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Published by J9 Systems. What's new in business tech, and what it means for yours.

From the brief of Monday, October 26, 2026 · No. 13

From the daily brief · AI

Google's Oct. 16 privacy update lets connected Gmail and Drive data shape ads

If anyone on your team linked a work inbox or Drive to Google's AI search features, that content can now steer the ads they see.

By Carter Josephson · · 2 min read

What happened

Google's privacy policy, updated Oct. 16, 2026, now says it will not use Drive, Gmail or Google Photos content for personalized ads "unless you choose to make data from these services available to other Google services that support personalized ads." The policy says users may let services such as Search or Gemini Apps access Gmail, Drive and Photos for a more personalized experience, and that "Search may process some of the data that you allow Search to access to personalize content, including ads."

What it means for a 10-to-50-person business

This only matters if someone on your team has connected Gmail, Drive or Photos to Search's Personal Intelligence feature. That feature lets AI Mode and other Search tools read the content to give better answers. If they have, Search can now use it to pick the ads that person sees. Per The Verge's reporting, advertisers do not get the content, your name or your email, and Google says it won't target ads on sensitive categories such as health or religion. Take a 14-person cleaning company where the owner and office manager run quotes, client addresses and supplier invoices through free @gmail.com accounts and Drive. If either turned on Personal Intelligence for better AI Mode answers, that inbox now feeds ad targeting on their account. The fix is a settings change, about 10 minutes per account. The policy text covers Google's general privacy policy; the source does not say how paid Google Workspace business accounts are treated, so Workspace admins should confirm whether staff can connect work Gmail to these features. If nobody on your team uses AI Mode with connected apps, ignore this.

What to do
Try it

This month, have every person who handles client data on a Google account open the Search Services Personalization settings page and disconnect Gmail, Drive and Photos from Personal Intelligence, or turn off Personalized Recommendations entirely.

What it costs
What it costs
Check Personal Intelligence and connected-app settings on each owner and office account
10 min per account, about 0.5 hr for 3 accounts (≈ $25 at $50/hr)
Workspace admin check on whether staff can connect work Gmail
0.5 hr (≈ $25 at $50/hr)
Doing nothing
$0 in cash; connected Gmail and Drive content can shape the ads that person sees
Sources
policies.google.com (primary) · The Verge: Now Google says it might use your Gmail and Google Photos data to target ads · Android Authority: Google Personal Intelligence privacy change · Google Help: Search Services Personalization settings

Questions owners ask

Do advertisers get to read our email or files?

No. According to the reporting on the policy change, advertisers do not get access to Drive, Gmail or Photos content or to personal details such as your name or email address. Google uses the content internally to choose which ads to show.

Does this apply to our paid Google Workspace accounts?

The source does not say. The change is in Google's general privacy policy, and it mentions Workspace apps like Gmail and Drive. If you pay for Workspace, have your admin check whether staff can connect work accounts to Search's Personal Intelligence features and switch that off if you don't want it.

If we never turned on Personal Intelligence, do we need to do anything?

No. The exception only applies when someone chooses to make Gmail, Drive or Photos data available to Search or other Google services. A quick check that nobody has switched it on is still worth 10 minutes per account.

Three to five of these, every weekday morning.

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