Google has revised how information from Gmail, Google Photos and Google Drive can contribute to personalized advertising. Its updated privacy policy, effective October 16, 2026, makes an exception when users choose to give other Google services access to that information. The company is also testing AI Mode ads for people who have enabled Personal Intelligence.

For advertisers, this introduces additional context that could influence ad selection. Google has not announced separate targeting tools or reporting for the test, however. Connecting apps remains a choice made by the person using Search.

What changed in the privacy policy

Google has long stated that it does not personalize ads using content from Gmail, Photos or Drive. That provision remains, but now includes an exception for people who make information from those products available to other Google services that support personalized advertising.

The policy also explains that users can let Search or Gemini Apps access information from other Google apps. What happens next depends on the settings and policies of the service receiving access. Search, for example, may use some of that information to personalize content, including advertising.

Permission to connect apps for tailored answers can therefore also affect ad personalization. The change follows a much earlier decision: in 2017, Google stopped scanning free Gmail accounts for ad targeting.

How Personal Intelligence adds context to Search

Personal Intelligence lets Gemini and AI Mode draw on connected apps with the user's permission. In Search, it debuted in January 2026 as an English-language Labs experiment in the United States. Initial access was for Google AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers using personal accounts, excluding Workspace business, enterprise and education accounts.

Users could connect Gmail and Google Photos to receive answers informed by their plans and preferences. A flight confirmation or hotel reservation, for instance, can tell the system where someone is going and when, while photos from earlier trips can add clues about their interests.

Robby Stein, Google Search's vice president of product, illustrated the feature with a clothing purchase. For someone looking for a coat before visiting Chicago in March, AI Mode could combine flight details in Gmail with preferred brands to suggest options suited to the weather.

When Google expanded the feature in March, it said this personalized experience would remain free of ads for the time being, while anticipating that advertising could eventually work in a similar way. The company is now testing that approach.

Which information can influence ads

Google's help documentation describes using summaries, excerpts and inferences derived from connected sources. This information can support personalized answers and advertising; Google does not describe the process as matching ads directly against an entire inbox or photo library.

Advertisers do not receive access to a user's Gmail or Google Photos. Google's restriction on personalized advertising based on sensitive categories also remains in place, covering race, religion, sexual orientation and health.

Users can switch off ad personalization through My Ad Center. To disconnect the underlying sources, they can open their Google Account's Search personalization settings, select Connected Content Apps and remove the relevant connections. Disabling personalized advertising alone does not necessarily stop those apps from supplying context to AI features.

There is a separate data-processing consideration. Google says summaries, excerpts and inferences from connected sources may be used to train generative AI models. Human reviewers may also examine a subset of information processed by AI Mode and Ask Maps.

What advertisers can access in Google Ads

Personal Intelligence operates on the Search user's side. Google Ads has no announced option to select audiences using Gmail or Photos insights, set bids for those insights or build dedicated segments around them.

Google has identified Performance Max, Shopping and broad match Search campaigns, including those using AI Max for Search, as eligible for AI Mode ad testing. Meeting those conditions does not establish that a campaign has actually served ads to Personal Intelligence users. The company has not published separate eligibility requirements for this particular test.

Additional context could help identify a shopping need that someone has not fully expressed in a query. Advertisers cannot determine when that context contributed to an impression or outcome, though. No dedicated Personal Intelligence report has been announced, and AI Max reports for search terms, assets and landing pages do not flag contributions from Gmail or Photos.

What Google still needs to clarify

Google has not given a date for moving beyond the test or said whether dedicated reports or AI Mode placement controls will become available. The reach of connected-app ad personalization also remains uncertain: the test is described in terms of AI Mode, while the help documentation addresses Search Services more broadly.

Google defines that group as Search, including AI Mode and Discover, alongside Maps, Shopping, Flights, Hotels, Translate and News. That wording alone does not establish that the same advertising signals are used across every product in the group.

Separately, Google is gradually moving history and recommendation controls to Search Services History and Personalized Recommendations over the coming months, replacing the previous Web & App Activity and Search Personalization controls for these purposes. Menu options may therefore vary according to the stage of an account's update.

