AD Tech Watch #15: Google Ads Reach AI Mode in Nigeria, 21 States Harmonise Taxes, Apps in Google Search

AD Tech Watch is our short, selected roundup of the AI, search and software news that matters to businesses in Nigeria, explained in plain English. In this issue: Google ads can now appear inside AI Mode and AI Overviews in Nigeria, 21 states have passed the harmonised taxes and levies law, Google has opened a preview for apps that run inside Search and Gemini, and Google has clarified what it needs to show your favicon in search results.

Issue #15 · 30 October 2026 · By AD Technologies Limited, an AI technology company in Lagos

1. Google Ads Can Now Appear Inside AI Mode and AI Overviews in Nigeria

What happened: Google announced on 28 October 2026 that ads in AI Mode are expanding to 10 more countries: Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Singapore, with Brazil, Mexico and the UK planned for the fourth quarter. Google’s Ads Help page lists Nigeria among the markets where ads can show within AI Overviews and AI Mode, in English. Existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns take part automatically; Google says advertisers “don’t need to create new campaigns or set up separate budgets”. You cannot target AI Mode on its own or opt out of it separately from Search, and the results are combined into your normal campaign and search terms reports. Exact and phrase match keywords only serve there when a query shows direct commercial intent. Ads are labelled “Sponsored”. Google also launched multiturn ads, which can show on follow-up questions, but only in the US for now.

What this means for Nigerian businesses: If you run Google Ads in Nigeria, part of your naira budget may now be spent on ads shown inside AI answers, with no extra setup and no separate report to tell you how they performed. Broad match and AI Max campaigns are the most likely to be matched to these longer, conversational questions. Check your search terms report every week for questions that do not fit your business, add negative keywords where needed, and judge results by enquiries and sales rather than clicks. Being named in the AI answer itself, without paying for each click, still matters: our AI SEO team helps businesses get there.

Sources: Google Ads & Commerce Blog, Search Engine Roundtable, Google Ads Help.

2. 21 States Have Now Passed Nigeria’s Harmonised Taxes and Levies Law

What happened: The Joint Revenue Board (JRB) said on 28 October 2026 that 21 states have passed the Model Harmonised Taxes and Levies Law, Nairametrics reported on 29 October. The states are Kebbi, Kaduna, Zamfara, Ekiti, Enugu, Abia, Anambra, Gombe, Adamawa, Yobe, Borno, Niger, Plateau, Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta and Ondo. The harmonised tax and levy heads are meant to replace more than 100 fragmented state-level taxes and levies. It is not a single tax: the named heads include income tax, stamp duties, property tax, road tax, haulage levy, economic development levy, harmonised levy, user charge and daily ticket. JRB Executive Secretary Olusegun Adesokan said collecting road taxes and levies at checkpoints and the use of road stickers are banned, and that enforcement with the Nigeria Police Force will begin soon. The report did not list which existing state levies are abolished. Lagos is not among the 21 states named.

What this means for Nigerian businesses: If you trade, deliver goods or run vehicles in any of these 21 states, you should face fewer and clearer state levies, and no one should be collecting them in cash at roadblocks. Keep receipts for every state tax or levy you pay, ask for the legal basis of any new demand, and refuse checkpoint charges and road stickers, which the JRB has banned. If a tax authority treats you unfairly and its own complaint process does not resolve it, you can escalate to the Office of the Tax Ombud, which mediates disputes between taxpayers and revenue authorities and has said multiple taxation by states and local governments is a recurring complaint. Businesses in Lagos and other states not on the list should not assume the new regime applies to them yet.

Sources: Nairametrics, Nairametrics on the Tax Ombud, Office of the Tax Ombud.

3. Google Opens a Preview for Apps That Run Inside Search and Gemini

What happened: Google has previewed its Connected Apps Platform, which lets developers bring their apps and services into Google Search and the Gemini app, Search Engine Roundtable reported on 28 October 2026. Developers connect through a remote MCP server or, for Android apps, Google’s AppFunctions APIs, then register, test and submit the app in Google Connected Console, choosing whether it goes live in Search, Gemini or both. After launch they can track traffic, latency and error rates and manage verified logos. Searchers must add an app in their personalised Search settings before they see it. More than 50 connected apps are already available, and Adobe, Experian, Localiza and Peloton are live in Gemini, with Search to follow in the coming weeks. Google’s developer page says onboarding is self-service during the preview. Neither source lists supported countries, so availability in Nigeria is not confirmed.

What this means for Nigerian businesses: This is an early sign that customers will book, buy and check their accounts inside Google’s AI instead of visiting your website. Most small businesses do not need to act yet. But if you run a booking, ticketing, delivery, fintech or software product with logged-in customers, ask your developers whether your service could be offered this way, and confirm with Google that your country and customers are supported before investing in it. Keep your website’s own service and pricing pages accurate too, because the AI still needs clear facts about your business to recommend it.

Sources: Search Engine Roundtable, Google for Developers.

4. Google Clarifies What It Needs to Show Your Favicon in Search

What happened: Google updated its help page on favicons in Search results on 27 October 2026. The crawling rule now says Googlebot “must be able to crawl the home page, follow any redirects from there” to the page where the favicon is specified, and that these URLs must not be blocked by robots.txt or other means. The favicon file itself must be crawlable by Googlebot-Image. Search Engine Roundtable described the change as a clarification rather than a new requirement, and Google’s John Mueller said the wording was changed because AI systems struggled to investigate favicon problems correctly. The other rules are unchanged: one favicon per site, a square image of at least 8x8px, ideally larger than 48x48px, at a stable URL that you do not change often.

What this means for Nigerian businesses: Your favicon is the small logo shown beside your site name in Google results, and a missing or generic icon makes your listing look less trustworthy next to competitors. On WordPress, set a square Site Icon larger than 48x48px and avoid changing its file address. Check that your home page does not pass through a long chain of redirects, for example from http to https and then to a separate “home” page, and that a security plugin, firewall or robots.txt rule is not blocking Googlebot. If your logo is not showing in Google, our WordPress team can find out why.

Sources: Search Engine Roundtable, Google Search Central.

Also This Week: Many Banks and Fintechs Are Not Ready for CBN’s January Data Deadline

A NITDA survey presented at a regulatory dialogue with the CBN found that 26 of the 44 financial institutions that answered (about 59%) had completed, or were likely to complete, the work needed to store Nigerian payment transaction data in Nigeria before the CBN’s 1 January 2027 deadline, Nairametrics reported on 29 October 2026. Fifteen said completion was unlikely, and 22 of the 44 had not started. NITDA said the findings are self-reported and are not a compliance assessment. If your business depends on a payment provider, ask how it is preparing. Sources: Nairametrics.

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