The first holiday season of AI paid search
How holiday shoppers now split across ChatGPT, AI Overviews, and Google Search, with Adthena data from June to September 2026.
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ChatGPT ads from zero: 0 placements tracked
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AI Overviews went vertical: 0% in Australia year on year
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Ads inside Google's AI box: 0K US placements
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One search, three different places
Holiday shoppers now split across three AI-shaped surfaces, each with its own behaviour and its own playbook.
ChatGPT AdsA brand new paid surface. Shoppers ask it what to buy, so ads land at the research stage.
AI OverviewsGoogle's AI answers appear above results on a huge share of queries, and brands can place ads inside the box.
Google SearchStill the giant by raw volume, but its own AI layer is where the momentum sits now.
Google owns volume. AI owns the growth. Holding both together is the point for any holiday plan. Source: Adthena, June to September 2026
Apparel leads, toys come fast
Total ChatGPT ad placements by category, and where the ad volume already sits heading into peak. Toys & Games advertisers grew 13× from June to August.
Source: Adthena, total ChatGPT ad placements by category, June to September 2026
AI Overviews went vertical
Appearances on Google results grew fast year on year (August 2025 to August 2026) in every market we tracked.
AI Overviews have crossed from novelty to norm. As Google increasingly answers inside the box, the ad slots beneath it lose visibility. The brands that appear within the AI answer will shape the decision before a shopper ever scrolls.
Holiday AI paid search at a glance
Distinct brands running ChatGPT ads in August, up from 1,082 in June.
Advertiser growth from June to August, the steepest of all five categories.
Apparel ad placements inside Google's AI Overview and AI Mode panels in the US, well ahead of every other category.
ChatGPT ads are landing where people compare and ask what's best, before a brand is locked in.
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