🔍 Read the full analysis: As Search Growth Slows, AI Search Ads Become A Global Focus on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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TL;DR
Google said on October 28 it will expand ads in AI Mode to 10 additional countries and begin showing them in U.S. follow-up questions. The move comes as Search and other revenue growth slowed to 12% in the third quarter. Advertiser controls, website traffic effects and the independence of checks on ad labeling and separation have not been established in the supplied information.
Google is expanding ads in its conversational AI Mode to 10 more countries and adding ads to follow-up questions in the United States, the company said October 28. Alphabet reported that Google Search and other revenue grew 12% in the third quarter, down from 17% in the previous quarter. The announcement extends Google’s efforts to place ads in AI-driven search experiences.
The new AI Mode markets are Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Singapore. Google said it plans to bring ads to Brazil, Mexico and the United Kingdom in the fourth quarter of 2026. In the U.S., ads can now appear in answers to follow-up questions, not just an initial AI Mode query. Google’s search advertising chief, Shashi Thakur, announced the changes.
Google describes AI Mode as a chat-style search experience, distinct from AI Overviews, which present AI summaries within regular search results. The company says ads in AI answers will carry a “Sponsored” label. It also says advertisers’ existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns can appear in these placements automatically: the source material says there is no separate targeting option or opt-out, and that reporting is provided in aggregate. Google’s AI may generate short explanations alongside ads, which advertisers cannot edit, according to Google Ads Help.
Alphabet reported $63.4 billion in Search and other revenue for July through September. The growth rate was 12%, following 17% in the second quarter. On the earnings call, chief business officer Philipp Schindler said foreign-exchange rates were the largest factor in the slowdown, and also cited the lower monetization of fast-growing AI Mode searches. Google said AI Mode queries are, on average, three times longer than classic searches. Its claim that sponsored and unpaid product-listing click-through rates are similar refers to internal U.S. data from August 20 to September 3, 2026, and does not establish how often users click through to websites.
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 Users Into AI Search
The expansion extends Google’s advertising placements to searches in which answers are assembled conversationally rather than presented as a conventional list of links. Ads in follow-up questions create additional opportunities for the company to show commercial results as users refine their queries. Google has said AI Mode searches currently generate less revenue than other search activity.
The effects may differ among advertisers, publishers and users. Advertisers gain new placements through existing campaigns, but the supplied information says they cannot separately target or opt out of these AI answer ads. Publishers may receive fewer referrals if users get answers without visiting websites; the scale of any such effect is not established. Users will see paid placements within the search experience. Google says these will carry a “Sponsored” label, but the supplied evidence does not include an independent assessment of how clearly users recognize the distinction.
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From U.S. Tests to Global Rollout
Google has introduced these formats in stages. Ads in AI Overviews began appearing for U.S. mobile users in October 2024 and expanded to desktop in May 2025, when Google also began testing ads in AI Mode. At its May 2026 marketing event, the company described tests of formats including Conversational Discovery ads, which use AI to tailor ad text to a query, and Highlighted Answers, where an ad can appear within an AI recommendation list.
The October announcement broadens the rollout geographically and extends ad placement to later turns in U.S. AI Mode conversations. As of October 29, Google’s help information listed 12 countries for ads in AI answers and described availability as English-only. Germany and other European Union markets were not listed in the supplied source material. Google’s stated plans for Brazil, Mexico and the U.K. are for the fourth quarter of 2026, rather than confirmed launches already completed.
Search remains a major part of Alphabet’s business: third-quarter Search and other revenue accounted for about half of the company’s total revenue, according to the source material. The same material reports that growth was 19% in the first quarter of 2026 and 17% in the second, before falling to 12% in the third. These figures describe revenue growth, not the number of searches or the performance of every advertising format.
““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 earnings call
Controls, Clicks and Ad Separation
Several practical effects are not yet established. The available material does not quantify how the rollout will change advertiser costs or returns, how many users will click ads in AI Mode, or whether website referrals will fall as these placements expand. Google’s internal comparison of ad and unpaid product-listing click-through rates cannot answer those questions because it compares two kinds of listings inside AI Mode, not clicks to websites.
A working paper by Agarwal and Sen, cited in the source material, reports a randomized experiment involving 1,065 U.S. users in which AI Overviews reduced website clicks by 39.8% when they appeared, while ad clicks showed no measurable change. This is a finding from a working paper, not a peer-reviewed result in the information provided, and it concerns AI Overviews rather than the newly expanded AI Mode ads. Google says ads do not influence its AI-generated answers, but the source material reports no independent audit verifying that separation. The scale of future launches and the availability of these formats outside the listed markets also remain subject to change.
Expansion and Performance Checks
Google has said it plans to expand AI answer ads to Brazil, Mexico and the United Kingdom in the fourth quarter of 2026. The company’s rollout and help pages will determine when those placements become available and whether the stated English-language limits or market list change. Advertisers and publishers may seek further information on reporting, campaign controls and performance as the placements reach new markets.
Further evidence will be needed to assess how AI Mode ads affect website visits, advertiser outcomes and users’ ability to distinguish sponsorship from answer content. Relevant updates include Google’s rollout notices and subsequent quarterly results, which may provide information about AI Mode monetization as usage grows. No launch date or independently verified impact measure beyond the announcements and evidence described here is confirmed.
Key Questions
Where is Google expanding AI Mode ads?
Google said ads in AI Mode are expanding to Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Singapore. It has also planned launches in Brazil, Mexico and the U.K. for the fourth quarter of 2026.
What changed for U.S. users?
Google said ads can now appear in answers to follow-up questions in AI Mode, allowing an ad to appear later in a conversation as well as after an initial query. The company says ads will be marked “Sponsored.”
Can advertisers opt out of AI answer ads?
According to the supplied Google Ads Help information, existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns can participate automatically, with no separate targeting or opt-out for these placements. Reporting is described as aggregate, and advertisers cannot edit AI-generated short explanations shown beside ads.
Does the rollout show that AI search ads reduce website traffic?
No. The material does not establish the effect of the new AI Mode ads on website referrals. A cited working paper found fewer website clicks when AI Overviews appeared in one U.S. experiment, but it examined AI Overviews, not this AI Mode rollout; Google’s internal ad-click comparison is not a measure of website traffic.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
