Google’s search revenue Ferrari hits an AI-powered speed bump

Google’s search revenue Ferrari hits an AI-powered speed bump

By Thomas Claburn
Publication Date: 2026-10-30 07:33:00

ai and ml

analysis

Just wait ’til we add more AI and this thing’ll really fly

Google is paying a higher price for its bet on AI than even Alphabet’s $51.4 billion in Q3 capital expenditures suggest.

The biz appears to have traded its high-performing search advertising business for the mediocre monetization of AI Overviews and AI Mode, a misstep that contributed to investor concerns as Alphabet lost roughly $500 billion in market value despite management’s attempts to reassure Wall Street.

Google’s year-over-year search revenue growth slowed from 17 percent in Q2 to 12 percent in Q3. It’s still headed in the right direction, but at a slower rate.

During Alphabet’s conference call for investors, Douglas Anmuth from JPMorgan Chase & Co asked whether that’s because Google is…