Ads inside AI Overviews reached Canada on December 19, 2025 (one of 12 total English-language countries); sensitive verticals excluded

Claim: Ads within AI Overviews reached Canada (among 12 total English-language countries) on December 19, 2025, via a quiet update to Google's help documentation — not a formal announcement. Sensitive verticals (adult, alcohol, gambling, finance, healthcare, politics) are excluded.

Source: Google help-doc edit detected by the SEO industry, December 19, 2025; no formal Google press release.

Confidence: Verified (industry-tracked from Google's own doc edit).

Why this matters for Candid: Changes the Canadian paid-search picture — Performance Max and broad-match campaigns are the documented path into AI-Overview ad slots. Re-evaluate any Canadian client paid strategy that pre-dates this date. Excluded verticals matter for healthcare and finance clients.