Google has updated its privacy policy to spell out that using personalized artificial intelligence (AI) features in Search or Gemini could allow the company to serve targeted ads to users based on their activity on other connected Google services.
“You may choose to allow certain Google services, including services like Search or Gemini Apps, to access data from other Google services you use, such as Google Photos and Workspace apps like Gmail and Drive, in order to provide you with a more personalized experience, subject to the policies and settings of the accessing service,” reads a policy update effective October 16, 2026.
“For example, Search may process some of the data that you allow Search to access to personalize content, including ads.”
Google also notes in its revised policy that “We don’t show you personalized ads based on your content from Drive, Gmail, or Google Photos, unless you choose to make data from these services available to other Google services that support personalized ads.”
News of the policy update was first reported by Android Authority.
Personal Intelligence, unveiled by Google in Gemini in January 2026, allows users to connect other services like Gmail, Google Photos, and YouTube as a way to provide tailored answers in combination with their chat history preferences.
The feature is currently rolling out as a beta to eligible users over the age of 18 globally, except in the European Economic Area, Switzerland, the U.K., and Nigeria.
It’s worth noting that the policy states it doesn’t use content from Gmail, Drive, or Photos to personalize ads by default. However, that changes should users opt to share photos or emails with AI Mode and other Search tools via the Personal Intelligence feature.
In other words, if users interact with AI Mode or Gemini while Personal Intelligence is enabled, the data that informs those answers (i.e., content from Gmail or Photos) could be used as a signal to serve targeted ads. The privacy policy aims to make it clear that feeding personal data into its AI tools could contribute to ad personalization.
Users should be mindful of the privacy trade-off when connecting their apps to enable AI features. Those who prefer to opt out can do so by selecting the apps they want to disconnect from Personal Intelligence or disable Personalized Recommendations entirely via the Search Services Personalization settings (“www.google[.]com/search-personalization”).
In January 2026, OpenAI began showing ads to logged-in adult U.S. users in both the free and ChatGPT Go tiers, while emphasizing that users’ data and conversations are protected and never sold to advertisers. It has also said the ads do not influence responses from the chatbot, and that users are in control of the experience.
Earlier this week, the AI company said it’s expanded advertising on ChatGPT to 26 more countries, bringing the total to 89. This includes 14 more Latin American countries and several markets across Europe, Africa, and Asia.
“We keep conversations private from advertisers and do not sell customer data,” OpenAI stressed. “Ads in ChatGPT are clearly labeled and separate from ChatGPT’s answers, and advertising does not influence the answers ChatGPT provides.”
