist who has run search and shopping campaigns in the Lithuanian and Baltic markets since 2016. This article draws on information published by Google and on independent observations; the formats are not yet available in the Lithuanian market, so the text will be updated when they appear.