🔍 Read the full analysis: Google Takes AI Search Ads Global As Search Growth Slows on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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TL;DR
Google said on October 28 that ads in its conversational AI Mode search are expanding to 10 more countries, with ads also appearing in US follow-up answers. The move comes as Search & other revenue growth slowed to 12% in the third quarter; Google says AI Mode searches currently generate less revenue than traditional searches.
Google said on October 28 that it is expanding ads in its conversational AI Mode search to 10 more countries and adding ads to follow-up answers in the United States. The rollout comes as Alphabet reported that Search & other revenue grew 12% in the third quarter, down from 17% in the previous quarter, while the company said AI Mode searches are currently less well monetized.
The new markets are Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Singapore. Google said it plans to extend AI Mode ads to Brazil, Mexico and the United Kingdom in the fourth quarter of 2026. In the US, ads can now appear when users ask follow-up questions in AI Mode, not only in response to an initial query.
Google Search Ads chief Shashi Thakur announced the expansion. Google says ads in AI answers will be marked “Sponsored”. Existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns can participate automatically, according to Google Ads Help; advertisers do not have a separate opt-out or targeting control for these placements. Reporting is provided in aggregate, and Google may generate short explanatory text alongside ads that advertisers cannot edit.
Alphabet reported $63.4 billion in Search & other revenue for July through September. That was about half of the company’s total revenue. Growth had been 17% in the second quarter, following 19% in the first quarter and 17% in the fourth quarter of 2025. Alphabet also said its overall search-query growth was the highest in five years, while acknowledging that AI Mode searches brought lower monetization.
Infographic 01 · From test to global
The answer now carries the ad, in more places.
How Google moved ads into its AI answers in two years, where they show today, and the revenue pressure behind the move.
Where ads appear inside AI answers
Per Google’s help page and the 28 Oct post. The list “may not be exhaustive”.
Follow-up questions (“multiturn ads”): US only. Germany and the rest of the EU: not listed. Ads above or below AI Overviews can show wherever AI Overviews exist (200+ countries and territories).
Why now: Google Search & other revenue growth
Year over year, as reported by Alphabet. Bars scaled to 19%.
Q2 to Q3 2026: about +0.1%. Same months a year earlier: about +4.4% (my arithmetic). Google names exchange rates as the largest driver of the slowdown, and the “lower monetization” of AI Mode as one factor.
- 3 Oct 2024Ads inside AI Overviews go liveUS, mobile, after months of testing
- 21 May 2025Desktop in the US; first tests in AI ModeEnglish-speaking countries announced for later in 2025
- 20 May 2026New formats in testingConversational Discovery ads and Highlighted Answers, both with a Gemini-written “AI explainer”
- 28 Oct 2026AI Mode ads in 10 more countriesPlus “multiturn ads” in follow-up questions in the US; labeled “Sponsored”
- Q4 2026Planned: Brazil, Mexico, United Kingdom“Additional locales, including” these three
Sources: Google, 28 Oct 2026; Google Ads Help, accessed 29 Oct 2026; Google, 3 Oct 2024; Google, 21 May 2025; Google, 20 May 2026; Alphabet Q3 2026 release and the Q4 2025, Q1 2026 and Q2 2026 releases. “3× longer” is Google’s AI Mode report (US, May 2026). Quarter-on-quarter changes and bar scaling: Thorsten Meyer.
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Ads Follow Search Into AI Answers
The change puts commercial placements into a search format where Google itself composes a response, rather than showing only a list of links and conventional sponsored listings. That matters to advertisers, who are being included through existing campaign types with limited placement-specific control, and to users, who must distinguish sponsored material from the surrounding AI response.
It also has implications for publishers that depend on visits from search. A 2026 working paper by Agarwal and Sen, based on a randomized experiment with 1,065 US users, reported that AI Overviews reduced clicks to websites by 39.8% when they appeared. The paper found no measurable change in ad clicks in the experiment. That finding concerns AI Overviews and the study’s test conditions; it does not establish what the new AI Mode placements will do to publisher traffic or advertising performance.
