Google Expands AI Ads to 10 Countries, Launches Multiturn Ads in US as Search Revenue Slows

Google Scales AI Mode Ads to 10 International Markets

Google is expanding ads in AI Mode to 10 countries including Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Singapore1

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. The company plans to launch in Brazil, Mexico, and the United Kingdom later in Q4 20264

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. This marks the first time Google AI ads will appear in these international markets, following initial testing in the US that began in November 20252

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The expansion comes as Alphabet reported revenue of $127.6 billion in Q3 2026, up 25% year-over-year, but shares fell 8% following the results5

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. Philipp Schindler, Google's Chief Business Officer, said the company is scaling high-quality advertisements within AI Overviews and AI Mode to reach more users and queries5

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Multiturn Ads Launch in US for Follow-Up Queries

In the US, Google is launching multiturn ads that allow sponsored content to appear directly within follow-up queries in AI Mode when a search has commercial relevance1

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. For example, if you search "How does a smart fridge work" and follow up with "What are the best-selling smart fridges," you could see refrigerator ads in sections labeled Sponsored1

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Google claims multiturn ads can better target what users want because AI Mode gathers more information during back-and-forth conversations1

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. Ads can appear on initial AI Mode queries or follow-up questions, though they won't appear if there's no purchase intent1

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Search Ad Revenue Growth Slows to 12%

The expansion of AI-powered Search ads comes as traditional search advertising growth slows significantly. Search revenue grew 12% year-over-year in Q3 2026, down from 17% in Q2 and 19% in Q15

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. According to Schindler, search ad revenue growth slowed because user queries are migrating to AI Overviews and AI Mode, which suffer from lower monetization1

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This slowdown increases pressure on Google to turn its growing AI-driven search features into a meaningful source of advertising revenue5

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. The company noted that ads are showing promising results thus far, and the addition of more markets could swing AI Mode to profitability2

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Conversational Search Experiences Drive Longer Queries

Queries in AI Mode are three times longer on average than traditional searches, reflecting how conversational search experiences are reshaping user behavior4

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. One in five AI Mode searches globally involves voice, images, or documents, while Google has surpassed 50 billion visual searches per month5

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Google's research shows people are comfortable with ads in AI Mode and find them highly relevant, with click-through rates already similar between Sponsored and organic product list items4

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. CEO Sundar Pichai said Search queries recorded their fastest year-on-year growth in five years5

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Publisher Traffic Faces Unprecedented Decline

The expansion to monetize AI-generated answers has devastating implications for publisher traffic. AI Overviews now appear on nearly half of Google search queries, with a corresponding 61% drop in raw traffic volume to other pages1

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. Google effectively scrapes publisher information, summarizes it, and satisfies users before they leave the search results page—creating what's called the "zero-click" crisis1

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Lily Ray, SEO expert and founder of Algorythmic, told CNET it's becoming harder to use Google to find articles from preferred publishers. "You'll have to dig deeper and look outside of Google's products," Ray said1

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. She noted that with more ads, there will be an even greater decline in organic click-through rates1

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Ray recommends users set up favorite publications as preferred sources to see more of those pages cited in personalized results, or use web filters to get traditional link-based search results1

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. "Unless you're satisfied with AI answers directly on Google, you're going to need to start evolving your own search behavior to find the websites you're looking for," Ray said1

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