Google has a plan to keep ads alive even when AI agents do the shopping

AI overviews have led to more searches than ever, but Google is not making money at the same rate. Matteo Della Torre/NurPhoto via Getty Images Google has a pitch for advertisers worried AI agents will make Search obsolete: Let the bots do the shopping legwork, but leave people to compare brands, prices, perks — and sponsored offers."When users shop, and that's important, there's a part of the journey they don't like, the grunt work, which is frankly fantastic to automate with AI," Philipp Schindler, Google's chief business officer, said on Alphabet's earnings call on Tuesday. "But we also want to enhance, not just automate away the discovery experience that people frankly love in so many cases."He said users do not always want the cheapest option; they also weigh brand loyalty and customer service. Google believes that this decision-making process gives it space to build ads into agentic shopping.He shared an example of how that might work: "Here's the insurance product we found, and here's another strong option, one of which is a higher premium, maybe a lower deductible, and they are currently offering a very special discount."Schindler added that there is almost never a single perfect solution for any shopping decision, which makes Google "confident" that there is room for advertising even in agentic search.The comments offer a clearer explanation of Google's business model for agentic search, which has presented a challenge for its core ads business. On Tuesday, the company said that Google's AI mode has led to more searches than ever, but it's not making money at the same rate. It's a major concern among investors, who have long argued that AI chatbots and agents will threaten Google's search business.Google has been signaling for months that it wants to solve that problem without simply cramming old-style ads into a chatbot. Last quarter, Google said it was testing ideas like showing offers during travel planning and clearly marked sponsored links inside AI-generated lists.Alphabet reported third-quarter revenue of $127.58 billion, narrowly below the $127.97 billion analysts expected. Earnings per share came in at $2.12, versus roughly $3.01 expected, largely because of an $8.2 billion unrealized loss on its SpaceX investment. Shares fell about 10% after hours. Read next Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Shuby is a senior reporter at Business Insider's Singapore bureau, where she writes about tech, with a focus on AI training and vibe-coding startups.She previously interned for Bloomberg News and CNBC. She studied communications and business at the National University of Singapore. In 2026, she won the Singapore Press Club Tech Journalism Award for her work on the hidden human cost of Meta's chatbot training program and an exposé on the black market for AI gig-work accounts.Have a tip? Contact her via email at sgoel@insider.com or on secure messaging app Signal at @shuby.85. We can keep sources anonymous. Google Big Tech