Google has officially launched the new grouped sponsored label in the search results. This is where Google groups multiple ads under one larger sponsored label, and then places a “hide” button at the end of the sponsored results. Google says this is to make navigation easier, but I suspect it is to drive more clicks (likely confused clicks on ads – at least in the short term).
Google began testing this back in May and then expanded the test a few weeks ago and now it is live.
Google wrote, “To make navigation even easier, we’re updating how we show ads on Search.” Easier? From what we heard, it makes it more confusing to know which is an ad and which is not. Especially with dynamic ad placement – or maybe Google is done with dynamic ad placement. I asked Google about this and Google told me, “but if it does [continue this test] the text ads will be in the new label grouping. It’s possible to have only one text ad in the group and it will be labeled “Sponsored result” with the Hide button as a footer.”
I suspect this new ad format leads to more clicks on ads, not fewer clicks on ads.
Google continued to write:
Text ads on the search results page will now be grouped with a single “Sponsored results” label. This new, larger label stays visible as people scroll, making it clear which results are sponsored — upholding our industry-leading standards for ad label prominence. We’re also adding a new “Hide sponsored results” control that allows you to collapse text ads with a single click if you want to focus only on organic results. In our testing, we found that the new design helps people navigate the top of the page more easily. The new design keeps the size of ads the same and you’ll still never see more than four text ads in a grouping.
The new “Sponsored” label also applies to other ad units on the search results page, like Shopping ads. These updates are currently rolling out globally on desktop and mobile.
Here is a video of it in action from Google:
Here is a screenshot of the desktop version:
I was going to share this morning that I’ve been seeing the new ad format A LOT over the past few days. Makes sense it’s rolling out now… And to be clear, IMO this is going to cause serious confusion for some users. I think many will see them as organic when they are lumped… https://t.co/wDEsBMuAGP
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) October 13, 2025
Forum discussion at X.
