Google trials one Sponsored heading for shopping ads in AI Mode

The old design printed Sponsored on every paid card and left the free listings blank. The trial swaps those per-card tags for a single label over the paid block and gives the free listings a label too, PPC Land explains.

Barry Schwartz, who runs Search Engine Roundtable, wrote that the screenshots left him unsure whether the All products row also held ads. Google’s statement settles part of that. Paid Shopping listings can be mixed into carousels next to free results when a search shows buying intent, the company said, and each paid one carries the Sponsored label.

Labelling is also where Google’s rules on AI-made ads stop short. Our disclosure guide records the policy update of 9 July 2026: Google’s AI label setting is optional, and visible overlays apply only to campaigns aimed at the EU, India or New York (guide checked 26 September 2026).

In this layout an advertiser’s card loses its own Sponsored tag and sits under a group heading; in the examples PPC Land examined, the blue product title is the only marker left on each paid card.