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Google Takes AI Search Ads Global as Search Growth Cools
Google is expanding ads in AI Mode to international markets as its Search advertising growth slows. Alphabet reported $63.35 billion in Google Search and other revenue for the third quarter of 2026, up 12% year over year.
AI.info Team · Written with AI · fact-checked ·
Global ad expansion meets slower Search growth
Google is taking ads in its AI-powered Search experiences to international markets just as growth in its core Search advertising business cools. The expansion, announced during Alphabet’s third-quarter earnings call on October 28, puts new ad formats alongside a financial picture that cuts both ways: Alphabet’s revenue rose 25% year over year, while Search revenue growth slowed for a second consecutive quarter.
Google Search and other advertising revenue reached $63.35 billion for the quarter ended September 30, according to Alphabet’s results. The year-over-year growth rate was 12%, down from 17% in the second quarter and 19% in the first, TechCrunch reported. The company’s overall results remained strong, but the deceleration gives Google a reason to show how its AI experiences can support advertising as well as usage.
AI Mode ads move beyond the U.S.
Philipp Schindler, Google’s chief business officer, said the company is extending AI Mode ads to international markets. “This includes taking our monetization footprint global for the first time,” he said during the investor call.Philipp Schindler, Google’s chief business officer, as quoted by TechCrunch
The announcement also covered multi-turn ads and AI Mode in the U.S. Google describes the formats as part of its effort to place advertising within conversational search, where queries can unfold over several exchanges. Earlier this year, the company introduced Gemini-powered formats including conversational discovery ads that respond to users’ questions and sponsored recommendations within AI-generated answers.
Google points to longer, more varied searches
Google’s case for the expansion rests in part on changing search behavior. CEO Sundar Pichai said queries in AI Mode average three times the length of traditional searches, and one in five AI Mode searches globally uses voice, images or documents. Google has also passed 50 billion visual searches a month, according to Pichai’s remarks published by the company.
Pichai said the year-over-year growth rate in Search queries is the highest in five years, with AI features contributing to increased usage and commercial queries. That measure describes search activity, not advertising revenue: the earnings release reports Search and other revenue growth of 12%. The difference matters as Google tries to convert more varied searches into paid placements without treating rising query volume as proof that ad revenue is accelerating.
Early performance claims, limited public detail
Schindler said click-through rates for sponsored product listings in AI Mode are already comparable to organic listings, and that Google’s user research suggests people find the ads relevant. Those are company claims about early performance; Google did not disclose figures for the international expansion, the rollout schedule, or the revenue contribution it expects from AI Mode ads.
Alphabet’s Google Services division, which includes Search, generated $96.3 billion in revenue, up 11% year over year. Google Cloud grew faster, reaching $30.7 billion after a 103% increase, while Search and other remained a much larger revenue line. For now, Google’s announced change is a broader market for ads in AI Mode; the company’s reported Search advertising growth is still slowing.