Track

The market map

Answer advertising is more than a few big assistants testing ads. It is five layers, each with its own buyers, sellers and pricing. Updated 2026-11-09.

Advertiser

Brand with a budget

Platform or network

Google, OpenAI, Gravity, Koah

AI app

Chatbot, search, agent

Person asking

Sees the answer and the ad

Layers 01 to 03 are paid inventory, 04 is earned, and 05 buys across the paid layers.

Layer 01Platform-stated

Walled gardens

The companies that own the assistant also own the ad. Buying runs through tools advertisers already use, mostly by making existing search and shopping campaigns eligible.

How the money moves

Advertiser
Platform ads account
Assistant answer
User

Who buys: Search and shopping advertisers
Who sells: The platform itself
Pricing: Auction CPC or direct CPM deals
Watch for: Reporting rarely separates AI placements from ordinary search.

Players · 5

GooglePlatform-stated
Ads in AI Overviews and AI Mode
Auction via Google Ads
Source Registry entry
MicrosoftPlatform-stated
Ads in Copilot
Auction via Microsoft Advertising
Source Registry entry
OpenAIPlatform-stated
Ads in ChatGPT
Limited testing with selected advertisers
Source Registry entry
PerplexityPlatform-stated
Sponsored follow-up questions
Direct sales, CPM
Source Registry entry
AmazonPlatform-stated
Sponsored prompts in Rufus
Attached to Sponsored Products
Source Registry entry

Listing is not endorsement. No player here pays answer.ad. Know one we missed? Tell us.