According to Search Engine Journal, Google's third-quarter earnings call on October 30, 2026 revealed the strongest year-over-year query growth in five years. Executives explained that AI Mode is driving additional searches while the company plans to move away from classic Search toward a task-driven experience.
Key takeaways
- Google reported its highest Search query growth in five years during the third-quarter earnings call.
- Company executives noted that AI Mode generates lower initial ad revenue than older search formats.
- Search revenue reached $63 billion in the third quarter, marking a 12 percent year-over-year increase.
- Google plans to transform Search into an agentic, task-based experience across multiple platforms.
How does Google q3 earnings reflect Search query growth?
Search Engine Journal reports that Alphabet and Google executives highlighted strong momentum during the third-quarter call. CEO Sundar Pichai stated that AI investments are increasing usage and overall query growth, including commercial queries. CFO Anat Ashkenazi also noted that these AI investments drove the highest query growth in half a decade.
Philipp Schindler, SVP and CBO at Google, reported that Search grew 12 percent year-over-year to $63 billion in the third quarter. Schindler explained that currency exchange rates were the single largest driver of search deceleration relative to the second quarter.
What is the impact on classic Search and advertising?
The earnings call exposed a gap between soaring query numbers and advertising income. Schindler conceded that AI Mode queries monetized at a lower rate, which impacted growth alongside foreign exchange shifts. Despite this, Google is scaling ads within AI Overviews and AI Mode to more users and international markets.
Pichai outlined plans to shift away from classic Search toward an agentic, task-driven experience. This transformation connects across Search, Gemini, Chrome, Android, and Workspace to help users complete complex actions like booking reservations or making purchases.
What it means for the web ecosystem
Search Engine Journal points out that record query growth contrasts sharply with the web ecosystem seeing low levels of referrals from Google. While executives expressed confidence in their trajectory and scaling ad experiments, search marketers and site owners face a changing environment as classic Search cedes ground to agentic features.
Frequently asked questions
Search Engine Journal reports that Google experienced its strongest year-over-year Search query growth in five years during the third quarter, driven largely by AI Mode.
Google Search grew 12 percent year-over-year to reach $63 billion in the third quarter, according to data shared during the earnings call.
Philipp Schindler explained that currency exchange rates were the single largest driver of search deceleration from Q2 to Q3, alongside lower monetization rates in AI Mode.
Google is transitioning classic Search into a task-driven, agentic experience that helps users complete tasks like booking reservations, scheduling appointments, and making purchases.
Google is scaling ads within both AI Overviews and AI Mode to more users and queries, including international markets and multiturn ads in the United States.
Based on reporting by Search Engine Journal. Read the original article
