DealerAuthority How Dealers Can Show Google Ads in AI Overviews

[Brian Michael West]

Google’s new AI search experience is reshaping how shoppers discover vehicles and connect with dealerships. Instead of relying only on traditional search results, shoppers now see AI Overviews, Google AI overview ads, and AI Mode responses that summarize information and recommend next steps. For car dealers, this change creates a new opportunity. Your Google AI ads can appear inside these AI results if your campaigns are structured correctly.

The good news is that most dealerships’ Search, Shopping, and Performance Max campaigns are already eligible to appear in Google AI results. The challenge is making sure your settings, targeting, and landing pages are designed to help Google understand why your dealership deserves to appear in these high-visibility placements. Below is a simple guide to help you break into the AI search experience and generate more leads for your store.

Step 1: Enable AI Max in Google Ads​

To make sure your dealership’s ads are eligible for AI Mode, start by updating your campaign settings.

1. Go to your Search campaign in Google Ads.
2. Open your campaign settings.
3. Find the AI Max section.
4. Turn on Optimize your campaigns with AI Max.
5. Select features like search term matching and asset optimization.

AI Max helps your ads match with broader, intent-based automotive searches. This is important because shoppers using AI for product research use natural language to write out their query, not just keywords.

Step 2: Use Smart Targeting Strategies​

Google’s AI evaluates relevance, intent, and user behavior. Dealers who want to appear in AI Mode should focus on smart targeting strategies rather than strict keyword lists.

Set your Keywords to Broad Match and use Smart Bidding settings such as Maximize for Conversion Value. This gives AI the flexibility to connect your ads to new phrases that shoppers use inside AI Mode, including queries that trigger Google AI Mode search results.

By using Maximize for Conversion Value, you are telling Google to prioritize shoppers who are most likely to submit a lead, schedule a test drive, or visit your store.

Pro tip: Make sure you’re adding a healthy amount of negative keywords to your list so that Google doesn’t go out of its way to bid on terms you’re focusing on elsewhere or don’t want to show up for at all. While we want to trust the system and let Google do its thing, these guardrails will help prevent your budget from being wasted.

Step 3: Write Better Ads for AI Search​

AI Mode pulls in context from many sources. Your ad copy needs to stay clear, relevant, and aligned with real shopper questions. This increases your chances of showing Google Ads in AI overviews or Google Ads placements. Here’s how you can do just that:

• Write short, direct lines that speak to actual buying needs.
  
• Highlight dealership value, such as warranties, financing programs, or trade-in offers.
  
• Match your ad copy with landing pages that deliver on the promise of the ad.
  
  

Step 4: Improve Your Landing Pages​

Your landing pages matter more than ever. AI aims to direct shoppers to pages that provide clear and direct answers to their questions.

Create pages that address real buyer questions, such as “What is the best SUV for families?” and publish guides and blog posts that AI can reference. Ensure that every page remains mobile-friendly, as most AI-driven searches occur on mobile devices.

A strong internal linking structure also helps. When your pages connect naturally to each other, shoppers can navigate your site smoothly. This keeps them engaged for longer and provides Google with more signals that your content is valuable. It also helps AI understand the relationships between your topics, which increases the chances of your pages being pulled into relevant search moments.

When your content answers real shopper questions clearly and loads well on any device, Google gains more confidence in your pages. This increases your chances of showing your Google Ads in AI overviews when shoppers look for model comparisons or pricing information.

Step 5: Track AI Traffic​

You can measure how often your dealership’s ads appear in AI Mode by checking your Search Terms report. This is especially useful for monitoring Google Ads AI Max reporting. Follow these steps to quickly and easily inspect your dealership’s Google Ads in AI Overviews:

1. Go to Campaigns
2. Open Insights and Reports
3. Select Search Terms
4. Add a filter for Match Type
5. Choose AI Max

This will show you which search queries triggered your ads inside AI search experiences. It’s important to review this data weekly to assess the effectiveness of your strategy and identify areas where adjustments can be made. Speaking from experience, not everything that glitters in Google Ads is gold. Just because AI Max is new and shiny, it doesn’t mean that it’s ready to perform as well as (or outperform!) your pre-existing campaigns. Take the time to evaluate the cost of AI Max performance and ensure this option makes sense for your dealership.

Step 6: Keep Testing and Adapting​

AI search continues to evolve. Dealers who remain flexible will reap the most significant benefits as Google Ads AI and AI-powered features continue to evolve.

Pro Tip: Stay alert to Google’s updates so you can stay ahead of competing dealers. While you want to keep your focus on generating qualified leads and achieving a strong ROI, it’s also important to test out new formats, such as Video Demand Gen, to help maximize exposure and determine if it’s right for your dealership’s campaign goals.

The most successful stores blend their traditional paid search structures with new AI-focused opportunities and adapt as performance trends change.

Final Takeaway for Dealers​

Activating Google Gemini ads does not require a complete overhaul. It simply means tightening and optimizing what you already have in place. Strong bidding strategies, high-intent keywords, relevant ad copy, and helpful landing pages will position your dealership to earn more visibility in AI search.

Just as importantly, ensure that you measure performance consistently so you can identify what is working, make adjustments quickly, and continue to improve over time.

We hope this guide has provided you with clear direction on both setting up your Google Ads in AI Overviews and optimizing the overall performance of your AI Max campaigns.

If your ads don’t show up in those moments, your competitors’ will. Dealer Authority helps you build campaigns that work seamlessly with Google’s AI so your inventory shows up exactly when shoppers are asking about it.

Reach out to us today to level up your Google Ads AI Max strategy and boost your visibility in AI-driven search results.