Blog Playbooks · What You Missed: Oct 26 to Nov 1, 2026 · Part 1
Google will show your ad in the follow-up question, the one people ask before they buy
Google is launching ads in AI Mode follow-up questions in the US, and your existing campaigns may already qualify. Here is what changed, what Google admitted about the money, and what to check this week.
Nobody books on the first question. "Best dentist near me" is browsing. "Do they take my insurance and can I come in Saturday?" is buying. This week Google said it will start putting ads in that second question.
What happened
On October 28, Shashi Thakur, Google's VP and GM of Search Ads, posted on Google's blog that ads in AI Mode are expanding to new countries. They are scaling now in Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Singapore. Google says it plans to add more locales in Q4 2026, including Brazil, Mexico and the United Kingdom.
The bigger change for US businesses is one sentence: "To allow ads in follow-up queries in AI Mode, we are launching multiturn ads in the U.S." A Google spokesperson told Search Engine Roundtable the same day that "Multiturn ads show up on responses to follow-up user queries." Google says the ads will be labeled "Sponsored."
Google also makes two claims from its own data. First, AI Mode "queries are, on average, three times longer than traditional searches." Second, "click-through rates are already similar between sponsored and organic product list items within AI Mode," based on US data from August 20 to September 3, 2026.
You probably do not need to opt in. As reported by Search Engine Journal, "All existing Search, Shopping, and Performance Max campaigns are eligible by default," and advertisers "cannot opt out separately."
The same day, Google reported third quarter results. Search and other revenue grew 12% to $63.35 billion, according to Search Engine Journal, after 19% growth in Q1 and 17% in Q2. On the earnings call, Google's chief business officer Philipp Schindler said AI Mode queries "had an impact because of the lower monetization we were seeing in AI Mode," as reported by Search Engine Roundtable. He also said, "To be clear, we feel very good about our trajectory here." In other words, Google earns less per AI Mode search today, and more ad slots in more of the conversation is one obvious fix.
One more item is only a sighting. On October 30, Search Engine Roundtable reported a screenshot, shared on X, of an ad inside an AI answer on Bing. The site's editor said he could not trigger one himself, and Microsoft has not commented. Treat it as a test someone spotted, not a launch.
Source: Google, Oct 28; Search Engine Journal, Oct 28
What it means for your business
Picture a med spa running a Search campaign for laser hair removal. A person asks AI Mode what laser hair removal costs. Then they ask the follow-up: "Is there anywhere near me that does it on weekends?" That second question is where the ad can now show. It is also the question a person asks right before they book.
The good news: if you already run Search, Shopping or Performance Max, you may already be eligible, with nothing new to set up. The catch is the same thing. You did not choose this placement, and you cannot turn it off on its own. Your existing keywords, budget and landing pages are now answering a longer, more specific question than the one you wrote them for.
Long questions are specific. "Plumber" could mean anything. "Can a plumber come today for a leaking water heater in a basement?" means one thing. If your ad sends that person to your home page, you just paid for a click from someone who wanted an answer and got a menu.
The first question is browsing. The follow-up is buying. Your page has to answer the second one.
What Google controls
Where the ad shows inside AI Mode, including follow-up questions. Which campaigns are eligible: existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max, by default, per Search Engine Journal. How the answer around your ad is written.
What you control
Which page the click lands on. Whether that page answers price, hours and how to start. Whether you judge the campaign on booked leads or on clicks.
What to do this week
- Read your search terms report
Look for long, conversational searches: full sentences, questions, "near me today." These show you what people ask when they are close to buying.
- Make the landing page answer the second question
Put price or a price range, hours, and the first step (book, call, walk in) at the top of the page the ad sends people to.
- Check that each campaign sends people to the right page
A follow-up question about weekend hours should not land on your home page. Match the page to the service in the campaign.
- Judge the traffic on leads, not clicks
Google says AI Mode click rates are similar to organic. That is Google's claim about clicks. Your measure is booked appointments, calls and signups. Count those.
- Watch Bing, do not chase it
The Bing ad in an AI answer is a spotted test. Nothing to change there yet.
We first wrote about this shift in Ads are coming inside Google's AI answers. This week it moved from the first answer into the conversation.
This is part of What You Missed, our weekly read on the marketing news that matters to business owners. See the full week: /blog/what-you-missed-week-of-october-26-2026
Sources
- Google, "Ads in AI Mode expand to new markets," Shashi Thakur, VP and GM, Google Search Ads and Ads on Google Experiences, October 28, 2026. blog.google
- Search Engine Roundtable, "Google Expands Ads In AI Mode To More Countries & Multiturn Ads In U.S.," Barry Schwartz, October 28, 2026. seroundtable.com
- Search Engine Journal, "Google Says Lower AI Mode Monetization Weighed On Search Growth," Matt G. Southern, October 28, 2026. searchenginejournal.com
- Search Engine Roundtable, "Google: Ads In AI Mode Earning Less Than Traditional Search Ads," Barry Schwartz, October 29, 2026. seroundtable.com
- Search Engine Roundtable, "Bing Showing Ads Within AI Overviews," Barry Schwartz, October 30, 2026. seroundtable.com
