Google Search revenue flat in Q3 2026 as AI Mode cuts monetization
Google’s Search revenue grew 12% year-over-year in Q3 2026 to $63.35 billion, but was flat compared to Q2’s $63.27 billion, marking the second consecutive quarter of slowing growth after peaks of 19% in Q1 and 17% in Q2. Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler attributed the slowdown partly to lower monetization in AI Mode, alongside currency fluctuations and retail shifts in Asia-Pacific due…
Key points
- Google Search revenue grew 12% year-over-year to **$63.35 billion** in Q3 2026 but was flat quarter-over-quarter
- AI Mode ads expanded to **10 new countries** and U.S. follow-on question ads launched, with all campaigns eligible by default
- Schindler cited **currency headwinds, retail shifts, and AI Mode’s lower monetization** as key revenue drags
Google expanded AI Mode ads to 10 new markets (Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore) and introduced follow-on question ads in the U.S., making all existing Search, Shopping, and Performance Max campaigns eligible by default. Schindler framed AI Mode’s growth as upper-funnel and incremental, citing internal U.S. data showing click-through rates for ads in AI Mode comparable to organic results. However, he avoided specifying how much revenue AI Mode’s lower monetization reduced. CEO Sundar Pichai linked AI investments to record query growth—the highest in five years—but acknowledged the trade-off between user experience and monetization, mirroring Google’s earlier shift to mobile.
The story so far
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Google Search Growth Slows Again, AI Mode Is Partly Why via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern
Search Engine Journal · 28 October 2026
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