Google search revenue growth slows to 12% as AI search pays less

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, reported its July to September results on 28 October. On 29 October its market value fell by almost $500 billion. The Wall Street Journal says this is the biggest fall in one day on record. Google search revenue growth slowed to 12 percent, from 19 percent and 17 percent in the two quarters before.

How AI search pays

Google collected $63.35 billion from search and related ads in the quarter. Google did not say how much came from AI Mode, its chatbot search. Ars Technica says an AI Mode query shows fewer ads, and advertisers pay less for them.

The numbers

• Google AI Mode will show ads in 11 countries, up from 1.
• OpenAI shows ads in 89 countries to free and Go plan users of ChatGPT.
• OpenAI says its ad sales pace is $1 billion a year, about $250 million a quarter.

No one has verified the OpenAI figure.

What is not known

OpenAI says ChatGPT handles about one search for each five that Google handles. It did not say which Google figure it used. In February, Ahrefs, a search marketing firm, estimated 12 percent.

Insight: Google AI search cuts its own ad price

Meta ad revenue grew 26 percent to $63.1 billion in the same quarter, near the $63.4 billion of Google Search. Analysts say AI helps Meta show ads to the right users. This reads as a race where Google AI search cuts its own ad income, and rivals get ad budgets. Look for ad money that moves to Meta and OpenAI first.