Ads in Google AI Mode Expand to 10 More Countries, Not Yet the Gulf

On 28 October 2026, Google published “Ads in AI Mode expand to new markets” on its Ads & Commerce Blog. The post, by Shashi Thakur, VP and GM, Google Search Ads and Ads on Google Experiences, opens plainly: “We’re bringing ads in AI Mode to new countries.” It names ten markets where ads in AI Mode are now scaling, three more planned for the fourth quarter, and a new format, multiturn ads, launching in the U.S.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Egypt are not on either list. That is the news for advertisers in this region. Below we cover what Google actually announced, where the Gulf and Egypt stand today according to Google’s own help pages, and what is worth preparing now, without guessing at a local launch date that Google has not given.

What Google announced on 28 October

The announcement has three parts. Here they are as Google states them:

Google says ads will be clearly labelled “Sponsored”. The post also states that click-through rates are “already similar between sponsored and organic product list items within AI Mode”, citing Google internal U.S. data from 20 August to 3 September 2026. That is Google’s own claim about its own product, not independent evidence, and it covers U.S. Shopping-style listings only.

Multiturn ads matter most for considered purchases. In AI Mode, a user rarely stops at one query. They ask a question, read the answer, then refine it: a narrower spec, a city, a budget, a comparison. Google’s wording suggests ads have so far been tied mainly to the opening query. Multiturn ads let an ad appear in follow-up queries, which is often closer to the point where a buyer decides. For now, this is a U.S. launch only.

Where Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Egypt stand

The region is in an unusual position. Gulf and Egyptian users can already use AI Mode, but advertisers here cannot yet buy placements inside it. Google’s own pages show three separate facts:

• AI Mode itself is live here, including in Arabic. Google’s Search Help page Get AI-powered responses with AI Mode lists Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman among supported countries, and Arabic among supported languages. Google’s MENA blog announced AI Mode in Modern Standard Arabic on 8 October 2025, after English AI Mode had launched in the region earlier.
• Ads inside AI Mode are English-only and limited to a short list. The Google Ads Help article About ads in AI-powered experiences in Google Search says ads within AI Overviews and AI Mode “are available in English in the United States and select English-speaking markets”. Its list covers the U.S., Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia (AI Overviews only), Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan (text ads only), the Philippines and Singapore. No Middle East market is listed, and the page notes the list may not be exhaustive.
• Ads above and below AI Overviews are broader. The same page lists those placements for “All 200+ countries and territories, and all languages, where AI Overviews are available”. Whether they appear for your buyers depends on AI Overviews actually being shown for a given query, country and language, so check this in your own market rather than assuming it. It applies to AI Overviews on the regular results page, not to the separate AI Mode experience.

How ads in AI Mode work where they are live

When ads do reach this region, Google’s help page suggests no separate campaign type will be needed. The mechanics matter for planning:

• Eligibility is automatic. “Existing Search, Shopping, and Performance Max campaigns are automatically eligible to serve ads within AI Overviews and AI Mode.” Text ads and Shopping ads can appear. This matches what Google said when it began testing ads in AI Mode in May 2025, when it pointed to advertisers already using Performance Max, Shopping and Search campaigns with broad match.
• You cannot target it or switch it off separately. Google says you “can’t target ads exclusively to AI Overviews or AI Mode, or opt out of showing ads in them separately from Search.”
• Reporting is aggregated. Performance metrics and the queries that trigger ads in AI Overviews and AI Mode are “included in aggregate”. You will not get a clean AI Mode column in your reports.
• Some categories are restricted in AI Overviews. Google’s separate ads and AI Overviews help page says it does not show ads in AI Overviews for sensitive verticals such as adult, alcohol, gambling, finance, healthcare and politics. The AI Mode ads page does not repeat that list; it says only that all Google Ads policies apply. Clinics, financial-services firms and similar advertisers should check the current policy pages rather than assume AI placements will be open to them.

The practical consequence: AI Mode readiness is mostly the same work as running a well-built Search and Shopping account. There is no separate setting to switch on.

