🔍 Read the full analysis: Google Takes AI Search Ads Global With Growth Slowing on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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TL;DR
Google said on October 28 it is expanding ads in AI Mode to 10 more countries and adding ads to US follow-up questions. The announcement came as Google Search & other revenue growth slowed to 12% in the July-September quarter; Google said currency effects were the largest factor and that lower monetization of AI Mode searches also weighed on growth.
Google is expanding ads in AI Mode to 10 additional countries and adding them to US follow-up questions, the company said October 28, as Search & other revenue growth slowed to 12% in the third quarter. The rollout gives advertisers access to more AI-generated search experiences, while raising questions about how ads are distinguished from answers and how the format affects publishers that rely on search clicks.
The new markets are Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Singapore. Google also said ads in AI Mode are planned for Brazil, Mexico and the United Kingdom in the fourth quarter of 2026. In the United States, ads can now appear in responses to follow-up questions, not only in the initial AI Mode response. Google calls these placements “multiturn ads.”
Google’s advertising help information says existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns can serve in these AI experiences automatically. Advertisers do not receive separate targeting controls or an opt-out for the placements, according to that guidance. Reporting is aggregated, and Google’s AI may generate short explanatory text alongside ads that advertisers cannot edit.
Alphabet reported that Google Search & other revenue reached $63.4 billion from July through September, up 12% year over year. Growth had been 17% in the previous quarter. On the earnings call, Google chief business officer Philipp Schindler said foreign-exchange rates were the single largest factor behind the slowdown. He also cited lower monetization in AI Mode as a factor, alongside changes in some retail and media advertising spending.
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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More Ads in Longer Search Sessions
The expansion extends Google’s advertising model into search interactions that resemble a conversation: users can ask a question, receive an AI response and continue with follow-ups. That creates more opportunities to place sponsored content within a single session, but the company has not disclosed how much revenue these placements currently generate or how their economics compare with standard search ads.
The timing matters because Google says AI Mode queries are growing, while also acknowledging that those searches currently earn less than other search activity. The company described its query growth as the highest in five years. If users increasingly get answers in AI interfaces, Google’s ability to monetize those sessions could affect the future mix of its largest advertising business. That is a business challenge, not evidence by itself that the new ad format will reverse the slowdown.
Publishers have a separate concern: AI answers may satisfy users without sending them to websites, while ads remain visible in the search experience. A 2026 working paper by Agarwal and Sen, based on a randomized experiment with 1,065 US users, found that AI Overviews reduced website clicks by 39.8% when they appeared, while ad clicks showed no measurable change. The result applies to that study and its conditions; it is not a measure of the effects of this new AI Mode rollout.
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From AI Overviews to AI Mode
Google’s AI search advertising has expanded in stages. Ads in AI Overviews, summaries displayed within ordinary search results, began appearing for US mobile users in October 2024. Google brought them to desktop in May 2025 and began testing ads in AI Mode, a separate chat-style search experience, that month.
At its May 2026 Google Marketing Live event, the company introduced tests of additional formats, including conversational ads with text tailored to a user’s question and ads highlighted within AI recommendations. The October announcement extends the geographic reach of AI Mode ads and allows placements in US follow-up responses. The announcement therefore marks another step in a rollout already under way, rather than Google’s first use of ads alongside AI-generated search content.
Google says the average AI Mode query is three times longer than a conventional search. It has also said click-through rates for sponsored and organic product listings in AI Mode were similar, based on its internal US data from August 20 to September 3, 2026. That comparison concerns clicks on those listings, not traffic sent to outside websites, and the figures come from Google rather than an independent measurement.
““The strong growth in AI Mode queries had an impact because of the lower monetization we were seeing in AI Mode.””
— Philipp Schindler, Google chief business officer, on the third-quarter earnings call
Ad Effects Still Need Independent Checks
Google says ads are labeled “Sponsored” and do not influence the AI-generated answer. The labeling commitment is the company’s stated policy; the claim about influence has not been independently audited in the material cited here. It remains unclear how consistently users will distinguish an ad from surrounding AI content, or how the new placements will affect click behavior, advertiser returns and publisher traffic.
The earnings data also do not isolate the effect of AI Mode on revenue. Google identified currency rates as the largest factor and mentioned lower monetization of AI Mode, but did not quantify either factor’s contribution. Nor has the company provided a separate revenue figure for ads shown in AI Overviews or AI Mode.
As of October 29, Google’s help page lists 12 countries for ads in AI answers, in English. Germany and other European Union countries are not listed. The available information does not establish whether or when those markets will be added.
Markets and Metrics to Watch
Google’s next stated geographic step is a planned fourth-quarter 2026 rollout to Brazil, Mexico and the United Kingdom. The company has not provided a more specific date in the announcement. Advertisers and publishers will be watching for changes to campaign controls, reporting and the availability of country-level performance data as the rollout proceeds.
Future earnings reports may show whether Google’s search growth changes, but they may not reveal the direct contribution of AI ads unless the company reports that figure separately. For users, Google’s stated signal is the “Sponsored” label; whether the label is clear in practice, and how ad placement evolves across AI answers and follow-up questions, remains to be seen.
Key Questions
Where is Google expanding AI Mode ads?
Google named 10 new countries: Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Singapore. It plans to add Brazil, Mexico and the UK in the fourth quarter of 2026.
What changed for users in the United States?
Ads can now appear in AI Mode follow-up responses, so a sponsored placement may appear after a user asks an additional question in the same conversation.
Why is the announcement tied to slower Search growth?
Google Search & other revenue grew 12% year over year in the third quarter, down from 17% in the prior quarter. Google said exchange rates were the largest factor and also cited lower monetization of AI Mode searches.
Can advertisers opt out of AI search placements?
Google’s advertising help information says existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns may serve in the placements automatically, with no separate opt-out described for these ads. Reporting is aggregated.
How can users identify an ad in an AI answer?
Google says ads in AI answers carry a “Sponsored” label. The company also says ads do not affect the AI’s answer, but that claim has not been independently audited in the source material cited here.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
