In the Alphabet report for the third quarter of 2026, published on October 28, Google Search & other revenue grew 12%. Search revenue came to $63.35 billion.
In the first quarter, search growth was 19%, and in the second it was 17%.
Management linked the slowdown to AI Mode. Lower monetization in AI Mode weighed on Search growth during the quarter, meaning strong growth in queries in this mode did not translate into the same growth in revenue.
Still, people searched more. Year-over-year Search query growth is the highest in five years, and the company credits its AI features: "Our AI investments are driving overall Search query growth, including commercial queries."
AI Mode queries are, on average, three times longer than traditional searches, according to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai.
Search remains the largest category in the US: $114.2 billion, 11%, 38.8% according to IAB and PwC data for 2025. Growth is weakening, however: while search grew 11% year over year, the rate slowed considerably from 2024 (15.9%).
On the third-quarter 2026 call, Google said it is expanding ads within AI Overviews and AI Mode to more users and queries.
For advertisers, the takeaway is this: growth in search demand does not equal growth in revenue, and Alphabet itself attributed the gap to lower monetization in AI Mode.