What to prepare in your Google Ads account now

Google’s help page lists four recommendations for ads in AI experiences. Each one is worth doing for normal Search performance anyway, and each belongs in any sound performance marketing setup, so none of them is wasted if the regional launch takes a while. Here they are, adapted for Gulf and Egyptian B2B and retail advertisers.

1. Matching that can follow a conversation

Google recommends AI-powered targeting: AI Max for Search campaigns with search term matching enabled, broad match on Search, Shopping campaigns, or Performance Max. Its reasoning is that exact and phrase match only catch queries with direct commercial intent, while AI-powered targeting can also match to the context of the user’s query and the AI response.

For many B2B accounts in the region, broad match is a real risk because budgets are small and search volume is thin. Test it in a controlled campaign with strong negative keyword lists and a clear budget cap rather than switching the whole account over. Our guide to Google Search ads for low-volume B2B queries covers that trade-off in more detail.

2. Conversion data Smart Bidding can trust

Google pairs AI-powered targeting with conversion- or value-based Smart Bidding, “backed by accurate first-party conversion measurement” through the Google tag or offline conversion imports. This is where many Gulf accounts are weakest. The real conversion often happens on WhatsApp or a phone call, or weeks later as a signed quotation, so Google only sees page views.

• Define the conversions that matter, such as a quotation request, a WhatsApp click or a qualified call, and track them as key events. See GA4 key events for lead tracking.
• If sales are closed offline, plan offline conversion imports from your CRM or sales sheet, so bidding learns from qualified leads rather than form fills.
• Keep budgets flexible on the campaigns that perform, as Google recommends, instead of capping them so tightly that the system has nothing to learn from.

3. Landing pages that answer exploratory questions

Google recommends turning on text customization and final URL expansion in AI Max and Performance Max, so headlines and landing pages can adapt to conversational queries. It adds that clear, up-to-date website content “helps Google surface accurate context”. In practice, this only works if your site has a specific page for each service or product line, with real specifications, coverage areas and certifications. One generic homepage is not enough. If your English pages are thin, fix that first, because the ad placements announced so far are English-only.

4. Complete Merchant Center feeds

For Shopping advertisers such as distributors, food importers and e-commerce brands, Google asks for Merchant Center data that matches the landing pages and includes descriptive titles and descriptions, multiple high-resolution product and lifestyle images, accurate prices and sale prices, product ratings and highlights, and clear shipping and return policies. A feed with supplier codes as titles and one packshot per product will struggle in any AI-driven format.

What not to do yet

• Do not restructure the account for a launch that has no date. Change things because they improve today’s Search results. AI Mode eligibility comes as a side effect.
• Do not budget for AI Mode inventory in 2026 plans. If a vendor or internal plan promises “AI Mode placements” in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar or Egypt, ask for the Google source. Today, the official help page does not list these markets.
• Do not expect separate AI Mode reporting when it arrives. Google reports it in aggregate. Set your measurement up around business outcomes, so you can judge overall Search performance before and after the change.
• Do not neglect organic visibility. AI Mode answers in Arabic and English are already being generated for users here, drawing on websites. Being cited in those answers is an SEO question, not an ads question. Our article on Google’s Search generative AI control explains the site-level decisions involved.

What to watch next

1. The country list in Google Ads Help. The About ads in AI-powered experiences page is the most reliable signal. Google updates it as ad serving expands, and it states the language as well as the countries.
2. Language support. Every market named so far serves ads inside AI Mode in English only. For the Gulf and Egypt, Arabic ad support would matter as much as country availability, because many local B2B and consumer searches happen in Arabic.
3. Multiturn ads outside the U.S. The 28 October post launches them in the U.S. only. Watch whether later announcements extend them to the newer markets.
4. Restrictions on your category. If you work in healthcare, finance or another sensitive vertical, check the AI Overviews and AI Mode help pages before assuming eligibility; Google has published a sensitive-verticals list for AI Overviews but not a separate one for AI Mode.

One step pays off whatever Google’s timing: check that every quotation request, WhatsApp click and qualified call reaches Google Ads as a conversion. If your bidding still learns from page views, fix that now, then add the Google Ads Help country list to a monthly check so the regional launch does not catch the account unprepared.