What Is Google AI Mode and How Does It Work?

Does Google’s AI Mode herald a new era of search? There’s every chance the answer is yes. And all businesses with an online presence need to pay attention, not just SEO folks. 

Given how big the change is, you likely have a lot of questions. 

What does AI Mode mean for your site traffic? How do you get featured? Do you need to change your content strategy? Is this the end of organic visibility? 

If you’re feeling uncertain, don’t worry. I’m going to answer all of these questions and more. 

Key Takeaways

• AI Mode is a new search tool that builds on AI Overviews by providing extra depth, reasoning, and personalization to responses. 
• AI Mode is currently only available in the U.S. in English, but you can use a VPN as a workaround. 
• Access AI Mode from the Google homepage. It has a straightforward, ChatGPT-style interface. 
• Optimizing to appear in AI Mode is mainly about following best SEO practices and creating high-quality content. You should also place greater emphasis on generating third-party brand mentions and using schema markup (structured data). 
• While the future of search is uncertain, my research indicates that people will continue to click through to websites and human content will remain important. 

What Is Google’s AI Mode?

AI Mode is a new search feature from Google designed to give direct, well-reasoned answers to questions. It builds on AI Overviews but uses a similar process that combines AI-generated responses with content from traditional search results and the Knowledge Graph (Google’s database of factual information). 

It runs on a modified version of Gemini, Google’s core AI model, and analyzes information from multiple sources. It then synthesizes this information into a clear, concise answer that aims to feel more like a conversation than a static summary.

The interface feels a lot like an AI Overview—same layout and a similar answer—but with a box to ask follow-up questions at the bottom.

Here’s what Robby Stein, Google’s VP of Search, said about AI Mode in a post on The Keyword:

“Using a custom version of Gemini 2.0, AI Mode is particularly helpful for questions that need further exploration, comparisons and reasoning. You can ask nuanced questions that might have previously taken multiple searches — like exploring a new concept or comparing detailed options — and get a helpful AI-powered response with links to learn more.”

AI Mode integrates several elements from traditional search engine results pages (SERPs), such as Shopping listings and Maps.

Finally, Google has said that it will continue to add new features. These include agentic workflows in conjunction with Project Mariner, increasing levels of personalization, and even custom charts and graphs. 

How to Access Google’s AI Mode and Availability

Google AI Mode is currently only available in the U.S. in English. A global rollout is likely coming, but no exact dates have been announced. If you’re based in the U.S., head over to the normal Google homepage and select AI Mode on the right-hand side of the search bar. 

If you’re not in the US, a quick workaround is to use a VPN that provides you with access to a United States IP address. The screenshot below is from Proton VPN, which is an inexpensive option. 

AI Mode is no longer available through Google Labs, so if you see advice online telling you to sign up to Labs, you can ignore this. Similarly, it’s not possible to access AI Mode through Labs if you’re outside of the US. You need a VPN. 

Timeline of Google AI Mode

While most people think of AI as starting with ChatGPT, Google’s been building AI tools for decades. 

AI Mode is part of Google’s broader family of AI tools, which include Veo, a video maker, Imagen, a text-to-image model, Project Mariner, an agent that can automate tasks, and others. 

Here’s a short timeline that puts AI Mode in context:

• May 2017: CEO Sundar Pichai announces the launch of a dedicated AI division called Google AI at I/O, the company’s annual developer conference. 
• March 2023: Google opens up early access to Bard, its first gen AI chatbot. It is rolled out globally several months later. 
• December 2024: Google announces Gemini, a multimodal LLM that can work with different content inputs (images, voice, and text). 
• February 2024: Bard is coupled with Duet AI, Google’s Workplace AI assistant, and rebranded to Gemini.
• May 2024: AI Overviews, initially called Search Generative Experience, are first released, with a full rollout finished by the end of October. They combine generative AI with Google’s traditional information retrieval systems.
• May 2025: Google releases AI Mode, a ChatGPT-style interface available on its homepage. It builds on the core functionality of AI overviews. It is available only in America. 

