On 28 October 2026 Google said it is scaling ads in AI Mode to ten more countries and launching ads in follow-up questions in the US, according to Google's announcement on its Ads and Commerce blog. The same day, Alphabet's third-quarter earnings release reported 12% growth in Google Search and other revenue. If your product depends on people finding you through Google, find out this month which of your important queries now show an ad inside the AI answer, and in which countries.
What is AI Mode?
AI Mode is the conversational part of Google Search, where Google writes an answer with Gemini and the user can keep asking follow-up questions. Until now, ads inside it were limited. This announcement moves them into more places and deeper into the conversation.
Where are the ads going?
According to Google's post, written by Shashi Thakur, who runs Search ads, Google is "now scaling ads in AI Mode in Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Singapore." In the fourth quarter of 2026, Google plans to add more locales, "including Brazil, Mexico, and the United Kingdom."
Search Engine Journal adds two details. Only text ads will run in Pakistan. And Google says the fourth-quarter list is not exhaustive, so more countries may follow.
What are multiturn ads?
Multiturn ads are ads shown in follow-up questions, not only in the first answer. Google's post says: "To allow ads in follow-up queries in AI Mode, we are launching multiturn ads in the U.S." Google says ads "will be clearly labeled as 'Sponsored.'"
This is the bigger change for product teams. A first search is often vague. The follow-up is where intent sharpens. "Best accounting software" becomes "which one works with my bank in Portugal." That second question is where a buyer decides. Now it can carry an ad too.
Search Engine Journal reports that existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns are eligible by default, and cannot opt out of AI Mode separately. If you run Google Ads, your ads may already be appearing in places you have not looked.
Why is Google doing this now?
Because AI answers have to pay for themselves, and Google has said so. Search Engine Journal reports that on the earnings call, Google's chief business officer Philipp Schindler named lower monetisation in AI Mode as one of three reasons for slower search revenue growth. He also said most AI Mode queries are incremental, meaning new searches that would not have happened otherwise.
The numbers in Alphabet's release show the scale. Consolidated revenue rose 25% to $127.6 billion in the quarter. Google Search and other revenue was $63.35 billion, up 12% from $56.57 billion a year earlier. Sundar Pichai said: "Our AI investments are driving overall Search query growth, including commercial queries."
Put those together and the logic is plain. More people are asking Google questions through AI. Each of those answers earns less than a classic results page. Google is closing the gap by putting ads where the answers are.
Is an ad inside an AI answer different from a normal ad?
No. An ad inside an AI answer is still an ad. Someone paid for it to be there.
The difference is how it feels to the person reading. A list of blue links looks like a list. You know some are ads, and you skip them. An answer written in full sentences feels like advice. A "Sponsored" label next to it helps. It does not change the fact that the most persuasive format Google has ever built now has paid placements inside it.
That has two consequences for a product team. If you advertise, you are buying space inside something users read as guidance, so your claims need to be ones you would stand behind in a conversation. If you do not advertise, a competitor's ad may now sit inside the answer about your own category.
What should a product team check?
Start with the queries that bring you customers, not the ones that bring you traffic.
Which queries carry an ad now?
List the twenty questions your best customers ask before they buy. Run them in AI Mode, in each country where you sell, including the follow-up questions a real buyer would ask. Note which ones show an ad, whose ad it is, and what the answer says about you. Repeat monthly. This list will change, and it will change without anyone telling you. Screenshots with dates are enough. You do not need a tool for this, just the habit.
What do your own campaigns do there?
If you run Search, Shopping or Performance Max, check where your ads now appear. Look at the reporting Google provides for AI Mode, and read the announcement and its linked support page. Decide whether you are happy for your brand to appear next to an AI-written answer you do not control.
Does your own product show ads in AI answers?
If you build a product with an AI assistant in it, this is a preview of a choice you may face. Label paid content clearly. Keep it out of answers where the user is relying on you for a neutral view. Write that rule down before revenue pressure writes it for you.
What would I do this week?
If you sell in the UK, Brazil or Mexico, run your key queries now, before the fourth-quarter expansion, so you have a baseline. If you sell in the US, test the follow-up questions, not just the first one. If you advertise anywhere, check that your campaigns are behaving the way you think.
Where Alongside fits
Deciding how a product shows up when the answer on the page is paid for is the kind of work covered by Alongside's product development.
