While Gmail has long placed ads at the top of its promotional and social inboxes, it never dared to stick them in between to inform. The new placement makes it even more confusing to differentiate between actual emails and ads, even if the promotions have the little green “Advertisement” icon next to them. It’s not clear if this is some kind of test or a gradual rollout. (I don’t see ads distributed in any of my inboxes yet.)
In addition, the past few weeks some users on the customer’s mobile app, they are also starting to notice ads with annoying full-size images at the top of their inboxes.
Google’s website doesn’t currently specify whether it sells ads placed in the middle of the inbox, with a support page saying Gmail offers “expandable ads at the top of people’s tabs.” Another page on Google’s Discovery campaigns shows an example of a Gmail ad reappearing at the top of a user’s inbox.
In response to a user’s concerns about the ad placements in the middle of the inbox on Twitter, said the official Gmail account vaguely that “doesn’t sound right” and directed them to a support page that explains how ads work. The edge contacted Google with a request for more information, and we’ll update this article if we hear back.