On October 28, 2026, Google said it is “launching multiturn ads in the U.S.” in AI Mode. Ads can now appear in the answers to follow-up questions, not only in the answer to the first search. Google also expanded AI Mode ads to 10 more countries. If customers find your plumbing, dental or law practice through Google, this changes what they see in the middle of a conversation with AI Mode. It also makes it worth knowing which parts of an AI answer are paid and which are earned.
What Google announced
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Ads in follow-up questions (US). In a post dated October 28, 2026, Shashi Thakur, VP and GM, Google Search Ads and Ads on Google Experiences, wrote: “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: “Multiturn ads show up on responses to follow-up user queries as users engage in back and forth conversations with AI Mode.”
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More countries. Google is “scaling ads in AI Mode in Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Singapore.” It plans to expand to “additional locales, including Brazil, Mexico, and the United Kingdom” in Q4 2026.
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Longer questions. Google says: “In AI Mode, queries are, on average, three times longer than traditional searches.”
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A claim about clicks. Google says “click-through rates are already similar between sponsored and organic product list items within AI Mode.” That claim covers product listings. Barry Schwartz of Search Engine Roundtable questioned how far it extends: “the product results are super graphical - but what about the text links?”
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Labeling. Google says: “Ads will be clearly labeled as ‘Sponsored.’”
Google’s Ads Help page, “About ads in AI-powered experiences in Google Search,” fills in how this works:
- “Existing Search, Shopping, and Performance Max campaigns are automatically eligible to serve ads within AI Overviews and AI Mode.” No new campaign or separate budget is needed.
- Advertisers cannot opt out: “you can’t target ads exclusively to AI Overviews or AI Mode, or opt out of showing ads in them separately from Search.”
- “Exact and phrase match keywords on Search are eligible when a user’s query expresses direct commercial intent,” but “aren’t eligible for contextual matching on broader exploratory questions.” Broad match, AI Max for Search, Shopping and Performance Max can match to “the user’s query and the AI response.”
- Ads may appear with “AI explainers,” text “generated by Google’s Gemini models” that can use “publicly available sources including your website.” Advertisers “can’t manually write, edit, approve, or opt out of them.”
- On the organic side, Google is direct: “Paid advertising does not influence the organic responses generated by Google AI.” And “whether your site is cited organically doesn’t affect your ad auction eligibility.”
What it means for a local service business
Follow-up questions are where a customer narrows things down. The first question might be about a symptom, like a leaking water heater or a cracked tooth. The follow-ups are often about who to call, what it costs and who is open. Ads can now appear at that point, inside the conversation.
If you run Google Ads, you are probably already in AI Mode
Google says existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns are eligible automatically, and there is no separate opt-out. Ask whoever manages your account which campaign types you run and which match types your keywords use. Exact and phrase match keywords only show when the question itself shows clear buying intent. Broad match, AI Max and Performance Max can also show on longer, exploratory questions. That is more reach. It can also mean spending on questions that will never turn into a booked job.
Read your search terms report
Google says queries that trigger your ads in AI Overviews and AI Mode “are included in aggregate in your search terms report.” AI Mode questions are longer, so expect longer search terms. Look for questions from people who want to fix the problem themselves, people outside your service area, or services you do not offer. Google says negative keywords still apply. Use them.
Make your website say plainly what you do
AI explainers can pull from your website, and you cannot edit them. Google’s advice is that “keeping your website content clear and up to date also helps Google surface accurate context in AI explainers.” For a service business, that means a page for each service you offer, the areas you serve, and current hours and contact details. If your site still lists a service you dropped, an explainer next to your ad could repeat it.
Keep paid and earned separate in your head
The organic AI answer is the part you cannot buy. Google says ads do not influence it, and being cited organically does not affect your ads. A business that stops paying for ads loses the Sponsored slot. A business that is named in the organic answer keeps that spot as long as Google’s systems keep choosing it.
That is why we track organic AI answers apart from ads. An AI visibility score built on a fixed set of buyer questions re-run every month shows whether your business is named in the answer itself, not just whether you paid for a slot beside it.
What did not change
Google’s announcement does not mention local businesses or Local Services Ads. Its help page lists text ads and Shopping ads as the formats that can appear in AI Overviews and AI Mode, and says Google is “experimenting with other types of ads such as local inventory ads and vehicle ads.” There is no stated date for service-business ad formats.
Reporting is still blended. Google says AI Overviews and AI Mode results are “included in aggregate” in standard campaign reports, so you cannot see AI Mode spend on its own.
The organic answer still has to be earned. No AI engine can be bought or guaranteed, and Google’s own help page says paying for ads does not change what its AI says.
The short version
Google announced on October 28 that it can show labeled Sponsored ads in AI Mode answers to follow-up questions in the US, and existing Search and Performance Max campaigns take part automatically. If you advertise, check your match types, your search terms report and your website. Whether you advertise or not, the organic AI answer is separate. Google says ads do not influence it.