Where Do Google’s AI Mode Ads Run Now, and Why Did Google Say They Earn Less?

What Did Google Announce on October 28, 2026?

Google said it is expanding ads inside AI Mode, its conversational search mode, to 10 named countries outside the US, and adding ads to follow-up questions in the US. The announcement came in a short post on Google’s Ads & Commerce Blog by Shashi Thakur, Google’s vice president and general manager for Search Ads and Ads on Google Experiences. “Now we’re scaling ads in AI Mode in Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Singapore,” the post says. “In Q4 2026, we plan to expand to additional locales, including Brazil, Mexico, and the United Kingdom” (Google).

The post makes two claims about users. It says queries in AI Mode “are, on average, three times longer than traditional searches,” and that “click-through rates are already similar between sponsored and organic product list items within AI Mode.” A footnote dates the click-through comparison to “Google Internal Data, US, August 20, 2026- September 3, 2026.” That is a two-week, US-only internal measure; Google did not publish the rates themselves, and we could not check them (Google).

AI Mode ads are not new in the US. Search Engine Roundtable, which covers Google’s search products daily, notes that Google first launched ads in AI Mode in May 2025 (Search Engine Roundtable). Our earlier report on Google’s test of AI Mode ads for users who connect Gmail and Photos covered the October 16 test for signed-in users; this announcement is about geography and follow-up questions.

What Are Multiturn Ads?

Multiturn ads are ads that can appear on the answer to a follow-up question in an AI Mode conversation, not only on the first query. Google’s blog puts it in one sentence: “To allow ads in follow-up queries in AI Mode, we are launching multiturn ads in the U.S.” A Google spokesperson told Search Engine Roundtable that “Multiturn ads show up on responses to follow-up user queries as users engage in back and forth conversations with AI Mode” (Google; Search Engine Roundtable).

Google’s help page describes where ads can sit. “When a search or conversation has commercial relevance, ads can appear directly within or alongside these AI-generated responses (including across follow-up questions in AI Mode) in sections clearly labeled ‘Sponsored’.” It adds that “the exact visual presentation of ads may evolve over time,” and that text ads and Shopping ads can appear, while Google is “experimenting with other types of ads such as local inventory ads and vehicle ads” (Google Ads Help).

The page also explains how an ad gets matched to a conversation. Google matches ads “either directly to the user’s query” when it already has clear commercial intent, or “contextually to both the user’s query and the AI response” when commercial intent emerges from a longer question. Its example: someone asking “why is my pool green and how do I clean it?” can see ads for pool vacuums or algae kits because the answer mentions brushing and vacuuming. Exact and phrase match keywords “aren’t eligible for contextual matching”; broad match, AI Max for Search, Shopping and Performance Max are (Google Ads Help).

Where Do Ads in AI Mode Run Now?

Google’s help page lists 12 countries for ads within AI Overviews and AI Mode, all in English, while ads above or below AI Overviews run in more than 200 countries and territories. The help page’s list reads: “United States, Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia (AI Overviews only), Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan (text ads only), Philippines, and Singapore,” with English as the language. Google cautions that “the list below may not be exhaustive” (Google Ads Help).

Setting the blog post against the help page shows two details the announcement does not mention. The table below is our comparison of the two pages, both read on October 29, 2026.

The chart shows how narrow the in-answer ad footprint still is: 12 listed countries for ads inside AI answers, against more than 200 for the older placement above or below an AI Overview.

For anyone outside those markets, nothing changes yet. The UK, which Google names for Q4, is a plan; Google has not given a date, and the help page does not list it (Google; Google Ads Help).

Why Did Google Say AI Mode Ads Earn Less?

Google said the growth of AI Mode weighed on search revenue because ads there make less money than its traditional search ads, but it gave no figure. On Alphabet’s third-quarter earnings call on October 28, chief business officer Philipp Schindler named three reasons search revenue grew more slowly than in the second quarter: currency moves, which he called “the single largest driver,” category effects in retail and media, and AI Mode. “It’s worth noting that the strong growth in AI Mode queries had an impact because of the lower monetization we were seeing in AI Mode,” he said, as transcribed by Search Engine Roundtable (Search Engine Roundtable).

He followed with a reassurance: “To be clear, we feel very good about our trajectory here. Our ad experiments have shown promising results and we’re now scaling ads within both AI Overviews and AI Mode to more users and more queries” (Search Engine Roundtable). Search Engine Journal, which also covered the call, noted that he “did not state what AI mode’s monetization was lower than, nor the amount” (Search Engine Journal).

Google’s own numbers frame the remark. Alphabet’s earnings release reports Google Search & other revenue of $63,350 million for the quarter, against $56,567 million a year earlier (Alphabet). By our arithmetic that is $6,783 million more, or 12.0%. Chief executive Sundar Pichai’s published remarks say “Queries in AI Mode are on average three times longer than traditional searches,” and set the order of priorities: “we are focused on building the best Search user experience, followed by monetization” (Google).

