What is Google AI Mode?

Search has evolved quickly in recent months, and strategies need to evolve with it. Google AI Mode is already changing how people access information. If your content isn’t built to match how this interface works, you risk becoming invisible.

If organic search traffic matters to your business, you’ve likely seen how Google AI Mode delivers complete answers before users even visit a page. This marks a big shift, from users clicking on blue links to receiving instant summaries with live citations.

Takeaway: If you want to stay visible in search, your content needs to be part of Google’s AI-generated summaries.

What Is Google AI Mode?

Google AI Mode gives users more than just a list of results. It offers direct, conversational responses that are built from what’s available on the web right now.

Powered by Gemini?2.5, Google’s large-language model, this new search experience breaks down queries, pulls current data, and delivers concise summaries. The experience is designed to feel more like a chat than a results page.

It handles complex searches by unpacking them into smaller parts, pulling relevant content, and citing its sources. It also supports voice commands, image uploads, and typed input, responding in a clean, easy-to-understand format.

Takeaway: AI Mode turns traditional search into an interactive conversation. Your content must be structured to fit into that exchange.

How to Access Google AI Mode

If you haven’t tried AI Mode yet, it’s already live, and your audience is likely using it.

You can explore it through:

• Visiting google.com/aimode
• Tapping the “AI” tab inside Search on mobile or desktop
• Using the AI Mode shortcut in the Google app

This feature is currently available in countries like the US and India. Anyone signed into their Google account with search history enabled can access AI Mode in India directly.

Takeaway: AI Mode is already embedded in Google Search. It’s easy for users to explore and hard for brands to ignore.

How Google AI Mode Actually Works

Although it feels simple, AI Mode is powered by complex processes designed to understand questions better and deliver stronger responses.

1. Query Decomposition
   Multi-layered queries are separated into sub-questions behind the scenes.
    
2. Real-Time Content Fetching & Synthesis
   Google’s AI gathers content live, processes it through Gemini, and builds an answer, complete with citations.
    
3. Multimodal Inputs
   People can use voice, text, or images. AI Mode is designed to work with all of them.
    
4. Conversational Follow-Up
   It retains context from earlier questions, making the dialogue feel more natural.
    

Takeaway: Google’s AI system behaves like a virtual assistant. It listens, remembers, and responds with intent.

The Scale: Why It Matters

Google isn’t testing this anymore, it’s already live and reshaping how users search.

AI-generated overviews now show up for many search queries, and that trend is expanding. Even websites that maintain high rankings have reported traffic drops, simply because users find what they need in the summary and stop there.

Good to know-

• A BrightEdge study from Q2 2025 found that AI Overviews are now present on 84% of all commercial search queries in the US. In fact AI Overviews are 195% more likely to appear when Featured Snippets are present.
• At the same time, studies reported an 18–25% decline in organic traffic for publishers whose content appeared below AI summaries, despite maintaining high rankings.

Takeaway: Ranking first won’t matter much if your content isn’t featured in the AI-generated result.

Google AI Mode vs ChatGPT Citations

Different AI systems handle sources differently. Google and ChatGPT operate with very different methods for where they pull information and how they credit it. Below is a brief comparison of the structure, behaviour, and SEO value of Google’s AI Mode with ChatGPT and other generative large language models (LLMs).

1. Information Sources
   • Google AI Mode pulls its responses from live, up-to-date websites. It scans real-time web data, summarising fresh content based on current user queries. That means it’s reflecting what’s happening online right now.
   • ChatGPT and similar LLMs work differently. They generate answers using pre-trained models, like GPT-4 or Claude, which are trained on data that existed at the time of model creation. Unless connected to plugins or external tools, they don’t pull from the live web.
      
2. Citation Behaviour
   One of the biggest differences? How sources are credited.
   • Google AI Mode includes clickable citations next to its AI-generated responses. These link directly back to the content creator’s site, offering transparency and a potential boost in referral traffic.
   • ChatGPT usually paraphrases its output. It may not provide a link unless explicitly prompted, or unless a citation tool or plugin, like WebPilot or Link Reader, is enabled.
      
