News in Short
- Google is expanding ads in AI Mode to India and nine other countries.
- The rollout also covers Australia, Canada, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Singapore.
- The US is getting multiturn ads that can appear during follow-up questions in an AI Mode conversation.
- Ads carry a Sponsored label and remain visually distinct from organic results.
- Advertisers can use existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns without creating separate campaigns.
Google is expanding advertising in AI-powered search, bringing sponsored placements to more users in India and other markets. The move also introduces a new way for advertisers to reach people as they ask follow-up questions during an ongoing search conversation in the US.
The expansion reflects a shift in how people discover products and services online. Traditional searches often involve short queries and separate searches for additional information. AI Mode allows users to explore a topic through longer questions and follow-up prompts.
For users in India, this means sponsored results can appear within Google’s AI Mode experience. For businesses and advertisers, the expansion creates another opportunity to reach potential customers while they research products, compare options or look for services.
Google expands AI Mode ads to India and nine other countries
Google announced that AI Mode ads are expanding to India, Australia, Canada, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Singapore.
The company also plans to introduce the feature in Brazil, Mexico and the UK in the fourth quarter of 2026.
AI Mode is Google’s AI-powered search experience. It lets users ask questions in a conversational format and explore topics through follow-up queries. Advertising within this experience places sponsored content alongside AI-assisted discovery.
The expansion does not mean every Google search will display ads inside an AI response. Availability depends on the search experience and market. Google already displays ads above and below AI Overviews across more than 200 countries and territories.
Ads within AI Overviews and AI Mode have more limited market availability. Indonesia supports ads within AI Overviews only, while Pakistan currently supports text ads only, according to Google’s stated rollout details.
How ads will appear in AI Mode
Google says ads in AI Mode and AI Overviews carry a Sponsored label and remain visually distinct from organic results. This distinction helps users identify paid placements rather than confuse them with unpaid search information.
The company uses direct query matching and contextual matching to determine relevant ads. Contextual matching considers both the user’s question and the AI-generated response.
For example, someone asking how to clean a green swimming pool might see advertisements for pool cleaners or algae treatments. The ad selection can therefore relate to the wider problem being discussed, rather than only matching individual words in the original query.
Google has also stated that paid advertising does not influence the organic responses generated by AI Mode or AI Overviews. Sponsored placements and AI-generated answers are intended to serve different purposes within the search experience.
What multiturn ads mean for US users
Alongside the international expansion, Google is rolling out multiturn ads in the US. These placements can appear when users ask follow-up questions during an ongoing AI Mode conversation.
This format could give advertisers more opportunities to reach users as their needs become clearer. Someone researching a product, for instance, may begin with a broad question before asking about specific features or available options.
Google says queries in AI Mode are, on average, three times longer than traditional searches. The company is using this behaviour to develop advertising formats suited to conversational search.
However, the announcement does not establish that multiturn ads are launching in India at the same time. The reported rollout for this format is in the US.
What the expansion means for advertisers
Advertisers can use existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns for these placements. Google says they do not need separate campaigns or additional budgets specifically for AI Mode ads.
The company supports text and Shopping ads and is testing local inventory and vehicle ads. Advertisers can also monitor performance through existing Google Ads reports. The billing model remains the same as regular Search advertising, with no additional fees for these placements.
For Indian businesses, the expansion creates another potential route to connect with people researching products and services. However, performance will depend on factors such as campaign setup, relevance, competition and user behaviour.
The larger development is the integration of advertising into conversational search. As people use AI to explore options and ask increasingly specific questions, businesses may need to pay closer attention to how their products appear across both traditional search results and AI-powered experiences.
