Google’s Ads Decoded Explores How AI Is Changing Search Behavior
Google’s Ads Decoded explores longer AI Mode queries, earlier discovery, and demand for human perspectives. Here’s what advertisers can consider for 2027.
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Google AI Overviews With Query Refinement Bubbles
AI summary Google is experimenting with clickable suggestion bubbles placed above AI Overviews in its search results. Selecting one does not alter the search itself; it opens AI Mode and uses the bubble's wording as the prompt. Gagan Ghotra noticed the test and shared a screenshot on X, noting it appears only for some languages.
Is Google Testing Dropping Citations Cards From AI Overviews?
AI summary Google appears to be testing the removal of the card that lists clickable source links next to AI Overviews in desktop search results. SEO consultant Brodie Clark shared screenshots on X and said the cards, which used to highlight two or three domains, now show up far less often, possibly cutting site impressions. The reporter could not reproduce the change after more than a day of trying, noted the card sometimes loads late, and asked Google's Rajan Patel whether it is a bug without getting a reply. AI Overviews reportedly appear on more than 80% of searches.
Google Recommends Using Custom 404 Error Pages
AI summary Speaking on a Google podcast, Gary Illyes and Cherry Sireetorn Prommawin explained that missing pages answering with a 404 code bring no penalty and don't hurt how the rest of a site performs in search. They treated deleted URLs as a decision about business and user experience: redirect one-to-one only if a real replacement exists, and otherwise return a 404 or 410. Prommawin cautioned against pointing every dead page to the home page. Instead, she suggested a tailored 404 page that offers a friendly note, a search box and links to the site's main sections.
Google Business Profiles AI-Powered Messaging Expands
AI summary Google appears to be widening access to an AI-driven messaging tool in Google Business Profile, first reported in June and since updated. Customers who find a business on Search or Maps can text it through their phone's built-in messaging app, where an AI agent replies to common questions, such as menu items or reservation times, free of charge. Questions the agent cannot handle are passed to the business owner, who can step in at any point. The agent works only for users on RCS-capable phones and networks; other messages go directly to the owner's phone, and Mike Blumenthal and Claudia Tomina both shared signs of the rollout.
any fun casual podcasts? [D]
Does anyone know any fun casual conversational style podcasts that discuss current papers/industry trends, with discussions at a…
Google Says Lower AI Mode Monetization Weighed On Search Growth
AI summary Revenue from Alphabet's Search & Other segment rose 12% year over year to $63.35 billion in Q3 2026, down from growth of 19% in Q1 and 17% in Q2. Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler said currency swings, retail and media were the main drags, while strong AI Mode query growth also weighed because those queries earn less. Google is extending AI Mode ads to ten more countries, among them India and Canada, and introducing ads in follow-up questions in the U.S. CFO Anat Ashkenazi expects a slightly bigger currency headwind in Q4, when ads should also reach Brazil, Mexico and the U.K.
Google Business Profiles Finally Adds Third-Party Ordering Controls
AI summary Google now lets restaurants decide, provider by provider, which third-party ordering services show up on their Business Profile in Search and Maps. Owners can remove services such as DoorDash or Uber Eats entirely, or limit them to pickup or delivery, straight from their dashboard instead of contacting each platform. Lisa Landsman of Google shared the change on LinkedIn, calling more control over ordering links one of the most common requests from restaurant operators.
Google Expands Ads In AI Mode To More Countries & Multiturn Ads In U.S.
AI summary Google is extending advertising in its AI Mode search experience to additional markets, among them India, Canada and Australia, plus several other countries in Asia, Africa and Oceania. The United Kingdom, Mexico and Brazil are slated to follow in Q4. In the U.S., the company is introducing multiturn ads that can appear in answers to follow-up questions during AI Mode conversations, labeled as "Sponsored." Google, which first put ads in AI Mode in May 2025, says click-through rates for sponsored and organic product listings there are already comparable.
WordPress Announces Another Security Release: Version 7.1.4
AI summary WordPress has issued version 7.1.4 to address 22 security vulnerabilities, many of them stored cross-site scripting bugs. The most serious is a race condition in core updates, found by researcher Umut Bayram, that could enable remote code execution while an upgrade is running. Other issues touch the Interactivity API, blocks, the Customizer and admin screens, though many need Contributor-level access or above. Some of the fixed flaws reach back to WordPress 4.7.
