Does anyone here click on Google ads? I don't, my family don't, with the rare exceptions of:

a) accidentally googling in the top bar instead of going to the site directly, then clicking the first link by mistake instead of scrolling to the first non-ad link.

b) accidentally pressing on an image that randomly pops up over the text while I'm still moving through the page (e.g. on phone), followed by immediately going back.

In other words, I actively avoid pressing on an ad link wherever possible, I look away/mute sound/minimise window if an ad video is playing, etc.

I don't think I've ever intentionally searched for something then clicked or watched a Google Ad in many years. I mean, it's possible, but I don't remember it happening.

There's an old saying in advertising about half the money being wasted, but you don't know which half.

I can tell you right now, which half.

dayzlegame.com - Google ads bot farm

TRS

PS. Was looking for the exact wording, so I typed into Google: "cut advertising budget in half joke"

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The traditional search produced this useful result, though I had to scroll down to get to the traditional search:

“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; ...

b2bmarketing.net: B2B Marketing - Intelligence, data, events, training › half-the-money-i-spen...
He is credited with coining the phrase “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half”. I first heard this quote ..."

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Meanwhile the AI summary I didn't ask for, which irritatingly filled the first page of the results, instead invented this insane & not funny 'joke' as the only response:

"The CEO calls the marketing director into the office and says, "Our company is facing some serious financial trouble. I need you to cut our advertising budget in half immediately."The marketing director looks shocked and replies, "But sir, you know what they say: half the money spent on advertising is completely wasted!"The CEO nods and says, "Exactly. So just figure out which half is the waste, and cut that one."

If you are looking for a different style of joke, let me know:Do you want it to be a one-liner, a corporate meme style, or a longer story?Who is the target audience? (e.g., ad agency creatives, corporate executives, or clients?)Should the tone be witty, sarcastic, or silly?"

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These AI 'quick responses' they force on you are not only nonsense, they are sometimes dangerously wrong (health & safety), usually time wasting, and generally unreliable.

They're being generated by a super light weight version of the model, which means high levels of hallucinations and gibberish.

They make it less appealing and useful to use Google for traditional search which actually works.

It's not a gateway into Google AI, it's very much the opposite. Any time I see one I am even more disinclined to use Gemini.