3. SEO Visibility and Influence
   • Google AI Mode gives website owners a real opportunity. When content is structured well, with schema markup, clear headings, and strong topical relevance, it’s more likely to be featured in AI-generated summaries.
   • ChatGPT doesn’t work the same way. Its outputs don’t appear in Google Search results, and there’s no direct link between your content and what it says, unless it’s been specifically programmed with retrieval tools or external integrations.
      
4. Personalisation and Context
   • Google AI Mode uses personal context to tailor results. It factors in user location, search history, preferences, and the broader session context to return results that feel relevant to the individual.
   • ChatGPT, unless customised with memory features or account-specific data, responds the same way for everyone. Its answers are helpful, but often generalised.

TLDR for AI SEO Strategists

1. Google AI Mode behaves more like a live web summariser. It pulls from current data, gives credit where it’s due, and plays directly into your SEO efforts. Especially if your content is structured to be readable by machines.
    
2. LLMs like ChatGPT are intelligent, but self-contained. They can deliver accurate responses, yet they operate outside the traditional SEO infrastructure.
    
3. For AI SEO practitioners, optimising for Google AI Mode means using structured content and schema; ChatGPT requires plugin-based workflows or brand mentions in a public data source
    

Takeaway: If SEO visibility matters, focus on optimising for Google AI Mode, it offers more reliable exposure than generic AI tools.

What This Means for SEO

The basics have shifted. In an AI-focused environment, SEO depends on how well your content can be understood, cited, and summarised by language models.

• To stand out in this system, your content needs more than keyword targeting:
• Use headers, lists, and summaries to make structure clear
• Apply schema like FAQPage, HowTo, and Article with JSON-LD
• Define people, tools, or concepts to reinforce your content’s relevance
• Build authority by linking to trusted sources and updating content regularly

Ensure strong performance, fast loading, mobile-friendly, easy to crawl

Takeaway: Structure and trust now matter just as much as keywords. SEO today means optimising for how AI reads and chooses what to show.

SEO Strategy Checklist for AI Mode

These key steps will help your content get seen, and used, in Google’s AI summaries:

1. Add schema markup using JSON-LD
    
2. Feature quick summaries or FAQs early in the content
    
3. Reference credible sources and update content often
    
4. Focus on mobile performance and page speed
    
5. Track inclusion in AI summaries, not just rankings
    

Takeaway: Technical and structural tweaks go a long way in improving your content’s chance of being selected by AI Mode.

What’s Next: Agents & Deep Search

1. Project Mariner: Will let users complete actions like bookings and purchases directly within search
    
2. Deep Search: Designed to answer complex queries by running multiple layers of searches simultaneously
    

Search won’t just deliver information. It’ll complete tasks. That means content must be structured to do more than inform. It needs to enable actions.

Takeaway: The future of search is task-based. Your content must be prepared to support execution, not just provide details.

Final Thoughts

AI Mode is no longer an experiment; it’s central to how Google delivers answers. Success in search will depend on whether your content is structured, trustworthy, and fast enough to be picked up by AI systems.

At Verve Media, our SEO agency helps businesses adapt their SEO strategies for this new reality. Our team combines technical precision, schema implementation, and content authority to ensure your brand is seen, not just ranked.

Takeaway: Ranking still matters. But getting chosen by AI Mode is what drives actual clicks and conversions in 2025.

FAQs

Q.1 Is Google AI Mode available in India?
Ans: Yes. Google AI Mode has been rolled out in India and is part of the Search Labs features. Users can now try AI-generated answers powered by Gemini, Google’s language model. As AI search results become more common, Indian users are already seeing how Google AI search changes the way information appears.

Q.2 How do I turn on AI Mode in Google Search?
Ans: To enable it, go to google.com/aimode or open the Google app. Tap on the “Search Labs” icon and switch on AI Mode. It works for signed-in users on both desktop and mobile. This is the easiest way to explore how Google AI works during real-time searches.

Q.3 What are the benefits of Google AI Mode?
Ans: It gives quicker, clearer results. AI Mode pulls in real-time data and presents it in a conversational format. You can search using voice, text, or images, and it shows sources right below the answer. AI search results feel more direct, saving users time.

Q.4 How can Google AI Mode help with SEO?
Ans: Google AI Mode supports visibility in a new way. Content structured with schema and clear headings is more likely to be cited. An AI SEO agency or SEO team that adapts to this format can gain brand exposure directly in AI-generated summaries.