What is Google AI Mode?
According to Google, AI Mode is particularly helpful for queries that need further exploration, reasoning or complex comparisons. Questions that might previously have taken several searches can be asked in one go and then explored further with follow-up questions.
AI Mode appears as a tab on the search results page and in the Google app for Android and iOS (Google blog UK). Questions can be asked by typing, by voice or by using the camera.
Launch and availability
- United States: at Google I/O on 20 May 2025, Google announced that AI Mode would roll out to everyone in the US (Google blog).
- United Kingdom: rollout began on 28 July 2025 (Google blog UK).
- Germany, Austria and Switzerland: launch on 8 October 2025, in Switzerland in German, French and Italian. According to Google, this was part of an expansion to 36 additional languages and more than 40 additional countries and regions (Google blog Germany, in German).
AI Mode and AI Overviews compared
- Placement: AI Overviews appear within the regular search results for certain queries. AI Mode is a separate area that users open deliberately.
- Interaction: AI Mode is designed for follow-up questions. Each answer builds on the conversation so far.
- Research: both features may use query fan-out, running many sub-searches in parallel. For Deep Search, Google said at I/O 2025 that it can issue hundreds of searches.
- Results: according to Search Central, the two may use different models and techniques, so the answers and linked sources vary.
What AI Mode means for websites
AI Mode has the same technical requirements as regular Search: a page must be indexed and eligible to be shown with a snippet. Google does not require additional AI files or special markup (Search Central).
The focus of content shifts, however. Queries in AI Mode are often longer, contain conditions and lead to comparisons. Because of the sub-searches, pages can appear as sources when they give the best answer to one aspect, such as costs, requirements or differences between options. Content that answers such sub-questions precisely and with evidence stands a better chance here.
According to Google, AI Mode shows relevant web content in various formats with prominent links that users can click (Google blog Germany, in German).
AI Mode in Search Console
Data from AI Mode is included in the Search Console Performance report under the “Web” search type and cannot be analysed separately there (Search Central). Since 2026, the Generative AI performance report has shown impressions in AI features in Search, but no clicks (Search Console Help).
The Search generative AI control in Search Console also lets you exclude a property from AI Mode (Search Console Help). According to Google, this does not affect regular rankings.
Observing AI Mode in practice
Because clicks cannot be isolated, direct observation is the main option: regularly ask your audience’s typical questions in AI Mode, record the linked sources and how your brand is described, and compare with competitors. As answers vary, this needs several runs and a fixed set of prompts. We handle this as part of AI monitoring. Our AI visibility tool gives you a first impression.
Would you like to get your website ready for Google’s AI Mode and need support? Then get in touch or read more about our AI SEO service! Would you like to find out more or have your team trained on this topic? Then take a look at our GEO seminar.
