Summary
Amazon has fully withdrawn from Google Shopping ads globally as of July 2025, following a months-long reduction in ad spend and significant investment in its own AI-powered search and commerce features. This strategic shift positions Amazon as a standalone product search engine, aiming to keep customer journeys within its own ecosystem. The article details Amazon's timeline for exit, key innovations in AI and search, and the implications for third-party sellers. Sellers are advised to prioritize optimization for Amazon's native search algorithm and leverage new tools for visibility and conversion.
Action Items
Amazon's Exit from Google Ads: Timeline and Rationale
- Amazon began reducing its Google Shopping ad spend in May 2025, cutting U.S. investment by 50%.
- Between July 21 and July 23, 2025, Amazon dropped from a 60% (U.S.) and 55% (UK) Google Shopping ad impression share to zero, mirroring drops in Germany and Japan.
- The exit was methodically planned, with data showing a phased approach across key markets before the complete withdrawal.
- Analysts consider this the largest exit from Google ad auctions since Amazon's temporary pause during the 2020 pandemic.
Strategic Shifts: Why Amazon Made the Move
- Amazon aims to strengthen its role as a product search destination, now handling over 4 billion product searches monthly and ranking as the world's second-largest search engine.
- The company believes more customers will initiate and complete shopping within the Amazon ecosystem, reducing the need for paid Google traffic.
- Amazon has launched AI-powered features to enhance search and discovery, including:
- Multimodal search (combining text and image queries)
- "Find-on-Amazon" for visual product search via uploaded images
- Augmented reality shopping
- Rufus, an AI search assistant active since July 2024 in the U.S.
- In early 2025, Amazon rolled out "Buy for Me," an agentic AI tool allowing purchases from third-party sites via the Amazon app, and "See More," surfacing external brands even at the expense of direct Amazon conversions.
Implications and Guidance for Amazon Sellers
- Sellers face a landscape where Amazon is less reliant on outside ad platforms and more focused on first-party shopper data.
- Strategies should now emphasize:
- Optimizing for Amazon's internal search algorithm (A10), leveraging relevance, conversions, and reviews.
- Prioritizing Amazon SEO, including titles, keywords, and external traffic.
- Engaging with new AI-powered and AR discovery tools offered by Amazon.
- The "See More" feature potentially expands exposure on and off Amazon, changing seller visibility dynamics.
Decisions
- Amazon's global withdrawal from Google Shopping Ads — driven by the desire for advertising independence, full ownership of the customer journey, and deeper integration of AI-powered product search and discovery within Amazon's app.
Open Questions / Follow-Ups
- Will Amazon's agentic AI ("Buy for Me" and "See More") expand to fully support transactions for more external brands and markets?
- How will Google's ad ecosystem and competitors adapt to Amazon's absence and the resulting changes in CPC and ad inventory?