Using AI Mode: AI Overviews vs. AI Mode

Time for the unboxing. Let’s put AI mode to the test and see how it stacks up against AI Overviews.

First, I ran a basic query: “What will be the most popular spring break destinations this year,” using regular Google Search to generate an AI Overview.

AI Overview did its thing. It analyzed my input, considered my location, pulled results from various sources, and stitched together a quick summary. 

Next, I made things a bit more specific: “what will be the most popular spring break destinations this year with a 6-month-old baby.”

Surprisingly, AI Overview handled it pretty well. It adjusted the suggestions based on the added context and still gave me a relevant summary.

Then it was time to see how AI Mode handled my questions. I entered the same queries into the AI Mode prompt box. 

The initial response looked similar but for a subtle shift. The first line suggested that AI Mode wasn’t just summarizing existing info. It was also applying reasoning to compose a more thoughtful recommendation.

I then tested the follow-up feature with another specific, detailed query but without repeating the full context.

AI Mode picked it up instantly. It remembered my earlier query, understood the added detail, and returned a more detailed, well-reasoned list of baby-friendly spring break destinations.

How Is AI Mode Different from AI Overviews and Gemini?

Simply put, AI Mode is an expanded version of AI Overview. It incorporates and builds on features of AI Overviews, and both of these run on Gemini, which is Google’s core model. 

Here’s how AI Mode compares to AI Overviews:

• More advanced reasoning: While AI Overview just summarizes information from across sources, AI Mode interprets it, connects dots, and offers its own conclusions.
• Multimodal understanding: In the Google app (on Android and iOS), AI Mode can also answer questions based on photos and images. 

• Better at handling complex questions: AI Overview works well for simple, fact-based queries, but AI Mode understands more nuanced, multi-layered, or open-ended questions.
• Follow-ups: You can ask follow-up questions, and the AI will respond based on the ongoing context in a conversational style. 

Research conducted by me and my team shows that these features match emerging user demand. We found, for example, that 72% of people are inputting very precise, “exactly what I want” queries. And 76% are opting for more human-like and conversational interactions. 

What Is the Technology Behind AI Mode?

LLMs are vastly complex entities, and Gemini, the model that powers AI Mode, is no different. However, three main technologies separate AI Mode from standard gen AI bots and AI overviews. 

Here are the three core processes that power AI Mode: 

• AI Mode uses a query fan-out technique. This involves breaking a query into subtopics and researching them in parallel. It then combines dozens of information points into a single answer. 
• Structured logic is a key part of how AI Mode works. It takes a query and then creates a reasoning chain (e.g., “user is looking for a water bottle for hiking, therefore features should include durability and size, therefore a minimum capacity of 3 liters is needed, etc.) and then validates answers against these steps to determine suitable outcomes. 
• Personal context plays a significant role. This means that AI Mode records conversations over time and builds a picture of individual user preferences, adjusting responses based on past inputs. It does this by creating a sort of digital ID—called a vector embedding—that is included in the answer generation process. This is a form of background memory that works in much the same way as ChatGPT.

How to Optimize Your Site for AI Mode

Everybody’s asking the same question: “How do I show up in AI Mode responses?” 

So-called GEO—generative engine optimization—is big business at the moment. However, we’re in something of a Wild West situation. And not all the claims from the SEO gurus stack up. 

Let’s look at what we actually know about “ranking” in AI Mode.

1. Traditional SEO principles still apply

Google has been pretty unequivocal about this. Traditional SEO optimization is still the most important activity for appearing in AI Overviews and AI Mode. 

As long as you follow basic SEO practices—create useful content, generate natural backlinks, and optimize technical health—you’re ahead of 90% of the competition. 

Research also backs this up. Ziptie, for example, found that sites with a number one ranking in traditional search results are 25% more likely to be featured in AI Overviews. 

2. Indexed web pages are eligible to appear in AI Mode

On the technical front, there’s good news. As long as a page is indexed, it’s eligible to appear in AI Mode. There are no other requirements. You can check your pages are indexed using the URL inspection tool in Search Console. 

