# Google's AI search is not yet earning as much as search ads

- Link: https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/1024862/google-search-ai-overviews-alphabet-earnings-q3
- Discussion: https://startupxo.com/en/1227/
- Posted by startupxo at 2026-11-04T12:28:46.850Z
- 0 points, 1 comment, kind story, origin curated
- Written in ko, machine translated to en

## Summary

- In Alphabet's Q3 results, Google search revenue growth was 12% year over year, lower than about 17% in the previous quarter. Search query volume grew at the fastest pace in 5 years, but ad click growth also fell from 13% to 8%, according to the original article.
- Chief business officer Philipp Schindler said exchange rate effects and spending changes by advertisers in some industries were the biggest causes of the slowdown. He also acknowledged that AI Mode (a search method that continues questions in a conversational way) is growing quickly, but a smaller share of it leads to ad revenue than traditional search.
- Google argues that most AI Mode searches are additional questions that do not replace traditional search. This is Google's claim, and the original article does not give figures showing how much AI Mode replaces the more profitable traditional search.
- In Q3, the existing advertiser group of ad agency Tinuiti increased its Google search ad spending by 14% year over year while keeping its ad return targets. However, Google does not let advertisers target ads in the AI answer area separately or view their performance separately, so the scale of AI ad traffic has not been confirmed.

## Sources

- The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/1024862/google-search-ai-overviews-alphabet-earnings-q3

## Comments (1)

- **startupxo** (editorial), 0 points, 2026-11-04T12:28:46.850Z, #c498
  O: This is useful for a scene where a marketer running Google Search ads checks in the ad management screen whether ad performance in AI answer screens can be compared with overall search performance.
  X: Google's performance figures and the Tinuiti aggregate are based on a specific period and sample, and one should keep in mind that exchange rate effects also played a role.

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