Google has some ‘good ideas’ for putting ads in Gemini

By Judy Sanhz Published February 5, 2025

Gemini Advanced on the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold. — Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Google is exploring adding ads to Gemini AI. CEO Sundar Pichai floated the idea in an earnings call but did not mention a specific date, according to The Verge. He also noted that the company has “very good ideas” about how it could appear in the future.

This year’s focus remains on enhancing user experience features and broadening subscription offerings. Pichai noted that advertising has been essential in scaling other Google services, such as YouTube, possibly hinting that ads will eventually come to Gemini. However, Pichai did not mention how Google plans to integrate ads into Gemini when they appear in the AI. He also said they are committed to making the products work and delivering them to a vast audience.

Recommended Videos

The good news is that you don’t have to worry about seeing ads in Gemini, at least not this year. For now, Gemini continues to offer free or paid subscriptions with access to more advanced features. Currently, Gemini Advanced users can access options such as Gemini Advanced 2.0 Flash, Pro, Flash Thinking Experimental, Deep Research, and 2.0 Flash Thinking Experimental with apps.

For now, let’s enjoy the ad-free experience of Gemini while we can. If you think about it, Google’s business model relies heavily on ads, so it is only a matter of time before it gets to Gemini. Google has already incorporated ads in AI Overviews, so why should Gemini be any different? However, Google’s ads may get intrusive, and you may find ways to turn off targeted ads on Google.

Google also announced that it will spend $75 billion on capital expenditures this year to stay competitive in AI.

Computing Writer

Judy Sanhz is a Digital Trends computing writer covering all computing news. Loves all operating systems and devices.

Topics

Computing

Google Gemini can now create and edit PDFs, documents, and more right inside your chat

No more downloading, editing, and uploading files all over again.

Gemini AI on a phone.

Google has recently released many updates introducing new features to its AI suite, and the latest one could save users dealing with documents a lot of tedious work. The company has added the ability to create, preview, and edit documents, PDFs, presentations, spreadsheets, and code directly within Gemini conversations. Previously, you could generate and download files, but now you can work on them without leaving the chat.

You can now make changes without starting over

Computing

Reddit will force everyone to log in, and there’s no escape if you want to post or just lurk

The login-only experience will go into the testing phase in the coming months, starting with a few overseas markets.

reddit

Reddit is making login mandatory for all users of the platform. In a lengthy post, the Reddit chief explained that the company is moving to a permanently logged-in experience because it wants to offer users more personalization, helping them find content that’s more relevant to their interests and tastes.

The core idea, according to the company, is to nudge users into joining more communities and engaging with content through comments, votes, and more. The company, however, assures that the change won’t affect anonymity, which has long been one of the platform’s core appeals. The sign-up flow isn’t changing either. You won’t be required to submit any information beyond what’s already needed to create a Reddit account.

Computing

Your search engine could be hijacked by a Chrome extension that barely does anything

Your next search might take a detour you never approved.

Google Chrome

A browser extension that does nothing except change your search engine sounds harmless, almost boring, right? After reading this research, I’m convinced you shouldn't ignore it.

Security firm Socket says it found over 300 Chrome extensions that quietly swap a user’s default search engine and route every search through servers controlled by the people behind them before it reaches Bing or Yahoo. Even more alarming, these extensions have reportedly racked up roughly 13.4 million installs over the past decade.