Google has revised how information from Gmail, Google Photos and Google Drive can contribute to personalized advertising. Its updated privacy policy, effective October 16, 2026, makes an exception when users choose to give other Google services access to that information. The company is also testing AI Mode ads for people who have enabled Personal Intelligence.

For advertisers, this introduces additional context that could influence ad selection. Google has not announced separate targeting tools or reporting for the test, however. Connecting apps remains a choice made by the person using Search.

What changed in the privacy policy

Google has long stated that it does not personalize ads using content from Gmail, Photos or Drive. That provision remains, but now includes an exception for people who make information from those products available to other Google services that support personalized advertising.

The policy also explains that users can let Search or Gemini Apps access information from other Google apps. What happens next depends on the settings and policies of the service receiving access. Search, for example, may use some of that information to personalize content, including advertising.

Permission to connect apps for tailored answers can therefore also affect ad personalization. The change follows a much earlier decision: in 2017, Google stopped scanning free Gmail accounts for ad targeting.

How Personal Intelligence adds context to Search

Personal Intelligence lets Gemini and AI Mode draw on connected apps with the user's permission. In Search, it debuted in January 2026 as an English-language Labs experiment in the United States. Initial access was for Google AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers using personal accounts, excluding Workspace business, enterprise and education accounts.

Users could connect Gmail and Google Photos to receive answers informed by their plans and preferences. A flight confirmation or hotel reservation, for instance, can tell the system where someone is going and when, while photos from earlier trips can add clues about their interests.

Robby Stein, Google Search's vice president of product, illustrated the feature with a clothing purchase. For someone looking for a coat before visiting Chicago in March, AI Mode could combine flight details in Gmail with preferred brands to suggest options suited to the weather.

When Google expanded the feature in March, it said this personalized experience would remain free of ads for the time being, while anticipating that advertising could eventually work in a similar way. The company is now testing that approach.

Which information can influence ads

Google's help documentation describes using summaries, excerpts and inferences derived from connected sources. This information can support personalized answers and advertising; Google does not describe the process as matching ads directly against an entire inbox or photo library.

Advertisers do not receive access to a user's Gmail or Google Photos. Google's restriction on personalized advertising based on sensitive categories also remains in place, covering race, religion, sexual orientation and health.

Users can switch off ad personalization through My Ad Center. To disconnect the underlying sources, they can open their Google Account's Search personalization settings, select Connected Content Apps and remove the relevant connections. Disabling personalized advertising alone does not necessarily stop those apps from supplying context to AI features.

There is a separate data-processing consideration. Google says summaries, excerpts and inferences from connected sources may be used to train generative AI models. Human reviewers may also examine a subset of information processed by AI Mode and Ask Maps.

What advertisers can access in Google Ads

Personal Intelligence operates on the Search user's side. Google Ads has no announced option to select audiences using Gmail or Photos insights, set bids for those insights or build dedicated segments around them.

Google has identified Performance Max, Shopping and broad match Search campaigns, including those using AI Max for Search, as eligible for AI Mode ad testing. Meeting those conditions does not establish that a campaign has actually served ads to Personal Intelligence users. The company has not published separate eligibility requirements for this particular test.

Additional context could help identify a shopping need that someone has not fully expressed in a query. Advertisers cannot determine when that context contributed to an impression or outcome, though. No dedicated Personal Intelligence report has been announced, and AI Max reports for search terms, assets and landing pages do not flag contributions from Gmail or Photos.

What Google still needs to clarify

Google has not given a date for moving beyond the test or said whether dedicated reports or AI Mode placement controls will become available. The reach of connected-app ad personalization also remains uncertain: the test is described in terms of AI Mode, while the help documentation addresses Search Services more broadly.

Google defines that group as Search, including AI Mode and Discover, alongside Maps, Shopping, Flights, Hotels, Translate and News. That wording alone does not establish that the same advertising signals are used across every product in the group.

Separately, Google is gradually moving history and recommendation controls to Search Services History and Personalized Recommendations over the coming months, replacing the previous Web & App Activity and Search Personalization controls for these purposes. Menu options may therefore vary according to the stage of an account's update.

