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TL;DR
Google announced on October 28 that ads in AI Mode will expand to 10 more countries and that ads can appear in US follow-up questions. The move comes as Google Search & other revenue growth slowed to 12% in the third quarter, and a working paper found AI Overviews reduced website clicks without a measurable change in ad clicks in its experiment.
Google said on October 28 it will expand ads in its chat-style AI Mode search to 10 additional countries and begin showing ads in US follow-up questions, extending advertising into more of its AI-generated answers. The announcement comes as Google Search & other revenue grew 12% in the third quarter, slower than in the previous quarter, while Google says AI Mode searches currently earn less than traditional search.
The expansion covers Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Singapore. Google also plans to bring the ads to Brazil, Mexico and the United Kingdom in the fourth quarter of 2026. The company’s October 28 announcement, attributed to search ads executive Shashi Thakur, says ads will appear in US responses to follow-up questions in AI Mode. That means ads may appear later in a conversational search, not just in response to the initial query.
Google says its ads will be marked “Sponsored” and will sit alongside AI responses. The company says ads do not influence the AI’s answer. That is Google’s stated position; the source material reports no independent audit of the claim. Google also says AI Mode queries are, on average, three times longer than conventional searches, and that click-through rates for sponsored and organic product listings in AI Mode were similar in its internal US data from August 20 to September 3, 2026. That comparison concerns product listings within AI Mode, not clicks through to external websites.
Advertisers do not have a separate opt-out for these placements, according to Google Ads Help as described in the source material. Existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns can participate automatically. Advertisers cannot separately target the AI placements, and reporting is provided in aggregate. Google’s AI may also generate short explanatory text next to ads that advertisers cannot edit.
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 Enter More AI Search Moments
The expansion matters because it puts advertising inside a search experience designed to answer questions directly, rather than only presenting a list of links. For Google, more placements could help monetize AI Mode as usage grows. Chief business officer Philipp Schindler said on Alphabet’s earnings call that growth in AI Mode queries affected revenue because those searches had “lower monetization” than other search activity.
For users, the practical distinction is between the AI-generated response and the labeled ad shown within or alongside it. Google says the “Sponsored” label identifies advertising, but the company’s assurance that ads do not affect answers has not been independently audited in the material provided. For advertisers, automatic participation and aggregate reporting leave less control over where these placements appear and how their performance can be isolated.
Publishers also have a stake: if an AI answer resolves a query without a visit to a website, referral traffic may fall even if ads continue to attract clicks. A 2026 working paper by Agarwal and Sen reported that, in a randomized experiment involving 1,065 US users, AI Overviews reduced website clicks by 39.8% when shown, while ad clicks showed no measurable change. The finding is from a working paper and one experiment; it should not be treated as a universal estimate of traffic effects.
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A Revenue Shift Behind the Rollout
Google’s announcement follows a series of steps to put advertising into its AI search products. Ads in AI Overviews—summaries that appear in standard search results—began on mobile in the US in October 2024 and reached desktop in May 2025. Google also began testing ads in AI Mode in 2025. At Google Marketing Live in May 2026, it introduced tests of formats including conversational ad text and highlighted answers containing advertising.
Alphabet reported that Google Search & other generated $63.4 billion in the third quarter of 2026, about half of Alphabet’s revenue. The reported growth rate was 12%, down from 17% in the second quarter. Schindler said currency exchange rates were the largest factor behind the slowdown. He also cited changes affecting some retail advertisers in Asia and a normalization in media and entertainment spending after a strong World Cup quarter, alongside the lower monetization of AI Mode searches.
These figures provide context, not proof that the international rollout is a direct response to the slower growth. Google has not said that the expansion was caused by the quarterly results. The connection is that the company is broadening ad formats while acknowledging that a growing search format currently brings in less revenue per query.
““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
User and Publisher Effects Remain Open
It is not yet clear how much revenue the new placements will generate, how frequently users will encounter them, or whether they will change advertiser spending or campaign results. Google’s reported click-through comparison covers sponsored and organic product listings within AI Mode over a short period; it does not establish how often users click ads instead of visiting websites.
The publisher effect is also unresolved. The Agarwal and Sen working paper reports a decline in website clicks when AI Overviews appeared in its US experiment, but the result does not establish the effect across all queries, countries, or publishers. And while Google says ads do not influence AI answers, the source material identifies no independent audit that verifies that separation.
Google’s help page, according to the source, lists 12 countries for ads in AI answers and specifies English-language availability. Germany and other European Union countries are not listed as of October 29, 2026. The timing and availability of any European rollout remain unknown.
Watch the Country Rollout
The next stated milestone is Google’s planned fourth-quarter 2026 rollout to Brazil, Mexico and the United Kingdom. The company has not provided a more specific date in the source material. Users and advertisers can also watch how the US follow-up-question placements appear and how Google labels them in practice.
For advertisers, further details on placement controls, reporting and performance will help show how the automatic participation policy works across campaigns. For publishers, future independent research and traffic data will be needed to establish whether AI search answers reduce visits in real-world settings. Google has not announced an independent review of its claim that advertising does not affect AI answers.
Key Questions
Where is Google expanding ads in AI Mode?
Google said ads are expanding to 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.
Will ads appear in follow-up questions?
Google said it is introducing ads in responses to US follow-up questions in AI Mode. The announcement expands ads beyond the first question in a conversational search.
How can users identify these ads?
Google says ads in AI answers will carry a “Sponsored” label. Its separate claim that ads do not influence the AI’s answer has not been independently audited in the source material.
Can advertisers opt out of AI search placements?
According to Google Ads Help as described in the source material, existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns participate automatically. There is no separate opt-out or targeting setting, and reporting is aggregated.
Are ads in AI answers available in Europe?
As of October 29, 2026, the listed countries do not include Germany or other European Union countries. Google has not provided a European rollout date in the source material.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
