Google hasn’t figured out how to make AI pay like its search engine

Alphabet reported a slowdown in Google Search revenue growth to 12% year-over-year in Q3 2026, down from 17% the previous quarter, with paid ad clicks growth also decelerating. The company attributes this partly to currency effects and advertiser spending shifts, but also to lower monetization of AI Mode search queries. Investors are concerned about the high infrastructure costs for AI and the uncertain returns on Google's AI-driven search transformation.