Alphabet results published in the second quarter of 2026with Google search and other revenues up 17% year over year to $63.27 billion. The growth rate slowed from 19% in the first quarter of 2026, marking the first decline after four quarters of acceleration.
Alphabet’s total revenue reached $119.8 billion, up 24% year-over-year, or 23% at constant exchange rates. This marks the company’s 12th consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth.
Operating profit increased by 30% and the operating margin reached 34%. Google also said its Gemini app now has 950 million monthly active users, up from more than 750 million in the fourth quarter of 2025, and its models process 22 billion API tokens per minute.
A year of acceleration, then a decline
Year-over-year growth in Google search and others increased from 10% in Q1 2025 at 12% in Q2, then at 15% in Q3, reaching 17% in the fourth quarter of 2025And finally 19% in Q1 2026.
The 17% growth in the second quarter of 2026 marks the first decline during this period. Although the growth rate declined, it remained positive and revenue increased from $54.19 billion a year earlier.
Google Search Revenue Growth by Quarter
The bars show year-over-year growth. Revenue appears below each quarter.
What drove the growth
In releasing the results, CEO Sundar Pichai reiterated the connection between search and AI, saying the company’s “popular AI features are driving search query growth.”
During the earnings conference call, Philipp Schindler, chief commercial officer, provided more details on the 17% increase, attributing it to strong performance across various verticals and deep integration of Gemini into Google’s advertising systems.
Retail led the gains, followed by finance, technology, media and entertainment. This differs from Q1 2026 Reportwhich highlighted retail and finance as key drivers, with healthcare also contributing. Google did not disclose the contribution of different verticals for this quarter or the previous one.
AI Max and Ad Monetization
Schindler highlighted AI Max, Google’s AI-powered targeting and creative tool for search campaigns, which he said allows advertisers to target searches that were previously difficult to monetize. Google did not say how much AI Max contributed to revenue in the quarter.
This comment directly linked Google’s AI efforts to its ad revenue, extending the narrative from the fourth quarter of 2025, when the company detailed its first advertising tests in AI mode.
Why it matters
Over the course of a year, Google’s search revenue grew faster each quarter, with the company consistently attributing this growth to AI features and performance.
Even though growth slowed in the second quarter, Google continued to emphasize the role of AI. These numbers reflect Google’s search and other revenues, not the organic visibility or traffic of individual websites. A strong revenue quarter for Google doesn’t necessarily indicate an increase in traffic to your site; use your own Search Console and analytics tools for this.
The new Google generative AI reporting in Search Console Shows impressions in AI previews and AI mode. However, it only shows impressions, not clicks or click-through rates, focusing on the visibility of AI features rather than traffic impact.
Looking to the future
The key question emerging from this quarter is whether the second quarter was a temporary slowdown in growth or the start of a slower period. If the first quarter proves to be the high point of this period, forecasts based on continued acceleration may need to be re-evaluated.
Featured Image: Fantastic Studio/Shutterstock
