Google ad revenue rose 10.6% to $82bn. Google says AI Mode slowed Search income

Google ad revenue reached $82.0 billion in the third quarter of 2026, up 10.6% from $74.2 billion a year earlier. Alphabet published the figures on October 28 in its quarterly earnings release. Search grew 12% and YouTube ads 9.2%, while ads on partner sites barely moved. Alphabet shares fell as much as 7% in after-hours trading, The Desk reported.

Google Search made $63.4bn, almost the same as in the second quarter

Revenue from Search and other rose to $63.35 billion from $56.57 billion a year ago. In the second quarter it was $63.27 billion, so it hardly grew over three months. On the earnings call, chief business officer Philipp Schindler said fast growth in AI Mode questions weighed on Search revenue. AI Mode earns less per question, he said, according to Search Engine Journal. He did not say how much less. Chief executive Sundar Pichai said query growth is “the highest it’s been in the last five years.”

YouTube ads grew 9.2% to $11.2bn

YouTube ad revenue rose to $11.21 billion from $10.26 billion. YouTube Music and Premium passed 150 million subscribers, a count that includes free trials. In Nielsen’s August data, YouTube took more than 15% of all TV viewing time in US homes. It was the first time it crossed that mark.

Google Network grew 1.4%, while Google Cloud doubled

Google Network, the ads Google places on other publishers’ sites and apps, brought in $7.46 billion, against $7.35 billion a year earlier. Google Cloud more than doubled to $30.7 billion. Alphabet’s total revenue was $127.6 billion. Its total revenue in Europe, the Middle East and Africa rose 9% to $32.7 billion. The release does not split ad revenue by country.

On the same day, Google took ads in AI Mode to 10 more countries, so more Search ad space now sits inside AI answers. Big tech firms were also among the advertisers that cut ad spend relative to sales in 2025, WARC found.

Google did not publish paid clicks or average cost per click this quarter. Search advertisers can still compare those numbers in their own Google Ads accounts, September against June.