The remark is a change in emphasis. In May 2025, Search Engine Journal reported, Thakur said AI Overviews generate revenue “at the same rate” as the same searches without them; that claim covered AI Overviews, not AI Mode (Search Engine Journal). We read the quotes through the two trade titles because Alphabet publishes the call as a webcast rather than a transcript on its investor events page.

Does Buying These Ads Change What the AI Says About You?

No, according to Google: its help page says ads do not influence the organic AI answer, and being cited organically does not affect ad eligibility. The page says “All ads in AI Overviews and AI Mode are clearly labeled as ‘Sponsored’ and visually distinguished from organic content. Paid advertising does not influence the organic responses generated by Google AI.” In its FAQ: “Buying ads doesn’t influence organic AI answers, and whether your site is cited organically doesn’t affect your ad auction eligibility” (Google Ads Help).

One detail matters for communications teams. Google says ads “may also appear with AI explainers,” which are “concise, independent text generated by Google’s Gemini models” using “information from the user’s query, the AI response, and publicly available sources including your website.” Advertisers “can’t manually write, edit, approve, or opt out of them.” Google’s advice is that “Keeping your website content clear and up to date also helps Google surface accurate context in AI explainers” (Google Ads Help). In other words, an advertiser’s own pages, and what is publicly written about it, can shape the text next to its ad.

Reporting is coarse. Google says AI Overview and AI Mode performance is “included in aggregate” in standard campaign and search terms reports; the page we read does not describe a separate AI Mode breakdown (Google Ads Help).

What This Means for Anyone Buying a Placement

Paid space next to AI answers is growing, but it is labeled advertising, and Google says it is separate from the answer itself. Three practical points follow; all are our recommendations, not Google rules.

• Treat “AI Mode visibility” offers with care. In the markets above, a company can buy a Sponsored slot through Google Ads. Nothing in Google’s pages says money buys a mention in the unpaid answer, and a seller who promises one is promising something Google says does not exist. Our explainer on whether you can pay to appear in a ChatGPT answer reaches the same conclusion for OpenAI.
• Keep the public record accurate. AI explainers draw on “publicly available sources including your website.” Accurate product pages, a current newsroom and correct third-party coverage are the inputs a company can influence.
• Expect more competition for attention on follow-up questions in the US. Organic citations in AI answers still come from earned coverage and strong pages; our comparison of AI Overviews and AI Mode and our report on how often AI Overviews appear set out how each surface cites pages.

Methodology and Limitations

Four limits apply. First, the click-through comparison is Google’s internal US data for two weeks, and Google did not publish the rates. Second, the earnings-call quotes come from Search Engine Roundtable’s transcription, checked against Search Engine Journal’s account; we did not watch the webcast. Third, Google’s help page is a live document that it says “may not be exhaustive,” and we read it on October 29, 2026. Fourth, we did not see multiturn ads ourselves, and no source we read gives their size, frequency or price.

Conclusion

Google is putting more ads inside AI answers, in more countries and deeper into conversations, while telling investors those ads earn less for now. For companies, the line Google draws is useful: ads are Sponsored and bought in Google Ads, and the unpaid answer is, by Google’s account, not for sale. The uncomfortable part for buyers is that the text Google writes beside an ad, and the answer itself, still depend on what the public record says about a company, which no ad budget controls.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources and Methodology

This Explainer is built from Google’s October 28, 2026 Ads & Commerce Blog post and its Google Ads Help page on ads in AI-powered Search experiences, both read on October 29, 2026; Alphabet’s Q3 2026 earnings release and Sundar Pichai’s published remarks; and Search Engine Roundtable’s and Search Engine Journal’s reports on the earnings call. The market comparison table and the revenue arithmetic are ours. The advice on buying placements is our recommendation, not anything Google says. We did not watch the earnings webcast or see multiturn ads.

1. official Google Ads & Commerce Blog (Shashi Thakur), Ads in AI Mode expand to new markets. New markets, Q4 plans, multiturn ads, query length and click-through claims. Read October 29, 2026.
2. platform documentation Google Ads Help, About ads in AI-powered experiences in Google Search. Country list, eligibility, matching, AI explainers, reporting and the statements on organic answers. Read October 29, 2026.
3. official Alphabet (SEC Exhibit 99.1), Alphabet Announces Third Quarter 2026 Results. Google Search & other revenue for Q3 2025 and Q3 2026. Read October 29, 2026.
4. official Google (Sundar Pichai), Q3 2026 earnings call: Remarks from our CEO. AI Mode query length and the “followed by monetization” remark. Read October 29, 2026.
5. trade press Search Engine Roundtable, Google Says Ads In AI Mode Earning Less Than Traditional Search Ads. Transcribed Schindler quotes from the earnings call. Read October 29, 2026.
6. trade press Search Engine Roundtable, Google Expands Ads In AI Mode In More Countries & Multiturn Ads In U.S.. Google spokesperson statement on multiturn ads; May 2025 launch date. Read October 29, 2026.
7. trade press Search Engine Journal, Google Says Lower AI Mode Monetization Weighed On Search Growth. Second account of the call; May 2025 AI Overviews claim. Read October 29, 2026.