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TL;DR
Google is expanding ads inside AI Mode to 10 more countries and adding them to U.S. follow-up questions. The move comes as Google Search & other revenue growth slowed to 12% in the third quarter, while a cited experiment found AI Overviews reduced website clicks but did not measurably change ad clicks.
Google is expanding ads in its AI Mode search experience to 10 more countries and adding ads to U.S. follow-up questions, the company said October 28. The announcement came the same day Alphabet reported that Google Search & other revenue grew 12% in the third quarter, slower than in the prior quarter, sharpening attention on how the company will earn from searches answered through AI.
The new AI Mode markets are Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Singapore. Google said it plans to add 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 just the initial query. Google describes those placements as “multiturn ads.”
Google says ads in AI answers will carry a “Sponsored” label and that advertising does not affect the AI’s own response. The company also said AI Mode queries are, on average, three times longer than conventional searches. Its reported comparison of sponsored and unpaid product-list click-through rates comes from Google’s internal U.S. data for August 20 to September 3, 2026, and does not measure clicks to websites.
Advertisers using existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns are included automatically, according to Google Ads Help. The source material says advertisers cannot opt out or separately target these placements; performance is reported in aggregate, and Google-generated ad explainers cannot be edited by advertisers. These limits matter because the expansion changes where campaign ads may appear without giving advertisers the same placement-level controls described for some other formats.
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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AI Answers Become More Commercial
The expansion puts advertising further inside a search experience where users may receive a synthesized answer rather than a list of links. For Google, that creates more opportunities to show ads as people ask detailed questions and continue a conversation. The company has not disclosed how much revenue the new placements generate, but its earnings call comments linked lower monetization in AI Mode with pressure on Search growth.
The change also matters to publishers that rely on visits from search. A 2026 working paper by Agarwal and Sen, cited in the source material, reports a randomized experiment with 1,065 U.S. users: when AI Overviews appeared, clicks to websites fell by 39.8%, while ad clicks showed no measurable change. That result is limited to the study’s design and should not be treated as a measure of every search or publisher. It does, however, point to a possible difference between the traffic effects on websites and on ads.
For users, the practical distinction is whether a result is an advertisement or part of the AI-generated answer. Google says the “Sponsored” label will identify ads. Its assertion that ads do not influence the answer is a company claim; the source material reports no independent audit of that separation.
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Search Revenue Meets AI Shift
Alphabet reported $63.4 billion in Google Search & other revenue for July through September 2026, roughly half of the company’s total revenue. The year-over-year growth rate was 12%, compared with 17% in the previous quarter and 19% in the first quarter. Revenue was nearly flat from the second quarter, when it was $63.3 billion.
On the earnings call, Alphabet Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler said exchange rates were the “single largest driver” of the slower growth. He also cited changes affecting some retail advertisers in Asia and normalized media and entertainment spending after a strong World Cup quarter. Schindler separately said growing AI Mode queries had an effect because of the format’s lower monetization.
Google has introduced AI advertising in stages. Ads in AI Overviews began on mobile in the United States in October 2024; in May 2025, they came to desktop and Google began testing ads in AI Mode. At its May 2026 marketing event, the company also introduced tests of formats including Conversational Discovery ads and Highlighted Answers. The October announcement extends the rollout geographically and to more points in an AI Mode conversation.
““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
Limits on Ads and Evidence
Google has not provided a public, independent audit showing whether ads influence AI-generated answers. Its statement that they do not is Google’s claim. The source material also does not provide revenue figures for AI Mode ads or quantify how much the new placements may offset lower monetization.
The reported click-through comparison is based on Google’s internal data over a specified U.S. period and compares sponsored with unpaid product listings inside AI Mode. It does not establish whether AI ads preserve overall website traffic or how results vary by query, advertiser or country. The cited working paper on AI Overviews is a separate study and does not resolve those questions for the newly expanded AI Mode ads.
As of October 29, Google’s help page listed 12 countries for ads in AI answers, with English-language availability. Germany and other European Union countries were not listed. The source material does not say when, or whether, the feature will be offered there.
Markets and Formats to Watch
Google says Brazil, Mexico and the United Kingdom are planned for AI Mode ads in the fourth quarter of 2026. The company has not supplied a more precise schedule in the material provided. Advertisers and users will be able to see the rollout in those markets as it proceeds, while publishers will be watching for evidence about how placements affect referral traffic.
The next useful indicators are further details on AI Mode ad performance, how Google reports results to advertisers, and whether independent research tests the company’s claims about labeling and the separation between ads and answers. Alphabet’s next financial disclosures may also show whether Search growth changes as AI Mode use and advertising availability expand. For now, the confirmed development is a wider rollout, not a disclosed revenue impact.
Key Questions
Where is Google adding ads in AI Mode?
Google said ads are expanding to 10 additional countries: Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Singapore. Brazil, Mexico and the United Kingdom are planned for the fourth quarter of 2026.
What are multiturn ads?
They are ads that can appear in answers to follow-up questions in AI Mode. Google announced their U.S. rollout on October 28, 2026.
Can advertisers opt out of these placements?
According to Google Ads Help, existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns participate automatically. The source material says advertisers cannot opt out or separately target these placements, and that reporting is aggregate.
How will users identify an ad in an AI answer?
Google says ads will be marked “Sponsored.” Its additional claim that advertising does not affect the AI’s answer has not, in the source material, been independently audited.
Did Google say AI ads caused the Search growth slowdown?
No. Alphabet reported Search & other revenue growth of 12% in the third quarter and cited exchange rates as the largest driver, along with other factors. Schindler also said lower monetization of AI Mode searches had an impact; the company did not attribute the slowdown solely to AI ads.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
