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TL;DR
Google said Oct. 28 that ads in its chat-style AI Mode are expanding to 10 more countries and that US users may see ads in follow-up questions. The move comes as Google Search advertising growth slowed to 12% in the third quarter, while a cited working paper found AI Overviews reduced website clicks but showed no measurable change in ad clicks. Google says ads will be labeled “Sponsored”; independent verification of its claim that ads do not affect AI answers was not identified in the source material.
Google said on October 28 that it is expanding ads in its chat-style AI Mode to 10 more countries and introducing ads in US follow-up questions, extending advertising into more parts of its AI-generated search experience. The announcement came as Alphabet reported that Search & other revenue grew 12% in the July-to-September quarter, down from 17% in the previous quarter.
The newly included countries are Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Singapore. Google plans to add Brazil, Mexico and the United Kingdom in the fourth quarter of 2026, according to the announcement and the source’s account of Google’s rollout plans. The company is also launching “multiturn ads” in the United States, so an ad may appear in a response to a follow-up question in AI Mode, not just an initial query.
Google’s advertising help information says existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns can serve in these placements automatically. The source reports that advertisers have no separate targeting control or opt-out for AI Mode ads and receive aggregate reporting. Google’s AI may also produce short explanatory text beside an ad, which advertisers cannot edit, according to the same account.
Google says ads in AI answers will be clearly labeled “Sponsored” and that advertising does not influence the AI’s answer. It also reported that AI Mode searches are, on average, three times longer than conventional searches, and that click-through rates for sponsored and organic product-list items in AI Mode were similar. The cited comparison is based on Google’s internal US data from August 20 to September 3, 2026; it compares product-list items and does not establish how often users click through to websites.
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 Reach More AI Search Answers
The expansion adds placements for commercial results in Google’s AI Mode conversations, where users can describe a need and ask follow-up questions. Advertisers may reach users through existing campaign types; the source says they do not have a separate opt-out or dedicated targeting control for these placements.
A 2026 working paper by Agarwal and Sen reports a randomized experiment involving 1,065 US users. When AI Overviews appeared, clicks to websites fell by 39.8%, while clicks on ads showed no measurable change. The experiment concerns AI Overviews, not the new AI Mode rollout, and does not measure all searches.
Google says ads in AI answers will be labeled “Sponsored” and will not influence the AI’s answer. The source reports that it found no independent audit of the company’s claim about the separation between ads and answers.
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How Google Added Ads to AI Search
The rollout extends two distinct Google features. AI Overviews are generated summaries shown within standard search results; AI Mode is a separate, chat-style search experience that supports longer prompts and follow-up questions. Ads in AI Overviews launched for US mobile users in October 2024, according to Google’s published timeline as relayed by the source. Google added desktop availability in May 2025 and began testing ads in AI Mode.
At Google Marketing Live in May 2026, the company began testing additional formats, including “Conversational Discovery ads,” in which Gemini creates ad text tailored to a question, and “Highlighted Answers,” where an ad can appear in a list of AI recommendations. The October announcement adds international AI Mode placements and US follow-up-question ads to that sequence.
Revenue provides a business backdrop, but it does not by itself establish why Google made this particular decision. Alphabet reported $63.4 billion in Search & other revenue for the third quarter, about half of the company’s revenue. Search revenue growth was 17% in the fourth quarter of 2025, 19% in the first quarter of 2026, 17% in the second quarter and 12% in the third. On the earnings call, chief business officer Philipp Schindler said exchange rates were the biggest driver of the slowdown and also cited lower monetization of fast-growing AI Mode searches.
““to allow ads in follow-up queries in AI Mode.””
— Shashi Thakur, who leads Google’s search advertising business, in Google’s October 28 announcement
What Users and Advertisers Cannot Verify
Google’s statement that ads do not influence the AI’s own answer is a company claim. The source reports finding no independent audit of that separation. It is also not clear from the available material how frequently ads will appear in follow-up responses, how the formats will vary by query, or whether Google will later offer advertisers more precise controls and reporting.
The experiment cited on website and ad clicks covers 1,065 US users and AI Overviews, not the newly expanded AI Mode placements. Its findings cannot establish the traffic impact of this international rollout. The source also says Google’s help page listed 12 countries for ads inside AI answers, in English only, as of October 29; Germany and other EU countries were not listed. That status could change, and the material does not explain the timing or regulatory path for any European expansion.
Google attributed the Search growth slowdown to several factors, including exchange rates, shifts in some retail and media spending, and lower monetization of AI Mode. The available figures do not show how much each factor contributed to the quarter’s result. Nor do they prove that the international ad expansion was driven by the slowdown, even though the timing makes the revenue context relevant.
Rollout Plans and Revenue Signals
Google plans to bring AI Mode ads to Brazil, Mexico and the United Kingdom in the fourth quarter of 2026. The next indicators to watch are whether that schedule holds, which languages and ad formats are supported, and whether the company publishes more detail on advertiser controls, reporting and labeling across markets.
Future Alphabet earnings reports may show whether AI Mode’s share of Search activity and its monetization change. For publishers and users, independent measurements of website visits, ad clicks and the visibility of “Sponsored” labels would help test the effects Google’s internal figures do not settle. No such results for the new rollout are provided in the source material.
Key Questions
Where is Google expanding ads in AI Mode?
Google announced expansion 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.
What are multiturn ads?
They are ads that can appear in a response to a follow-up question during an AI Mode conversation. Google said it was launching the feature in the United States.
Can advertisers opt out of AI Mode ads?
The source says existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns may serve in the placements automatically, with no separate opt-out or targeting control described. Google’s available arrangements may change; the source does not report a later policy update.
Does Google say ads affect AI answers?
No. Google says ads do not influence the AI’s answer and says they will carry a “Sponsored” label. The source reports no independent audit of the separation claim.
Does the click research prove publishers will lose traffic from AI Mode ads?
No. The cited 2026 working paper found that AI Overviews reduced website clicks by 39.8% in an experiment with 1,065 US users, with no measurable change in ad clicks. It studied AI Overviews, not the newly expanded AI Mode placements, so it does not establish the effect of this rollout.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
