On 28 October 2026, Google announced that ads in AI Mode are expanding to ten countries, including India, Canada and Australia. According to ITdaily, Belgium and the other EU member states are not on the list. For a Belgian business nothing changes immediately, but the direction is clear: advertising is coming to AI answers.
1. What Google announced on 28 October
Google is rolling out AI Mode ads in Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Singapore. Brazil, Mexico and the United Kingdom follow in the fourth quarter of 2026. Google's page mentions neither Europe nor Belgium.
In the United States, Google is also testing ads in follow-up questions, clearly labelled "Sponsored".
2. Why Google is pushing ads
According to ITdaily, Alphabet's revenue grew 25% in the third quarter. Search grew by only 12%, against 17% in the second quarter. Philipp Schindler, Google's chief business officer, explains that the strong rise in AI Mode queries weighed on results, because this mode earns less per question than traditional search.
Google reports encouraging results: in its internal US data (August and September 2026), AI Mode queries are on average three times longer, and clicks on sponsored products are close to those on standard product results.
3. What this means in Belgium
For now, nothing: no date has been given for Belgium, and Google's figures are American. It would be unwise to infer results for a Belgian SME from them.
However, your customers are already asking AI longer, more precise questions. Businesses that answer them clearly on their website and Google profile will be ready, with or without ads.
The AI lens, humans first
AI can already analyse hundreds of long queries, spot the questions your customers really ask and draft ad or page variants to answer them. It does not decide the budget, whether your brand appears in a new ad placement, or the tone to take. Those choices stay human, especially while the rules for Belgium are unknown. AI executes. Expertise decides, and keeps watch.
This week
In Google Search Console, list the ten longest queries that bring you visitors and check that each has a page that answers it. Make sure the prices, stock and terms shown on your website and in your product feeds are up to date. Do not change your advertising budget for now: simply note the date of the Belgian announcement when it comes.
Vistalaro Reach manages your Google campaigns and prepares your ads and feeds for the new placements as soon as they open in Belgium. Vistalaro Build structures your pages and technical data so that AI answers cite accurate information about your business. Vistalaro Pilot puts a senior marketer at your side to decide when and how to test these new formats, without improvising.
Do your pages answer your customers' long questions?
Let's talk: we will review your real queries with you and what to prepare before AI Mode ads arrive.
Let's talk