Ginny Marvin, Google’s Ads Liaison, is clarifying how keyword match types interact with AI Overviews (AIO) and AI Mode ad placements — addressing ongoing confusion among advertisers testing AI Max and mixed match-type setups.
Why we care. As ads expand into AI-powered placements, advertisers need to understand which keywords are eligible to serve — and when — to avoid unintentionally blocking reach or misreading performance.
Back in May. Responding to questions from Marketing Director Yoav Eitani, Marvin confirmed that an ad can serve either above or below an AI Overview or within the AI Overview — but not both in the same auction:
- “Your ad could trigger to show either above/below AIO or within AIO, but not both at this time.” Marvin confirmed.
While both exact and broad match keywords can be eligible to trigger ads above or below AIO, only broad match keywords (or keywordless targeting) are eligible to trigger ads within AI Overviews.
What’s changed. In a follow-up exchange with Paid Search specialist Toan Tran, Marvin clarified that Google has updated how eligibility works. Previously, the presence of an exact match keyword could prevent a broad match keyword from serving in AI Overviews. That is no longer the case.
- “The presence of the same keyword in exact match will not prevent the broad match keyword from triggering an ad in an AI Overview, since the exact match keyword is not eligible to show Ads in AI Overviews and hence not competing with the broad match keyword.” Marvin said.
Since exact and phrase match keywords are not eligible for AI Overview placements, they do not compete with broad match keywords in that auction — meaning broad match can still trigger ads within AIO even when the same keyword exists as exact match.
The big picture. Google is reinforcing a clear separation between traditional keyword matching and AI-powered intent matching. Ads in AI Overviews rely on a deeper understanding of both the user query and the AI-generated content, which is why eligibility is limited to broader targeting signals.
The bottom line. Exact and phrase match keywords won’t show ads in AI Overviews — but they also won’t block broad match from doing so. For advertisers leaning into AI Max and AIO placements, broad match and keywordless strategies are now essential to unlocking reach in Google’s AI-driven surfaces.
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