If you’re having issues, be sure to check you’re adhering to Google Search technical requirements. Make sure Googlebots aren’t blocked, pages return 200 success codes, and content doesn’t violate spam policies.

3. Forum and discussion board citations matter

LLMs draw on publicly available online content to generate responses. And forums account for a hefty chunk of that content. 

Research seems to show that LLMs like content from forums—especially Reddit, which accounts for 5.9% of all of ChatGPT’s sources. 

Given Reddit and Google’s partnership, it’s likely that Gemini, the LLM underlying AI Mode, views Reddit as a “major source of truth,” as the study puts it. 

If you haven’t already, build up a presence on Reddit and other similar forums and discussion boards. 

4. Schema markup (structured data) gives you a boost 

Schema markup, also called structured data, is a type of code that you add to your content. It gives LLM crawlers additional information to help them understand what it’s about. One simple example of schema markup is identifying a recipe as “@type”: “Recipe.”

Research by Aiso has shown that LLMs extract more accurate data from pages with schema markup, with a 30% improvement in quality. 

Using schema markup likely gives you greater control over how your information is presented in AI Mode, so it’s important to include it. Fortunately, adding schema to your web page is relatively straightforward. 

5. Digital PR is important

LLMs access information in two ways. They are initially trained on a large amount of information—called training data—and they can also access new online content, such as news articles. 

Digital PR is all about acquiring mentions and backlinks from reputable third-party sources, especially media websites. 

Brand mentions boost visibility in LLM training materials and strengthen topical associations (a measure of the number of times you’re cited in relation to a specific subject), meaning you’re more likely to appear in responses. 

Digital PR involves creating share-worthy content and contacting journalists and site admins to ask them to feature you. Our research shows that original research and tools are especially good at encouraging people to talk about your brand. 

What Does AI Mode Mean for the Future of Search?

There are a lot of unknowns about how increased use of AI tools will affect the way people look for information. However, my team and I have conducted several studies, and an interesting picture is starting to emerge. 

With that in mind, here are my top five predictions for the future of search: 

• Searchers will still click through to websites: My research has shown that Google AI Overviews—of which AI Mode is essentially an upgraded version—reduced but didn’t eliminate clicks. It’s my belief that users still want to read original content, especially for broader queries. 

• Long-play brand building will become more common: LLMs use third-party brand mentions to measure the authority of publishers. Popular brands are cited more by gen AI search tools and, as such, long-term brand building with an outlook of five years and above will become much more common. 

• Brands will take a more omnichannel approach to marketing: I call this “search everywhere.” Users are adopting increasingly complex search journeys, and brands need to be in lots of different places to reach their customers effectively. AI Mode is just one part of the puzzle. As Google clicks fall, companies will look for other sources of traffic. 

• People will favor AI for more specific searches: I looked at over 4 million search queries across six languages and discovered that AI Overviews appeared in 77.2% of searches with six or more words. This seems to indicate that tools like AI Mode are best suited to precise, nuanced questions. It’s possible that people will continue to use traditional search for shorter queries. 

• Trust in AI will continue to grow: Hallucinations are a big problem with AI Overviews and AI Mode also makes mistakes, according to user reports. However, I found that user satisfaction with AI is increasing, and I expect this trend to continue. Adoption of AI tools will continue to grow as Google and other companies fix issues. I believe that while AI Mode won’t replace traditional search immediately, usage numbers are only going up. 

Search Is Changing but the Fundamentals Still Apply

The way people search is changing. 

People are finding information across a host of different platforms, not just Google. AI-generated answers are reducing clicks. And traditional content publishers are under pressure as gen AI eats up demand. 

But there’s an essential point to keep in mind. 

From the very start, Google had one aim: to solve users’ needs. That’s also what AI tools seek to do, and their models will continuously be designed to that end. 

Understanding your customers—and providing what they want through high-quality, useful content—is the best way of futureproofing your business and ensuring long-term visibility in LLMs.