Paid search research
Google's stock hit a six-month low after it admitted AI summaries are affecting ad revenue. With Black Friday approaching and each click costing more, UK advertisers need to check which of their paid terms now show an AI Overview.
What happened
Google's value fell by $500bn and its stock hit a six-month low after it revealed that its AI search summaries were affecting ad revenue, the BBC reports. For anyone who pays for clicks, that puts AI answers on the business pages for the first time.
The detail behind it comes from Alphabet's latest results. PPC Land reports that Google ad clicks grew 8% in the third quarter, slower than the 11% growth across the first nine months of the year. Each click cost advertisers 4% more, and Google showed 14% fewer ads on partner sites. These figures cover Google's business worldwide, so they tell us nothing specific about any one UK account. They do show the direction of the market: clicks are growing more slowly, and each one costs a little more.
None of this says what will happen to Google next. It is a prompt for advertisers to look at their own data.
Why it matters before Black Friday
Black Friday is still the biggest moment of the year for many UK retailers. In Sayu's study, "black friday" was the most-searched term in the UK of the terms measured, at 2.23× the next product term, "black friday deals". That compares a small set of related terms. It shows where attention goes, but it does not measure sales.
The shopping itself is moving online steadily. ONS figures show online accounted for 28.3% of UK retail sales in September 2026, up from 27.3% in September 2025. That is a share of all retail across every category, so your own sector may sit above or below it.
Put those together and the stakes are clear. More shoppers search, more of them buy online, and each click costs a bit more. If an AI Overview now sits at the top of the page for some of your paid terms, people may behave differently on those searches. Some may click your ad less. Others may arrive better informed and readier to buy. You can only tell which is happening by checking your own terms.
What this means for UK businesses
- Find out which of your paid terms show an AI Overview. Start with the keywords that spend the most. Question-style and research searches are the ones to check first.
- Compare those terms against the rest. Look at cost per click, click-through rate and conversion rate side by side. The gap, if there is one, tells you where to act.
- Adjust bids and ad copy where the numbers say so. Lower bids on terms where clicks have weakened and sales have not followed. Rewrite ads to offer what a summary cannot, such as price, delivery dates, stock and offers.
- Hold off on raising budgets across the board. Put extra money behind the terms that are proven to convert at peak.
- Keep checking through the season. Results pages change, so repeat the check before and during Black Friday week.
Analysis compiled by Sayu (sayu.co.uk)