Google has revised how information from Gmail, Google Photos and Google Drive can contribute to personalized advertising. Its updated privacy policy, effective October 16, 2026, makes an exception when users choose to give other Google services access to that information. The company is also testing AI Mode ads for people who have enabled Personal Intelligence.

For advertisers, this introduces additional context that could influence ad selection. Google has not announced separate targeting tools or reporting for the test, however. Connecting apps remains a choice made by the person using Search.

What changed in the privacy policy

Google has long stated that it does not personalize ads using content from Gmail, Photos or Drive. That provision remains, but now includes an exception for people who make information from those products available to other Google services that support personalized advertising.

The policy also explains that users can let Search or Gemini Apps access information from other Google apps. What happens next depends on the settings and policies of the service receiving access. Search, for example, may use some of that information to personalize content, including advertising.

Permission to connect apps for tailored answers can therefore also affect ad personalization. The change follows a much earlier decision: in 2017, Google stopped scanning free Gmail accounts for ad targeting.

How Personal Intelligence adds context to Search

Personal Intelligence lets Gemini and AI Mode draw on connected apps with the user's permission. In Search, it debuted in January 2026 as an English-language Labs experiment in the United States. Initial access was for Google AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers using personal accounts, excluding Workspace business, enterprise and education accounts.

Users could connect Gmail and Google Photos to receive answers informed by their plans and preferences. A flight confirmation or hotel reservation, for instance, can tell the system where someone is going and when, while photos from earlier trips can add clues about their interests.

Robby Stein, Google Search's vice president of product, illustrated the feature with a clothing purchase. For someone looking for a coat before visiting Chicago in March, AI Mode could combine flight details in Gmail with preferred brands to suggest options suited to the weather.

When Google expanded the feature in March, it said this personalized experience would remain free of ads for the time being, while anticipating that advertising could eventually work in a similar way. The company is now testing that approach.

Which information can influence ads

Google's help documentation describes using summaries, excerpts and inferences derived from connected sources. This information can support personalized answers and advertising; Google does not describe the process as matching ads directly against an entire inbox or photo library.

Advertisers do not receive access to a user's Gmail or Google Photos. Google's restriction on personalized advertising based on sensitive categories also remains in place, covering race, religion, sexual orientation and health.

Users can switch off ad personalization through My Ad Center. To disconnect the underlying sources, they can open their Google Account's Search personalization settings, select Connected Content Apps and remove the relevant connections. Disabling personalized advertising alone does not necessarily stop those apps from supplying context to AI features.

There is a separate data-processing consideration. Google says summaries, excerpts and inferences from connected sources may be used to train generative AI models. Human reviewers may also examine a subset of information processed by AI Mode and Ask Maps.

What advertisers can access in Google Ads

Personal Intelligence operates on the Search user's side. Google Ads has no announced option to select audiences using Gmail or Photos insights, set bids for those insights or build dedicated segments around them.

Google has identified Performance Max, Shopping and broad match Search campaigns, including those using AI Max for Search, as eligible for AI Mode ad testing. Meeting those conditions does not establish that a campaign has actually served ads to Personal Intelligence users. The company has not published separate eligibility requirements for this particular test.

Additional context could help identify a shopping need that someone has not fully expressed in a query. Advertisers cannot determine when that context contributed to an impression or outcome, though. No dedicated Personal Intelligence report has been announced, and AI Max reports for search terms, assets and landing pages do not flag contributions from Gmail or Photos.

What Google still needs to clarify

Google has not given a date for moving beyond the test or said whether dedicated reports or AI Mode placement controls will become available. The reach of connected-app ad personalization also remains uncertain: the test is described in terms of AI Mode, while the help documentation addresses Search Services more broadly.

Google defines that group as Search, including AI Mode and Discover, alongside Maps, Shopping, Flights, Hotels, Translate and News. That wording alone does not establish that the same advertising signals are used across every product in the group.

Separately, Google is gradually moving history and recommendation controls to Search Services History and Personalized Recommendations over the coming months, replacing the previous Web & App Activity and Search Personalization controls for these purposes. Menu options may therefore vary according to the stage of an account's update.