Google Gives Restaurants Direct Control Over Ordering Providers
AI summary Google has added a setting in the Business Profile dashboard that lets restaurants hide specific third-party ordering providers from their listings on Search and Maps, with separate toggles for pickup and delivery. Lisa Landsman announced the change on LinkedIn, and a Google product manager said it is available in every country. Previously, removal requests had to be handled by the provider, which had five business days to act. Google's updated policy, revised Oct. 19, says all partner integrations remain switched on by default.
Google expands AI Search ads globally as core ad growth slows
The announcement came alongside parent company Alphabet's third-quarter earnings report, which saw revenue grow 25% year over…
AI-Cited Pages More Often Got Straight To The Answer
AI summary TJ Robertson of TJ Digital examined 193,507 responses from ChatGPT, AI Overviews and Google AI Mode covering 4,167 unbranded questions, gathered between August 27 and October 21, 2026. In blind ratings, 20% of cited pages opened with a direct answer, against 5% of Google top-10 pages the AI never retrieved; a separate round found 23% versus 14% for retrieved but uncited pages. Titles containing a year more than doubled the odds of citation, while recent dates added 88% and tables 69%, though bylines were linked to 28% lower odds. Robertson describes the results as associations, not proof that these traits cause citations.
Bing Ads Revenue Up 12% With Overall Revenue Up 19%
AI summary Microsoft's first quarter of 2027 saw its search and ad business grow 12% with traffic acquisition costs left out, two points above the 10% pace of the previous quarter. Revenue rose 19% from a year earlier to $92.3 billion. Net income surged 32% to $36.6 billion, operating income hit $45.9 billion, and diluted earnings per share under GAAP were $4.92. The stock climbed over 7% in extended trading soon after the figures came out.
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Google Ads API Version 26.1 Now Out Available
AI summary Google has shipped version 26.1 of the Google Ads API, a minor release covering areas such as campaigns, targeting, assets and reporting. Advertisers can now sort Search Partners, the Google Display Network and Google-owned properties into two priority tiers, with optional spending limits on the lower tier. Other additions include a method to check whether an account qualifies for Local Services, household income exclusions for Performance Max, and tracking for promotions redeemed through external partners. The update follows the major version 26 released in October.
You Can Now Build Apps For Google Search: Connected Apps Platform
AI summary Google has opened a preview of its Connected Apps Platform, letting developers plug their services into Gemini as well as Google Search. Connections run either through Android MCP using the AppFunctions APIs or through an MCP server hosted in the cloud, and apps are registered, tested and submitted in the Google Connected Console, where builders choose Search, the Gemini app or both ahead of review. According to Google, more than 50 of these apps are now available across the two products, and partners such as Peloton, Adobe and Experian are already live in Gemini, with Search support due within weeks. To see an app, users still have to add it in their personalized Search settings.
Google Explains Why 404 Errors Aren't Scary 👻
AI summary Google released a Halloween-themed episode of its Non-Canonical Cabinet video series, under 10 minutes long, in which Gary Illyes and Cherry Prommawin address myths about missing pages. They said 404 status codes trigger no penalties, do not hurt other pages on a site and do not use up crawl budget, while 500-class server errors and HTTP 429 responses can cause Google to slow crawling. Fixing 404s was described as a business and user-experience choice, with a three-step approach: redirect only to a truly relevant replacement, otherwise return a 404 or 410, and offer a helpful custom error page. They also advised against sending all dead URLs to the homepage.
Social media is full of weird video game mashups. Where are they all coming from?
AI tools are making it easier to modify and recreate games, raising questions about piracy, copyright and how far the technology…
How to Build a Voice-First AI Rehearsal Partner
AI summary A setup described on Episode 247 of The Artificial Intelligence Show lets presenters practise a slide deck hands-free while walking, by linking ChatGPT Voice on a phone to Codex running on a computer through the ChatGPT app. The AI reads the actual deck, including visuals, animations and timing cues, coaches the speaker slide by slide, and can edit the slides and presenter notes during the session. Users build a basic custom skill first and refine it by voice as they go. Mike Kaput and Paul Roetzer, who host the show, note the same approach could suit sales pitches, podcast prep and media interviews.
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