🔍 Read the full analysis: 5 Ways Google’s Global AI Search Ads Could Change Search on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
Get business pricing on tech for your team
- Business-only prices and quantity discounts
- Tax-exempt purchasing
- Multiple users, one account, clear invoices
TL;DR
Google announced on Oct. 28 that ads in its chat-style AI Mode are expanding to 10 countries, with ads also appearing in US follow-up questions. The rollout could change how advertisers reach searchers, how publishers receive traffic and how users distinguish paid placements from AI-generated answers; several effects remain unverified outside Google’s own data.
Google said Oct. 28 it will show ads in its chat-style AI Mode in 10 more countries and add ads to follow-up questions in the United States. The change extends paid placements into longer, conversational searches, while Alphabet’s latest results showed Search and other revenue grew 12% in the third quarter, slower than in the previous quarter.
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 US, ads can now appear not just alongside an initial AI Mode response but in answers to follow-up questions, which Google calls “multiturn ads.”
The ads use existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns, according to Google Ads Help. Advertisers do not have a separate control to target or opt out of AI Mode placements, and reporting is provided in aggregate. Google’s AI may also generate short explanations next to ads; advertisers cannot edit that text, according to the help page. Google says ads in AI answers will be labeled “Sponsored.”
The financial backdrop is a slowdown in the pace of Search revenue growth, not a fall in revenue. Alphabet reported $63.4 billion in Search and other revenue for July through September, up 12% year over year, compared with 17% growth in the previous quarter. Chief business officer Philipp Schindler cited foreign exchange as the largest driver of the slowdown and said lower monetization of fast-growing AI Mode searches also had an effect.
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.
Powered by Thorsten Meyer AI
Five Changes Inside AI Search
1. Ads can follow a conversation. A search session may begin with a broad question and narrow through follow-ups. Showing ads in later answers gives Google additional opportunities to place commercial results as a user clarifies what they need. Google says AI Mode queries average three times longer than classic searches, but that is the company’s own measurement.
2. Advertisers have less placement control. Existing campaign types enter the AI placements automatically, with no separate opt-out or targeting option described in Google Ads Help. That may extend campaign reach, but it also means advertisers have limited control over whether a particular ad appears beside an AI-generated answer. Google has not provided separate reporting for those placements.
3. AI-generated ad text adds another layer. Google says its system can write brief “explainers” next to ads, and advertisers cannot edit them. The format could help explain why a product is relevant to a query, but the advertiser’s limited control makes the accuracy and presentation of that copy a practical concern.
4. Website clicks could face pressure. In a randomized experiment involving 1,065 US users, researchers Agarwal and Sen reported that AI Overviews reduced clicks to websites by 39.8% when the summaries appeared. The working paper found no measurable change in ad clicks. That result is not a measure of every AI search format or market, but it points to a possible difference: publishers may lose visits even if ads continue to attract clicks.
5. Users must distinguish answers from paid results. Google says sponsored placements will carry a clear label and that advertising does not influence the AI’s answer. The label offers a visible signal, but the claim about separation comes from Google; the supplied source material reports no independent audit. For users, the practical task is to check whether a product recommendation is marked Sponsored rather than assuming every item in an AI response is unpaid.
These changes matter because search ads connect user intent to businesses, while search referrals support publishers and other websites. If more activity stays within AI answers, the distribution of attention and revenue could shift. The size of that shift is not established by the rollout announcement or the available experiment.
Products Worth Considering
Samsung 27 Odyssey OLED G5 (G50SF) QHD QD-OLED Gaming Monitor
Apple iPad Air 11-inch (M2), 512GB, Wi-Fi, Space Gray
Anker SOLIX S2000 Portable Power Station, 2,010Wh, 1,500W
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
From AI Overviews to Follow-Ups
Google’s AI Overviews are generated summaries shown within standard search results. AI Mode is a separate, conversational search experience that supports longer prompts and follow-up questions. Google began showing ads in AI Overviews for US mobile users in October 2024, expanded them to desktop in May 2025 and began testing ads in AI Mode that month.
At Google Marketing Live in May 2026, the company introduced tests of additional formats, including “Conversational Discovery ads,” which tailor ad text to a question, and “Highlighted Answers,” which can place an ad within a list of AI recommendations. The Oct. 28 announcement extends the AI Mode rollout internationally and brings ads into US follow-ups.
Alphabet’s third-quarter results show why monetization is part of the story, though they do not establish that the rollout is a direct response to the slower growth. Search and other revenue rose from $63.3 billion in the second quarter to $63.4 billion in the third. On the earnings call, Schindler said the strong growth in AI Mode queries affected results because those searches had lower monetization. He also cited currency movements and other factors.
“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
What the Rollout Cannot Yet Show
Google’s rollout announcement does not say how many ads users will see, how often a follow-up response will contain one or how ad performance will compare across the new markets. The company’s claim that click-through rates are similar for sponsored and organic product-list items draws on internal US data from Aug. 20 to Sept. 3, 2026. It compares two types of product listings within AI Mode and does not measure clicks to websites overall.
The independent experiment cited by the source is a working paper, not a peer-reviewed finding, and it studied AI Overviews rather than every AI Mode placement. Its reported click effects should not be treated as a forecast for all users or countries. It is also not yet clear whether the “Sponsored” label and Google’s claimed separation between ads and AI answers will be independently audited. As of Oct. 29, Google’s listed markets for ads inside AI answers did not include Germany or other EU countries.
Markets and Measurement Ahead
Google said Brazil, Mexico and the UK are planned for the fourth quarter of 2026. Advertisers and users can watch for details on the rollout, how ads are labeled across formats and whether Google adds placement-level reporting or controls. The next meaningful evidence will include performance data beyond the company’s short US comparison, as well as independent research tracking both advertising clicks and visits to websites.
For publishers, the key measure will be whether AI answers change referral traffic over time; for advertisers, it will be whether the new placements produce useful results despite limited controls. Google has not provided a timetable for those measurements or detailed country-by-country launch dates.
Key Questions
Where is Google adding ads in AI Mode?
Google announced ads in AI Mode for 10 additional countries: Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Singapore. Brazil, Mexico and the UK are planned for the fourth quarter of 2026.
Will ads appear in follow-up questions?
In the US, Google said ads can appear in answers to follow-up questions in AI Mode, not only in responses to an initial query.
Can advertisers opt out of AI Mode ads?
Google Ads Help says existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns can participate automatically, with no separate AI Mode opt-out or targeting control described. Reporting is aggregated.
How can users identify an ad?
Google says ads in AI answers will be labeled “Sponsored.” Its further claim that ads do not influence the AI’s answer has not been independently audited in the source material.
Does the research prove AI search reduces website traffic?
No. A randomized experiment with 1,065 US users reported a 39.8% reduction in website clicks when AI Overviews appeared, but it is a working paper and does not establish the effect across all AI search products, users or markets.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
