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Alphabet's shares dropped more than 10% in after-hours trading after earnings of $2.12 per share missed estimates of $3.01, even as quarterly revenue rose 25% to $127.6 billion. Executives said Google's AI Search mode generates less ad revenue per query than classic search, and capital expenditure more than doubled year over year to $51.4 billion, pushing free cash flow negative.
Google announced during Alphabet's Q3 earnings call that it is rolling out ads within AI Overviews and AI Mode to international markets, alongside new multi-turn ad formats in the U.S. Alphabet reported $127.6 billion in revenue, up 25% year over year, but Search ad growth slowed to 12% from 17% in Q2 and 19% in Q1, and Alphabet shares fell 8% after the results. Chief business officer Philipp Schindler said click-through rates on sponsored listings in AI Mode now match those of organic listings.
Google's AI Mode in Search gives a direct answer confirming Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election when queried from outside the United States, but avoids stating that fact plainly for users located in the US. Google has acknowledged the inconsistency and says it is working on a fix.
Testing by Ars Technica found Google's AI Mode responded to queries about who won certain presidential elections, including 2020, 2024 and 2012, by directing users to outside sources like the FEC rather than stating a winner directly. The same tool answered questions about other elections, including those from 2000 through 2016, with direct, correct responses. Different staffers at the outlet got inconsistent results depending on which election years they asked about.
Google revised its privacy policy effective October 16, 2026 to clarify that Gmail, Drive and Photos content remains excluded from ad personalization by default, but connecting those services to Personal Intelligence—an opt-in feature letting Google's AI search draw on linked apps—can change that. Google says the content itself is never shown to advertisers, and sensitive topics like health remain off-limits, but ads shown through AI Mode can reflect what a user's question and the AI's answer were about.
Google's privacy policy, updated October 16, now qualifies its longstanding promise not to personalize ads based on Gmail, Drive or Photos content. The exception applies to users who opt into Personal Intelligence, letting Gemini and AI Mode pull context from those apps, and Google's support page confirms that resulting summaries and inferences can feed into ad personalization. Google says advertisers still can't access the apps directly, and sensitive categories like health or religion remain excluded from targeting.
Google announced updates to its AI search features that place inline links higher and more frequently in responses, add link carousels for timely articles, and make end-of-query links more visually prominent with thumbnails. It's also testing clickable publisher profile links in AI Mode and says over 400 publishers now participate in its News AI licensing pilot, with Axios, CNN, and the Financial Times newly joining.
Google has rolled out new shopping tools, including Universal Cart, which lets users save products from multiple retailers in one place via AI Mode in Search or the Gemini app, and a When to Buy Guide that advises on discount timing. The cart draws on over 60 billion listings from Google's Shopping Graph to track price drops and restocks, and integrates with Google Wallet and Google Pay to surface card perks and promo codes.
Google has broadened availability of its Gemini 4 Argon AI model beyond the Fairwind Program to developers via the Gemini API and Antigravity platform, and to Google AI Ultra and Pro subscribers through the Gemini app and AI Mode in Search. Introductory pricing is $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens through November 30, after which costs double. Google says Argon handles complex tasks in finance, coding, creative writing and cybersecurity, and VP Josh Woodward noted it responds faster with fewer hedges and can surface answers while still processing longer queries.
Google analyzed five years of aggregated Google Flights data and found that domestic fares have historically been cheapest around 39 days before departure, while international fares bottom out near 89 days out, staying low between 50 and 133 days. The company also found holiday-specific patterns: Thanksgiving fares are lowest around 34 days ahead, Christmas around 56 days, and summer trips closer to departure at about 21 days out.
Google is reportedly running a test program, launched less than a year ago, that compensates roughly 100 publishers based on how much their content contributes to AI Overviews, AI Mode, and the Gemini chatbot, according to The Information via Digiday. One early participant reportedly earned over $1 million in a year, while a more recent entrant has earned $50,000 to $60,000.
Google is testing a feature that lets some Indian users buy Flipkart products directly within Gemini and AI Mode, using a 'Buy' button that leads to Flipkart's checkout without leaving the AI interface. The trial currently covers a limited set of items like smartphones and accessories, and Google plans a wider rollout in October ahead of the festive shopping season.