Google’s revenue disclosure gives the rollout a business dimension. The company has said AI Mode queries are growing, but currently earn less than other search activity. Ads in longer, conversational exchanges offer Google another way to monetize those interactions. The company has not disclosed how much revenue the new formats generate or how quickly that could change.
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How Google Added Ads to AI Search
AI Overviews are generated summaries shown within many standard Google search results. AI Mode is a separate, chat-style search experience that supports longer queries and follow-up questions. Google has been adding advertising to both formats in stages: ads in AI Overviews began appearing for US mobile users in October 2024, expanded to desktop in May 2025, and Google began testing ads in AI Mode that same month.
At its May 2026 Google Marketing Live event, the company introduced tests of additional formats, including ads with question-specific text and ads highlighted within AI recommendations. The October announcement extends the geographic reach of AI Mode ads and adds placements during US follow-up queries. Google’s cited comparison of ad and unpaid product-list click-through rates comes from its own US data for August 20 to September 3, 2026. It compares product-list items inside AI Mode, not clicks to independent websites.
In the third-quarter earnings call, Alphabet chief business officer Philipp Schindler cited currency exchange rates as the largest driver of the slower growth. He also referred to retail advertising pressures in Asia and normalized media and entertainment spending after a strong World Cup quarter. He separately said the strong growth in AI Mode queries affected results because monetization there was lower.
“The strong growth in AI Mode queries had an impact because of the lower monetization we were seeing in AI mode.”
— Philipp Schindler, Alphabet chief business officer
Controls and Traffic Effects Remain Unknown
Google has not provided a public estimate of the new placements’ expected revenue, nor detailed figures on how often ads will appear in AI Mode answers or follow-up turns. It is also unclear how these ads will affect traffic to publishers, advertiser returns, or user behavior at scale. The cited click-through comparison is Google’s internal data and does not answer those questions.
Google says advertising does not influence the AI’s answer, but that is the company’s claim; the source material identifies no independent audit of that separation. The ads are to carry a “Sponsored” label, though the announcement does not establish how users will recognize that label across all formats or how clearly ads will be distinguished from generated recommendations. As of October 29, Google’s listed AI-answer ad markets do not include Germany or other EU countries, and the company has not given a broader European rollout date.
Expansion and Performance Watch
Google’s next stated geographic milestone is the planned fourth-quarter 2026 expansion to Brazil, Mexico and the UK. Advertisers and publishers will be watching for further details on availability, reporting, placement frequency and performance as the rollout proceeds. Alphabet’s next financial results should provide another data point on Search & other growth and the contribution of AI Mode, although the company has not said whether it will break out revenue from these ad placements.
For users, the immediate practical signal is Google’s stated “Sponsored” label on ads in AI answers. For now, the scale of the rollout’s effect on clicks, ad sales and the distinction between advertising and generated responses remains unreported.
Key Questions
Where is Google expanding ads in AI Mode?
Google named 10 markets: Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Singapore. Brazil, Mexico and the UK are planned for the fourth quarter of 2026.
What changed for users in the United States?
Ads can now appear in answers to follow-up questions in AI Mode, in addition to the initial query. Google says ads in AI answers will carry a “Sponsored” label.
Can advertisers opt out of AI Mode placements?
According to Google Ads Help, eligible Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns participate automatically. There is no separate placement opt-out or targeting control, and results are reported in aggregate.
Why is Google expanding AI search ads now?
Google is growing AI Mode while saying that these searches currently generate less revenue than other search activity. Alphabet reported 12% year-over-year growth in Search & other revenue for the third quarter, down from 17% in the second quarter. Google also cited currency movements and other advertising factors.
Do the new ads reduce clicks to publisher websites?
That has not been established for the new AI Mode placements. A 2026 working paper found fewer website clicks when AI Overviews appeared in its experiment, but it did not measure the effects of this international AI Mode rollout.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
