Google Ads Data Shows Query Length Shift Since AI Mode
Further's Jason Tabeling analyzed Google Ads data showing search queries getting longer since AI Mode.
Source Search Engine Land · 2026-09-11 · Checked 2026-09-14
Jason Tabeling, Head of Solutions at marketing agency Further, analyzed Google Ads search data, and Search Engine Land reported the results on September 11: query length grew noticeably longer between January 2025 and August 2026. Tabeling had looked at similar data a year earlier, and said this time the trend was clearer than before.
Impression share is the portion of total impressions a query length accounts for, and conversion share is the portion of total conversions. Here is what the numbers show.
| Query length | Impression share (before) | Impression share (after) | Conversion share (before) | Conversion share (after) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-2 words | 42% | 24% | 62% | 52% |
| 3-4 words | 33% | 48% | 20% | 46% |
| 5-6 words | Not stated | Not stated | 3% | 9% |
| 7+ words | Not stated | Not stated | 1% | 4% |
Shorter queries lost both impression and conversion share, while longer queries gained on both. Conversion share for 5-6-word queries tripled, and for 7+-word queries it quadrupled.
Search Engine Land summed up the trend this way: "Longer, more specific searches are gaining impression and conversion share, while short queries continue to lose ground."
Tabeling pointed to large language models and Google Gemini, particularly the adoption of AI Mode, as the backdrop for people typing longer, natural-language queries into the search box. The article notes this causal link is Tabeling's own interpretation, not something proven.
Advice for Advertisers
Based on this trend, Tabeling gave advertisers three pieces of advice: make long-tail query targeting a core strategy, write ad copy that matches queries precisely, and shift budget from short head terms toward higher-converting long-tail terms.
The article does not say whether this data is limited to a specific industry, represents an overall account average, or what size accounts were analyzed. This shift toward queries that read like actual questions also matters for checking whether your own company shows up in AI answers, since that check works best with real question phrasing rather than short keywords. How to check whether your company appears in AI answers explains the method.
In Korea
The article does not say which country's accounts were analyzed, so whether the same shift is happening in Korean-language search cannot be confirmed from this data alone.
Source: Search Engine Land, Jason Tabeling, September 11, 2026. Checked September 14, 2026. Read the original