Does Google Use Your Gmail or Photos to Target Ads in AI Mode?

Not directly. Starting in October 2026, Google began testing ads inside AI Mode for users who have Personal Intelligence turned on, but Google says only summaries, excerpts, and inferences drawn from connected apps like Gmail and Photos may inform those ads — advertisers don't get access to the raw contents of an email or photo.

A Reversal From Google's Earlier Position

In March 2026, Google had told users that connecting Personal Intelligence would mean seeing no ads in AI Mode. Search Engine Roundtable reported on October 19, 2026 that Google confirmed to Search Engine Land that position has changed: a test now shows ads to users who've connected their apps through Personal Intelligence, effectively walking back the earlier no-ads promise for this specific group.

What Personal Intelligence Actually Shares

Personal Intelligence is Google's feature that lets AI Mode draw on a user's own Gmail, Photos, and other connected Google app data to produce more personalized answers — remembering context like upcoming trips, purchases, or ongoing projects a user has emailed or photographed. The ad test uses the same underlying personalization layer, but Google's help documentation specifies that ad matching works off summaries and inferences, not the raw email or photo content itself, so an advertiser's system never sees an actual message.

What's Explicitly Off-Limits

Google says it excludes sensitive categories from personalized ads under this test and that advertisers themselves get no direct access to a user's Gmail or Google Photos data. The targeting signal is a processed, abstracted layer — not a feed of someone's actual inbox or camera roll handed to an advertiser's systems, and Google has framed the boundary as a deliberate design choice rather than a temporary limitation.

What's Still Unknown

Coverage of the announcement, including reporting from Relevant Audience and Single Grain, notes that Google hasn't published new advertiser-facing controls, specific targeting categories, or a timeline for expanding the test beyond its current scope. There's no confirmation yet of how widely available this will become or whether advertisers will get dedicated Personal Intelligence targeting options inside Google Ads itself.

Why This Matters for Advertisers Now

If you advertise through Google Ads and some of your traffic already comes through AI Mode, this test means a slice of that audience could now see ads shaped by inferred context from their connected apps — without you, as the advertiser, having any new lever to target or exclude based on it. There's nothing to configure yet; this is a platform-side test, not a new campaign setting you'll find in your account dashboard.

Bottom Line

Google's AI Mode now shows ads to some Personal Intelligence users based on inferred context, not raw personal content, but advertisers have no new targeting controls tied to it yet — watch for an official Google Ads Help update before assuming anything changes in your account.

Sources: Search Engine Roundtable, "Google Ads Now In AI Mode With Personal Intelligence" (October 19, 2026); Relevant Audience and Single Grain coverage of Google's statement on the Personal Intelligence ad test.