Google is rolling out “multiturn ads” in AI Mode across the US and expanding ad placements to ten new countries, following a third-quarter 2026 earnings call where executives acknowledged that user migration to AI-driven search interfaces has slowed search ad revenue growth.
Monetization Pressures Arrive in Conversational Search
Alphabet’s third-quarter 2026 earnings call revealed that search ad revenue growth is decelerating as user behavior shifts toward AI Overviews and AI Mode. According to Google Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler, these generative interfaces suffer from “lower monetization.”
Google is scaling ads in AI Mode to 10 new countries, including Australia, Canada, India, Kenya and Singapore. Plans are already underway to introduce the format in Brazil, Mexico and the UK later this year.
In the United States, the company is launching what it calls “multiturn ads.” This capability inserts advertisements directly into follow-up queries in AI Mode when a search or conversation has “commercial relevance.”
A user searching for “How does a smart fridge work,” and subsequently asking “What are the best-selling smart fridges?” may encounter refrigerator ads in sections labeled “sponsored.” Google states that these multiturn ads leverage the contextual data gathered during a back-and-forth dialogue to better target what a user wants in a product.
Advertisements can also appear on initial AI Mode queries. However, sometimes ads won’t appear at all if there doesn’t appear to be purchase intent, according to Google.
The Zero-Click Crisis and Publishing Impact
Google is still the largest search engine in the world, accounting for nearly 90% of the global search engine market. Year-over-year query volume growth in the third quarter was the fastest over the past five years, yet the underlying traffic dynamics for external publishers have deteriorated.
Since the rollout of AI Overviews in May 2024, publisher web traffic has dropped significantly. AI Overviews currently appear on nearly half of Google search queries, causing a 61% drop in raw traffic volume to other pages.
Lily Ray, founder of Algorythmic, stated in an email to CNET that Google’s AI tools are not designed to give you the exact link you’re looking for. “AI Mode and AI Overviews answer questions directly in Google’s interface, so there’s less reason for people to click on publishers,” Ray said.
Ray noted that with more ads, there’s going to be an even greater decline in organic click-through rates. Publishers that do not participate in Google Ads face mounting difficulties in capturing organic visibility.
Navigating Search Without AI Mediation
Users who prefer traditional web navigation retain the ability to bypass AI Overviews and AI Mode. Standard search result pages remain accessible by scrolling down or utilizing web filters.
Ray recommends setting up your favorite publications as “preferred sources” to prioritize their content within personalized results. “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 said.
AI Mode operates as a distinct conversational interface accessible via the AI Mode button at the far right of the search bar on the Google home page, or by selecting AI Mode in the horizontal menu near the top of other Google pages. Unlike traditional search, which pairs an AI Overview with a list of links to other websites, AI Mode delivers “more advanced reasoning and ways of interacting” with a conversational approach.
As Google deepens its reliance on generative summaries and conversational commerce, the gap between platform retention and publisher referral traffic continues to widen.
