Short answer
Google added an exception to its privacy policy: if users connect Gmail, Photos or Drive to other Google services, summaries drawn from those apps may also shape personalised ads. Google began testing ads in AI Mode at the same time. Advertisers received no new targeting or reporting tool, so the effect cannot be measured directly.
Highlights
- The policy took effect on 16 October and mainly covers users who turn on Personal Intelligence.
- Advertisers cannot access a user's Gmail inbox or Photos library, and personalised ads are not shown in sensitive categories.
- No new targeting or reporting option was announced in Google Ads; connected-app signals do not appear separately in reports.
3 min readAuthor: UNIT Journal EditorEditor-in-chief: Uğur Deniz İlhan
Google has updated its privacy policy so that content from Gmail, Google Photos and Drive can play a part in personalised ads when users connect those apps to other Google services. Search Engine Journal looked at the change from the advertiser's side.
What changed in Google's privacy policy?
The change took effect on 16 October and mainly concerns users who turn on Personal Intelligence in Gemini and in AI Mode in Google Search. The old text said Google did not show personalised ads based on Drive, Gmail and Photos content. The new text keeps that statement but adds an exception: when users make that data available to other Google services that support personalised ads.
Around the same time, Google began testing AI Mode ads for users who have Personal Intelligence switched on. According to Google's help page, ads are not matched to the raw contents of an email or photo; summaries, excerpts and inferences from connected sources may be used. Advertisers cannot access a user's connected Gmail inbox or Photos library. Personalised ads are also not shown in sensitive categories such as race, religion, sexual orientation and health.
What changes for advertisers?
The short answer: nothing yet on targeting and reporting. No new audience, targeting setting or Personal Intelligence report has been announced in Google Ads. Connected-app inferences may influence which ad appears in AI Mode, but you cannot target them, bid on them or tell them apart in your reports.
The campaign types named as eligible for the AI Mode ad test are Performance Max, Shopping and broad match Search campaigns, including AI Max. Eligibility does not mean your campaign has served ads to these users. It is also unclear when the test will move beyond testing.
What should advertisers in Türkiye do?
According to the source, Personal Intelligence began in January 2026 as a Labs experiment in English in the U.S., for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers with personal accounts. The source gives no information on the feature's status in Türkiye. You can still turn the implications into manageable steps:
- Check AI Mode ad visibility in your account and the eligibility of your Performance Max, Shopping and AI Max campaigns; tie the test to a budget decision only once you have your own data.
- Review search term, asset and landing page reports weekly. Because connected-app signals will not be separated in reports, decide on conversions rather than by channel.
- Control over targeting is not yours, so the leverage lies in product data, the landing page and conversion measurement: in Google Ads campaigns managed against conversion data, feed quality and correct conversion tags are decisive.
- Be ready to explain to clients or your team that users can turn off personalisation in My Ad Center and disconnect connected apps.
Frequently asked
- Can advertisers access Gmail content?
- No. According to Google, advertisers cannot access a user's connected Gmail inbox or Photos library. Users can switch off personalised ads in My Ad Center, but that does not necessarily stop data flowing from connected apps into AI features; for that, the apps must be disconnected.
Sources
- Search Engine Journal ·
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