Google takes AI Mode ads international as Search growth slows
Google is expanding advertising inside its AI Mode search experience to international markets for the first time, alongside multi-turn ads and AI Mode in the US. Chief business officer Philipp Schindler announced the move on Alphabet's third-quarter earnings call, saying high-quality ads in AI overviews and AI Mode would reach more users and queries.
The push comes as Alphabet reported $127.6 billion in revenue, up 25% year on year, but Search advertising growth decelerated to 12% from 17% in the second quarter and 19% in the first. Alphabet shares fell 8% after the results. Google Services revenue reached $96.3 billion, up 11%, while Google Cloud jumped 103% to $30.7 billion.
Google says sponsored product listings in AI Mode already draw click-through rates comparable to organic listings, and that user research finds the ads relevant. The formats build on Gemini-powered conversational discovery ads and sponsored recommendations introduced in May.
For brands chasing citations in AI answers, the shift matters: paid placements now sit inside the same AI Mode responses where organic recommendations are decided. Sundar Pichai said AI Mode queries run three times longer than traditional searches, and one in five involves voice, images or documents.
Reported by TechCrunch AI ↗
Topics: AI Mode, AI advertising, Google Search