Google Ads in AI Mode Are Now Live in India — What Changes for Your Search Campaigns
In short: On 28 October 2026, Google announced that ads in AI Mode are now scaling in 10 more countries, including India, alongside the US where they already run. If you already have active Search, Shopping or Performance Max campaigns, they became eligible to show inside AI Mode automatically, through the same auction, with no new campaign, budget or setup required — and no way to opt out of AI Mode placements specifically. Google also launched "multiturn ads," which can appear on follow-up questions within an AI Mode conversation, in the US for now.
- Ads in AI Mode are now live in 10 more countries: Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Singapore — on top of the US, where they already ran. Brazil, Mexico and the UK are planned for Q4 2026.
- If you run Search, Shopping or Performance Max in any of these markets, your existing campaigns are automatically eligible for AI Mode placements. There is nothing to turn on.
- There is no opt-out. You cannot exclude your ads from AI Mode or AI Overviews separately from regular Search — your normal controls (negative keywords, asset pinning, brand exclusions) still apply, but the surface itself cannot be switched off.
- AI Mode spend and performance are folded into your existing campaign reports. There is no separate AI Mode line to check.
- Google is also launching "multiturn ads" in the US — ads that can appear on follow-up questions within the same AI Mode conversation, not just the first query. It has not said when this reaches other countries, including India.
- Google's own performance claims (AI Mode queries run about 3x longer than typical searches; sponsored product CTR is similar to organic) come from a short, US-only internal measurement window, not published, audited numbers.
What Google announced
On 28 October 2026 — the same day Alphabet reported Q3 earnings — Google announced that ads in AI Mode, its conversational search product, are scaling to 10 new countries: Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Singapore. Combined with the US, that's 11 markets where AI Mode ads now run. Brazil, Mexico and the UK are planned to follow in Q4 2026.
Google's official post, from Shashi Thakur (VP and GM of Google Search Ads and Ads on Google Experiences), frames this around two claims: that AI Mode queries run roughly three times longer than a typical search, and that click-through rates on sponsored product listings in AI Mode are already similar to organic listings. Both figures come from a short, internal, US-only measurement window — Google hasn't published the underlying rates or methodology, so treat them as directional, not verified.
What actually changes in your account
Nothing you need to build. If you already run Search, Shopping or Performance Max campaigns in India (or any of the newly live markets), they're now automatically eligible to serve inside AI Mode, through your existing auction entries — no new campaign type, no separate budget, no toggle to flip. Ads that show inside AI Mode are labeled "Sponsored," and your spend and results get folded directly into your normal campaign reporting. There is no separate AI Mode line item to check performance against.
There's no opt-out
This is the part worth sitting with: you cannot exclude your ads from AI Mode or AI Overviews specifically, the way you might exclude a placement or a network. Your usual controls — negative keywords, asset pinning, brand exclusions — still apply inside AI Mode. But the surface itself is not something you can turn off while keeping the rest of your Search campaign running. PPC Land also flagged that Google places its own "AI explainer" text around ads on this surface, and advertisers have no ability to write, edit, approve, or remove that surrounding text.
Multiturn ads: follow-up questions can now show ads too
Alongside the country expansion, Google launched "multiturn ads" — ads that can appear on follow-up questions within the same AI Mode conversation, not just a user's first query. This is US-only for now, and Google hasn't said when or whether it reaches India. It also hasn't said how many ads a single conversation can show, whether the same advertiser can appear more than once in one conversation, or whether multiturn placements will ever get their own reporting line. Worth watching, since it directly affects how many ad opportunities exist per user session once it does arrive elsewhere.
What to actually check this week
- Don't look for a new "AI Mode" campaign setting — there isn't one. If your Search/Shopping/PMax campaigns in India were already live before 28 October, they're already eligible.
- Review your negative keywords and brand exclusions with AI Mode in mind, since that's the only lever you have — there's no surface-level opt-out to fall back on.
- Watch your overall Search/PMax numbers for movement from late October onward, even though you won't see an "AI Mode" line to isolate it against. A broad CTR or conversion-rate shift around this date, with no campaign changes on your end, is the signal to look for.
- If you're also running ChatGPT or other AI-platform ads, this is the Google side of the same shift happening across AI search surfaces generally — see our ChatGPT Ads country-status piece for where that stands in India specifically, and our earlier piece on how AI Mode ad performance compares to regular Search for the performance context behind this rollout.
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Sources
- Google: Ads in AI Mode are scaling to new markets · Google
- PPC Land: Advertisers in 10 more countries can't opt out of Google's AI Mode ads · PPC Land
Facts in this article come from the sources above, checked on 10 November 2026. Platform features roll out in phases, so check your own account before acting. We update this page when official details change.