Google on May 20 introduced conversational discovery ads, which let businesses use their ads to answer a person’s specific question. It also presented highlighted answers, a feature in Artificial Intelligence Mode that provides a list of business recommendations based on what people are searching for. Google is also introducing Business Agent for Leads, built with Gemini. This puts a smart brand agent into the business’s ads, so users can get instant answers by clicking chat on the business’s website.
The new capabilities are designed to address a challenge that has emerged with generative search. Businesses have struggled with being discovered and with finding ways to benefit from generative search experiences. That pressure is visible across Google Search as well as generative Artificial Intelligence search engines such as Perplexity and chatbots such as ChatGPT. By adding ads to Artificial Intelligence Mode and pairing them with highlighted answers, Google is giving businesses a way to appear more directly inside the consumer purchase journey.
Nikhil Lai, an analyst at Gartner, said the broader strategy is to close the gap between intent and transaction while embedding agentic capabilities across Google’s stack. He said the approach could help Google become the default platform for Artificial Intelligence-driven marketing, measurement and commerce orchestration. He also said these tools reduce the need for businesses to optimize for user search because product guidance and decision support are embedded directly in ads, allowing smaller advertisers to appear in discovery moments that larger brands previously dominated.
Lai said Business Agents add real time, conversational engagement by letting customers ask questions and complete actions like submitting forms without leaving search, which can improve lead generation. He said the format turns ads from static placements into interactive conversion experiences powered by first-party business data, improving efficiency and responsiveness for advertisers. Even so, he noted that the features do not solve every problem businesses face in Artificial Intelligence-driven search, particularly around brand differentiation in responses. Success, he said, increasingly depends on conversational relevance and Artificial Intelligence interpretation rather than only media spend or targeting.