AI Mode is Google’s conversational search tab. You type or speak a question, often a long and specific one, and Google answers in a written response with links and source cards, then lets you ask follow-ups. It sits alongside All, Images, Shopping and the other tabs at the top of Google Search, and in the Google app.
Google introduced AI Mode as an experiment in March 2025 and rolled it out to everyone in the US in May 2025. It has since expanded to many more countries and languages.
How it differs from AI Overviews
| AI Overviews | AI Mode | |
|---|---|---|
| Where | Top of the normal results page | Its own tab or mode |
| Format | A summary above the links | A full conversation with follow-ups |
| Searches | Shown automatically on some searches | Chosen by the user |
| Links | Source cards beside the summary | Inline links and source cards throughout |
AI Mode uses what Google calls a “query fan-out” technique: it breaks a question into many sub-questions, runs searches for each, and combines what it finds. A single question can draw on many more pages than a normal search shows.
Why it matters
People ask AI Mode questions they’d never type as a few keywords. Instead of “coffee beans espresso”, someone might ask: “I have a Breville Barista Express and like chocolatey flavors, which beans should I buy and how fine should I grind them?” AI Mode might recommend a few roasters and link to brewing guides.
For Bean & Barrel Coffee, the question isn’t “do we rank for espresso beans” anymore, but “when someone describes this situation, are we among the answers?” That depends on having detailed, specific pages: product pages that say which machines and tastes a coffee suits, and guides that answer the kinds of follow-ups people ask.
What helps
- Content that answers specific situations and follow-up questions, not just headline keywords
- Clear structure so individual sections can be quoted
- Accurate product information, prices and stock in structured data and Merchant Center for stores
- A brand that’s mentioned positively on other trusted sites, since answers draw on many sources
In short, the same principles as generative engine optimization.
Common mistakes
- Assuming AI Mode traffic is measurable on its own. Search Console includes AI Mode in the Web totals rather than reporting it separately
- Writing pages stuffed with question phrases instead of genuinely answering them
- Ignoring it because it’s “only a tab”. It reflects where Google Search is heading
How to track presence
RankThat’s AI Visibility checks whether ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude and Google AI Overviews mention or cite your business for questions you choose, compared with competitors, which gives a practical read on AI visibility across assistants.