GEO news
What is changing in AI search. Each item is a summary with a link to the outlet that reported it.
ChatGPT ad clicks earn $0.89 per visit against $2.45 from paid search, working paper finds
A visit from a ChatGPT ad generated $0.89 in revenue for U.S. traffic, compared with $2.45 from a paid Google search ad, according to a working paper by Maximilian Kaiser and Christian Schulze dated October 2026 and still under review.
Source: Search Engine Journal
Google AI Overviews now appear on more than 80% of searches as ads blend into AI Mode
Google's AI Overviews now surface on over 80% of search queries and the share is still climbing, according to the week's search news roundup.
Source: Search Engine Roundtable
Bing Showing Ads Within AI Overviews
Microsoft has begun placing sponsored results inside Bing's AI Overviews, the Copilot-powered answer boxes that replaced the Copilot Search box a few months ago. The format puts paid placements directly in the generated response rather than alongside it.
Source: Search Engine Roundtable
ChatGPT Ads go live in 26 more countries as OpenAI widens its ad formats
OpenAI has expanded ChatGPT Ads to 26 additional countries, bringing the total to 89 markets worldwide, and says more than 100,000 advertisers are now using the platform. The update went out in the company's weekly email to advertisers.
Source: Search Engine Roundtable
ChatGPT Ads switches on automatic creative changes by default
OpenAI is turning on creative enhancements by default for new and existing ChatGPT Ads campaigns from Friday, October 30.
Source: Search Engine Journal
Alphabet shares drop 13% as AI spending and slower Search growth unsettle advertisers
Alphabet shares fell about 13% on Thursday after third-quarter results showed Search revenue growing more slowly while the company ramps up spending on AI. Capital expenditure reached $51.36 billion in the quarter, with free cash flow at negative $9.07 billion.
Source: Search Engine Journal
Google says ads in AI Mode earn less than traditional search ads
Google's senior vice president and chief business officer, Philipp Schindler, told analysts on the company's earnings call that advertising in AI Mode monetises worse than advertising in traditional search.
Source: Search Engine Roundtable
Google says AI Mode users ask questions three times longer
People using Google's AI Mode are asking questions roughly three times longer than before, and are working through decisions earlier in the search process, according to Google Ads product liaison Ginny Marvin and search vice president of data science and user experience research…
Source: Search Engine Journal
Google blames lower AI Mode monetisation for slowing Search growth
Alphabet's Google Search & Other revenue rose 12% year on year to $63.35 billion in Q3 2026, down from 19% growth in Q1 and 17% in Q2, and essentially flat on the previous quarter's $63.27 billion.
Source: Search Engine Journal
Google expands AI Mode ads to ten more countries and adds multiturn ads in the US
Google is widening advertising inside AI Mode, its conversational search experience. Ads are now live in Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Singapore, with Brazil, Mexico and the United Kingdom due in the fourth quarter.
Source: Search Engine Roundtable
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.
Source: TechCrunch AI
Google lets connected Gmail and Photos data shape AI Mode ads
Google has changed its privacy policy so that content from Gmail, Google Photos and Google Drive can inform personalised advertising when users link those apps to other Google services.
Source: Search Engine Journal
ChatGPT ads gain a Learn more arrow link, with some units served via Amazon DSP
OpenAI is testing a new format for some ChatGPT ad units, adding a dotted, underlined 'Learn more' link with an upward arrow inside the text-based ad. The link does not appear on every ad, and the design was spotted by Bordie Clark, who shared screenshots on X and SERP Alert.
Source: Search Engine Roundtable
Three new studies question the ROI of AI search optimisation
Three new studies on AI search have raised doubts about whether investing in generative engine optimisation or AI SEO pays back, arriving in a week when Google's search results showed further ranking volatility with no official core update announced.
Source: Search Engine Roundtable
OpenAI explains how ChatGPT picks ads, separately from its answers
OpenAI has published a technical account of how advertising works inside ChatGPT, describing a dedicated model that reads a conversation, turns relevant parts of it into search queries, and submits candidate ads to an auction.
Source: Search Engine Journal
