The news: Google is quietly signaling to agencies that paid placements may come to Gemini in 2026, per Adweek, despite the company’s public insistence that no such plans exist.
- Major ad buyers say Google has framed potential Gemini ads as a high-intent opportunity for ecommerce marketers looking to target consumers through conversational interactions.
- The outreach coincides with Gemini’s rapid expansion: Global monthly active users grew roughly 30% from August to November, propelled in part by the Nano Banana Pro image generator, which alone added more than 23 million users.
- ChatGPT remains larger at roughly 800 million weekly users, yet agencies note that Gemini’s growth pace is becoming increasingly difficult for Google to ignore.
The pushback: Google formally pushed back on the reporting. Google VP of global ads Dan Taylor said on X that the claims were inaccurate and reaffirmed that Gemini contains no ads, and that “there are no current plans to change that.”
Google maintains that only AI Overviews and AI Mode include advertising today, and any future changes would be announced directly. Still, the denials have not slowed industry speculation given Gemini’s climbing adoption curve.
Where Gemini stands: Among US adults, ChatGPT remains the most widely used AI tool, with 54% having heard of or tried it and more than one-quarter using it weekly or monthly. Gemini and Microsoft Copilot lag in habitual use but show strong awareness, with around half of adults familiar with both tools, per MRI-Simmons.
EMARKETER’s long-term forecasts show Gemini strengthening its position: ChatGPT’s share of US genAI users edges down from 69.9% in 2023 to 68.4% in 2029, while Gemini climbs sharply to 52.6% by 2029. That rise is powered by US user growth from 55.7 million in 2025 to 85.7 million in 2029 before slowing into single-digit expansion as the market matures.