Google has revised how information from Gmail, Google Photos and Google Drive can contribute to personalized advertising. Its updated privacy policy, effective October 16, 2026, makes an exception when users choose to give other Google services access to that information. The company is also testing AI Mode ads for people who have enabled Personal Intelligence.

For advertisers, this introduces additional context that could influence ad selection. Google has not announced separate targeting tools or reporting for the test, however. Connecting apps remains a choice made by the person using Search.

What changed in the privacy policy

Google has long stated that it does not personalize ads using content from Gmail, Photos or Drive. That provision remains, but now includes an exception for people who make information from those products available to other Google services that support personalized advertising.

The policy also explains that users can let Search or Gemini Apps access information from other Google apps. What happens next depends on the settings and policies of the service receiving access. Search, for example, may use some of that information to personalize content, including advertising.

Permission to connect apps for tailored answers can therefore also affect ad personalization. The change follows a much earlier decision: in 2017, Google stopped scanning free Gmail accounts for ad targeting.

How Personal Intelligence adds context to Search

Personal Intelligence lets Gemini and AI Mode draw on connected apps with the user's permission. In Search, it debuted in January 2026 as an English-language Labs experiment in the United States. Initial access was for Google AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers using personal accounts, excluding Workspace business, enterprise and education accounts.

Users could connect Gmail and Google Photos to receive answers informed by their plans and preferences. A flight confirmation or hotel reservation, for instance, can tell the system where someone is going and when, while photos from earlier trips can add clues about their interests.

Robby Stein, Google Search's vice president of product, illustrated the feature with a clothing purchase. For someone looking for a coat before visiting Chicago in March, AI Mode could combine flight details in Gmail with preferred brands to suggest options suited to the weather.

When Google expanded the feature in March, it said this personalized experience would remain free of ads for the time being, while anticipating that advertising could eventually work in a similar way. The company is now testing that approach.

Which information can influence ads

Google's help documentation describes using summaries, excerpts and inferences derived from connected sources. This information can support personalized answers and advertising; Google does not describe the process as matching ads directly against an entire inbox or photo library.

Advertisers do not receive access to a user's Gmail or Google Photos. Google's restriction on personalized advertising based on sensitive categories also remains in place, covering race, religion, sexual orientation and health.

Users can switch off ad personalization through My Ad Center. To disconnect the underlying sources, they can open their Google Account's Search personalization settings, select Connected Content Apps and remove the relevant connections. Disabling personalized advertising alone does not necessarily stop those apps from supplying context to AI features.

There is a separate data-processing consideration. Google says summaries, excerpts and inferences from connected sources may be used to train generative AI models. Human reviewers may also examine a subset of information processed by AI Mode and Ask Maps.

What advertisers can access in Google Ads

Personal Intelligence operates on the Search user's side. Google Ads has no announced option to select audiences using Gmail or Photos insights, set bids for those insights or build dedicated segments around them.

Google has identified Performance Max, Shopping and broad match Search campaigns, including those using AI Max for Search, as eligible for AI Mode ad testing. Meeting those conditions does not establish that a campaign has actually served ads to Personal Intelligence users. The company has not published separate eligibility requirements for this particular test.

Additional context could help identify a shopping need that someone has not fully expressed in a query. Advertisers cannot determine when that context contributed to an impression or outcome, though. No dedicated Personal Intelligence report has been announced, and AI Max reports for search terms, assets and landing pages do not flag contributions from Gmail or Photos.

What Google still needs to clarify

Google has not given a date for moving beyond the test or said whether dedicated reports or AI Mode placement controls will become available. The reach of connected-app ad personalization also remains uncertain: the test is described in terms of AI Mode, while the help documentation addresses Search Services more broadly.

Google defines that group as Search, including AI Mode and Discover, alongside Maps, Shopping, Flights, Hotels, Translate and News. That wording alone does not establish that the same advertising signals are used across every product in the group.

Separately, Google is gradually moving history and recommendation controls to Search Services History and Personalized Recommendations over the coming months, replacing the previous Web & App Activity and Search Personalization controls for these purposes. Menu options may therefore vary according to the stage of an account's update.