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TL;DR
Google said on October 28 that ads in its AI Mode search experience are expanding to 10 more countries, with ads also appearing in US follow-up answers. The announcement comes as Google Search and other advertising revenue grew 12% in the third quarter, down from 17% in the previous quarter; Google said fast-growing AI Mode searches had lower monetization.
Google is expanding ads in AI Mode to 10 additional countries and adding them to answers for follow-up questions in the United States, the company said October 28. The move comes as Search and other revenue rose 12% year over year in the third quarter, slower than the 17% growth reported in the prior quarter, putting fresh attention on how Google will earn from its AI search products.
The new markets are Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Singapore. Google said it plans to extend the ads to Brazil, Mexico and the United Kingdom in the fourth quarter of 2026. In the US, ads can now appear not only in an initial AI Mode response but also in answers to follow-up questions, extending advertising into more of a conversational search session.
Google describes AI Mode as a chat-style search experience and AI Overviews as AI summaries shown within regular search results. Its October announcement concerns ads in AI Mode; the two products are distinct. Google’s advertising help materials say existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns can serve in eligible AI experiences automatically. Advertisers do not have a separate opt-out or dedicated targeting control for these placements, and performance reporting is provided in aggregate. Google’s AI may also generate short explanatory text alongside ads, which advertisers cannot edit.
Alphabet reported $63.4 billion in Search and other revenue for July through September, about half of the company’s total revenue. The 12% year-over-year growth rate followed 17% in the previous quarter. Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler cited currency effects as the largest factor behind the slower growth, along with other advertising-market factors. He also said that rapid growth in AI Mode queries affected revenue because those searches had lower monetization than Google’s established search activity.
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 Mode
The expansion puts advertising into more answers produced through a conversational interface, where users may ask several related questions instead of clicking through a list of search results. That gives Google more opportunities to place ads during an AI-assisted search, but it also makes the distinction between paid placements and generated answers important to users and advertisers.
For publishers, the change lands amid wider concerns that AI summaries can answer questions without sending as many visitors to websites. A 2026 working paper by Agarwal and Sen, based on a randomized experiment with 1,065 US users, reported that AI Overviews reduced website clicks by 39.8% when they appeared. The study found no measurable change in ad clicks in that experiment. Those results concern AI Overviews, not the newly expanded AI Mode placements, and a working paper is not the same as a settled finding across all searches.
Google’s growth figures add a business reason to watch the rollout. The company says AI Mode queries are growing, but Schindler said they currently generate less revenue per query. Wider ad availability may help Google develop that business. The company has not disclosed how much revenue the new placements are expected to produce or how they will affect traffic to individual publishers.
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From AI Summaries to Follow-Ups
Google has been adding ads to AI search over time. Ads in AI Overviews began appearing for mobile users in the US in October 2024, according to the company’s prior announcements. Google brought them to desktop in May 2025 and began testing ads in AI Mode. At Google Marketing Live in May 2026, it also introduced tests of formats including Conversational Discovery ads, which adapt ad text to a question, and Highlighted Answers, where an ad can appear within a list of AI recommendations.
The October 28 update extends AI Mode advertising internationally and into the US follow-up stage. Google says AI Mode queries are, on average, three times longer than traditional searches. It also said sponsored and organic product-list items in AI Mode had similar click-through rates. That comparison reflects Google’s internal US data from August 20 to September 3, 2026, and compares product-list items within AI Mode; it is not a measure of clicks sent to outside websites.
Google’s quarterly results show the change in growth pace: Search and other revenue grew 17% in the fourth quarter of 2025, 19% in the first quarter of 2026, 17% in the second quarter and 12% in the third. Schindler said exchange rates were the single largest driver of the third-quarter slowdown. He also cited effects on some retail advertisers in Asia after the European Union ended a duty exemption for small parcels, and a normalization in media and entertainment spending following 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
Questions About Labels and Reach
Google says ads in AI answers carry a “Sponsored” label and that advertising does not influence the AI’s own response. The latter is a company claim; the source material identifies no independent audit verifying it. It is also not yet clear how users will distinguish an ad from an answer when both appear within the same AI-led experience, or how often ads will appear in follow-up exchanges.
The financial effect of the rollout is unknown. Google has not provided an expected revenue figure for the new markets or US follow-up ads. Nor does the company’s internal click-through comparison establish whether AI Mode will send more or fewer visitors to publishers. The cited independent experiment studied AI Overviews, so its findings should not be treated as a direct measurement of this AI Mode expansion.
As of October 29, Google’s help page lists 12 countries for ads in AI answers and specifies English-language availability. Germany and other EU countries are not listed. The source material does not establish whether or when Google plans to introduce these placements elsewhere in Europe.
Markets and Metrics to Watch
Google has said it expects to add Brazil, Mexico and the United Kingdom in the fourth quarter of 2026. The company’s next updates may clarify the rollout schedule, language availability and whether campaign controls or reporting options change as AI Mode ads reach more markets.
Advertisers and publishers will be watching for evidence of how the placements perform beyond Google’s internal comparisons. Useful details would include ad impressions, click-through rates and revenue contributions, as well as any measured change in visits sent to external sites. Alphabet’s next quarterly results will also show whether Search growth changes and whether the company offers further detail on AI Mode monetization.
For users, the immediate practical cue is Google’s stated “Sponsored” label. The rollout is underway, but its effects on ad revenue, publisher traffic and the separation between paid content and AI-generated responses remain to be measured.
Key Questions
Where is Google expanding ads in AI Mode?
Google named Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Singapore. It said Brazil, Mexico and the United Kingdom are planned for the fourth quarter of 2026.
What changed for users in the United States?
Google is adding ads to answers for follow-up questions in AI Mode, not just the initial response. The company says these ads will be labeled “Sponsored.”
Why is the announcement tied to slower Search growth?
Alphabet reported 12% year-over-year growth in Search and other revenue for the third quarter, down from 17% in the second. Philipp Schindler said currency effects were the biggest factor and that fast-growing AI Mode queries had lower monetization.
Can advertisers opt out of these placements?
Google’s advertising help materials say eligible Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns can serve in AI experiences automatically, without a separate opt-out or dedicated targeting control. Reporting is provided in aggregate.
Are ads available in Germany or elsewhere in the EU?
As of October 29, 2026, Google’s listed availability did not include Germany or other EU countries. The company has not confirmed a timetable for those markets in the supplied material.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
