🔍 Read the full analysis: Google Takes AI Search Advertising Worldwide Amid Slower Growth 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 entering US follow-up queries. The announcement came as Alphabet reported third-quarter Search & other revenue growth of 12%, down from 17% in the previous quarter; the company cited currency effects and lower monetization of AI Mode searches among the factors.
Google is expanding ads in AI Mode to 10 additional countries and adding them to follow-up questions in the United States, the company said October 28. The move comes as Alphabet reported that Search & other revenue grew 12% year over year in the third quarter, down from 17% in the previous quarter, making the way Google monetizes AI-driven searches a closely watched issue for advertisers, publishers and users.
The new markets for AI Mode ads are Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Singapore. Google also plans to bring the ads to Brazil, Mexico and the United Kingdom in the fourth quarter of 2026. In the US, ads can now appear in responses to follow-up questions, not only at the start of an AI Mode conversation. Google describes these as “multiturn ads.”
Google says ads in AI answers will be labeled “Sponsored”. Its advertising help materials say existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns can participate automatically, without a separate opt-out or targeting control for these placements. Results are reported in aggregate, and Google-generated explanatory text accompanying some ads cannot be edited by advertisers, according to the source’s account of the help page.
Alphabet reported $63.4 billion in Search & other revenue for July through September, about half of the company’s total revenue. That was a 12% increase from a year earlier. Chief business officer Philipp Schindler said exchange rates were the biggest factor in the slower growth, and also pointed to lower monetization of AI Mode searches. Google did not say in the announcement how much revenue it expects the new ad placements to generate.
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 the AI Search Journey
The expansion brings advertising further into searches where users may get a synthesized response instead of clicking through a list of conventional results. For Google, that creates more opportunities to show ads as people ask longer questions and continue conversations. It also raises questions about how commercial placements are distinguished from answers and whether publishers receive fewer visits even when advertising remains visible.
A 2026 working paper by Agarwal and Sen reported results from a randomized experiment involving 1,065 US users: when AI Overviews appeared, clicks to websites fell by 39.8%, while clicks on ads showed no measurable change. That finding is limited to the study’s participants and design; it does not establish the effect of the newly expanded AI Mode ads. Still, it points to a potential imbalance for publishers: search answers may reduce website visits without reducing ad activity to the same degree.
Google’s revenue figures also show why monetization is part of the story. Search remains a major source of Alphabet’s income, but its year-over-year growth rate has slowed. Schindler linked some of that slowdown to AI Mode searches earning less than other search activity. The international rollout could help Google test whether ads in conversational results can close that gap, although the company has not published a revenue forecast for the format.
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From AI Overviews to AI Mode
Google has been adding ads to AI-generated search experiences over several years. Ads in AI Overviews—summaries shown within standard search results—went live for US mobile users in October 2024 and reached desktop in May 2025. That same month, Google began testing ads in AI Mode, a separate, chat-style search experience that supports longer prompts and follow-up questions.
At Google Marketing Live in May 2026, the company also began testing formats it called “Conversational Discovery ads” and “Highlighted Answers.” Google says AI Mode queries are, on average, three times longer than classic searches. It has also said that click-through rates for sponsored and organic product-list items in AI Mode were similar, based on its internal US data from August 20 to September 3, 2026. That comparison concerns product listings within AI Mode, not clicks to independent websites.
Alphabet’s quarterly releases show Search & other revenue growing 17% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2025, 19% in the first quarter of 2026 and 17% in the second quarter, before the latest 12% figure. These are company-reported revenue growth rates. Schindler also cited conditions affecting some retail advertisers in Asia and normalized media and entertainment spending after a strong World Cup quarter.
““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, on the third-quarter earnings call
Open Questions on Reach and Revenue
Google has not disclosed how many users will see the new placements, how much revenue they may produce, or whether performance will differ across the 10 new countries. It is also unclear how quickly the planned fourth-quarter launches in Brazil, Mexico and the UK will proceed. As of October 29, Google’s listed markets for ads inside AI answers did not include Germany or other European Union countries, and the cited help page listed the experience as English-only.
Google says ads do not influence the AI’s answer, but that is the company’s representation; the source material reports no independent audit of the claim. The exact effects on publishers are also unsettled. The cited working paper examined AI Overviews, not the new AI Mode placements, and its results should not be treated as a direct measurement of the international rollout.
It is not yet clear how advertisers will evaluate these placements given the lack of separate controls and aggregate reporting described in Google’s help materials. Google’s internal comparison of sponsored and unpaid product-list click-through rates does not answer whether AI answers send fewer users to websites overall.
Rollout and Earnings Tests Ahead
Google’s next stated expansion is to Brazil, Mexico and the United Kingdom in the fourth quarter of 2026. The company will also continue introducing ads into US follow-up questions in AI Mode. Advertisers and publishers are likely to watch for more detailed reporting on ad performance, user reach and traffic referrals, though Google has not announced when it might provide those figures.
The next useful financial checkpoint will be Alphabet’s subsequent quarterly results, which can show whether Search revenue growth changes as AI Mode use and ad availability expand. For now, the confirmed development is a broader rollout, not a disclosed revenue target or an independently measured effect on users and publishers.
Key Questions
Where is Google expanding ads in AI Mode?
Google named 10 additional countries: Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Singapore. It plans launches in Brazil, Mexico and the UK in the fourth quarter of 2026.
What changed for US users?
Ads can now appear in follow-up questions in AI Mode, as well as earlier in a conversation. Google calls these placements “multiturn ads.”
Why does the rollout coincide with slower Search growth?
Alphabet reported 12% year-over-year growth in Search & other revenue for the third quarter, down from 17% in the second quarter. Schindler cited exchange rates as the largest factor and said lower monetization of AI Mode searches also affected growth.
Can advertisers opt out of these AI search ads?
According to Google Ads help materials cited in the source, existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns can participate automatically, with no separate opt-out or targeting control for these placements. Reporting is provided in aggregate.
Does Google say ads affect its AI answers?
Google says ads do not influence the AI’s answer and says ads will carry a “Sponsored” label. The claim about influence is Google’s statement; the source material reports no independent audit of it.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
