By
Austin Coker
Reading time: 14 min
You open Google, switch to AI Mode and type the kind of question your buyers ask: “best project management software for a 40-person agency.” A few seconds later you have a written answer. Two of your competitors are named, linked and described in detail. Your brand isn’t mentioned anywhere.
Google AI Mode is a conversational search experience inside Google Search. It answers complex questions with an AI-generated response, links to sources across the web and lets you keep asking follow-up questions. For a growing share of buyers, it is now where category research starts. If you aren’t in the answer, you aren’t on the shortlist.
In this article, you’ll find what Google AI Mode is, how it works, how it differs from AI Overviews, the steps that make your pages more likely to be cited, how to track AI Mode in Search Console and where ads fit in.
Google AI Mode is the AI-powered search mode in Google Search. It answers long, multi-part questions with a generated response and links to the web, and it uses a technique called query fan-out to search many subtopics at once. To show up, your pages must be indexed and eligible to show a snippet. Beyond that, Google says optimizing for AI search is still SEO: useful content, a clean technical setup and real authority.
Google AI Mode is a dedicated tab and experience inside Google Search. Instead of a list of ten blue links, you get a written answer with links to the pages Google used to build it. You can ask follow-up questions and keep the conversation going, much as you would with a chatbot.
The difference from a chatbot is where the information comes from. AI Mode is built on Google Search. It draws on Google’s index of the web, and for shopping questions Google says it brings together Gemini with its Shopping Graph (source: Google’s I/O 2025 AI Mode update). The pages and brands it cites are ones Google can already crawl, index and understand.
People also search differently in AI Mode. According to Google, the average AI Mode search is triple the length of a traditional Search query, and more than one in six searches in the US now use voice or images (source: Google’s AI Mode one-year insights). Buyers type full questions with their constraints included: budget, team size, industry and use case.
That changes what a “keyword” looks like. Your buyer isn’t searching “CRM software” anymore. They are asking AI Mode which CRM works best for a logistics company with a small sales team that already uses Google Workspace. The response is a recommendation, and the brands inside it get the consideration.
AI Mode has moved quickly. The timeline explains why it matters now.
One year after its US launch, AI Mode passed one billion monthly users, and Google says AI Mode queries have more than doubled every quarter since launch (source: Google’s I/O 2026 Search recap).
AI Mode is also connected to AI Overviews. Since I/O 2026, you can ask a follow-up question right from an AI Overview and flow into a conversation in AI Mode. A buyer who starts with a normal Google search can end up in AI Mode without ever clicking the tab.
The core technique behind AI Mode is query fan-out. When you ask a question, AI Mode doesn’t run one search. It breaks your question into subtopics and searches many of them at the same time, then pulls the results into one answer (source: Google).
Say a buyer asks for the best inventory software for a growing Shopify brand. AI Mode might run separate searches on Shopify integrations, multi-warehouse support, pricing and alternatives. Each of those sub-searches is a chance for one of your pages to be pulled in.
That is why ranking for one head term is no longer enough. You need pages that answer the sub-questions too. We break this down in our guide to query fan-out.
AI Mode started on a custom Gemini 2.0 model and now defaults to Gemini 3.5 Flash. Google is also adding agents to Search. Information agents, which monitor the web for changes on topics you care about, launch first for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers (source: Google).
AI Mode and AI Overviews both use generative AI in Google Search, but they are different features. Google says they may use different models and techniques, so the responses and links they show can differ (source: Google Search Central).
Scale figures come from Google’s June 2026 post for website owners.
The practical takeaway is simple. The same fundamentals get you into both. AI Mode rewards depth more, because fan-out pulls from pages that cover the specific angles inside a buyer’s question.
As a searcher, there is no Google setting that switches AI Mode off. It is a separate tab, so you can simply not use it, and the Web filter in Google Search shows a plain list of links.
Website owners have a different control. On June 3, 2026, Google began testing a Search Console toggle that lets a site opt out of appearing in and grounding generative AI Search features, including AI Overviews and AI Mode. It rolled out to all websites worldwide on August 31, 2026 (source: Google).
Sites that opt out get no traffic or impressions from those features. Google says the toggle isn’t used as a ranking signal outside them. You can also limit what Google shows with page-level controls such as nosnippet, data-nosnippet, max-snippet and noindex (source: Google Search Central). For most brands, opting out hands those answers to competitors.
Google’s guidance is direct. There are no additional requirements and no special optimizations needed for AI Mode. A page has to be indexed and eligible to be shown with a snippet (source: Google Search Central). Google’s AI optimization guide adds that optimizing for generative AI search “is optimizing for the search experience, and thus still SEO” (source: Google).
That doesn’t mean doing what you did five years ago. It means doing SEO with a clear view of how AI Mode picks sources. These are the steps that matter most.
This is the entry ticket. If Google can’t crawl and index a page, AI Mode can’t cite it. If a page blocks snippets, Google can’t use it in the answer.
Start with your highest-value pages: product, service, pricing, comparison and category pages. Confirm they’re indexed in Search Console and that robots.txt allows crawling. Then look for snippet controls added by accident. A nosnippet tag on a template, a max-snippet value set too low or a data-nosnippet attribute around your main content can quietly remove you from AI answers.
Keyword research still matters, because search volume tells you which topics carry demand. AI Mode searches are long and specific, though, so you also need prompt research: a list of the actual questions buyers ask about your category.
Start with high-intent prompts, the questions people ask when they’re close to buying. Think “best [category] for [use case]”, “[your brand] vs [competitor]”, “[category] pricing” and “[category] for [industry]”. Then write pages that answer those prompts clearly in the first few paragraphs. If the prompt is a comparison, compare early. If it’s a pricing question, show pricing.
Our guide to generative engine optimization covers prompt research and how it fits with keyword data.
Fan-out splits one question into many, so you need to cover a topic from several angles.
Take the Shopify inventory example again. If you have one generic product page, you’re a candidate for one of those sub-searches at most. If you have a strong product page, a Shopify integration page, a clear pricing page and an honest comparison page, you’re a candidate for all of them.
Connect these pages with internal links. Google lists making content easy to find through internal links as a best practice for AI features. Build clusters around each high-intent topic, with a main page linking to the supporting pages and back.
Google’s best practices include making sure important content is available in text form. Key details trapped inside images, PDFs or scripts are harder to use.
Write the details a buyer would ask about in plain text on the page: pricing, who the product is for, integrations, specs, service areas and what makes you different. Then support that text with high-quality images and video, which Google also calls out. A fast page that is easy to use on mobile helps too, since page experience is on the same list.
Structured data helps Google understand a page, but it isn’t required to appear in AI features. The rule that matters is accuracy: Google says structured data should match the visible text on the page. If your markup lists a price, rating or feature that doesn’t appear on the page, fix it, and update both whenever pricing or offers change.
For ecommerce brands, Merchant Center feeds how Google understands your products. Out-of-date prices, missing attributes or thin product titles make it harder for Google to recommend you in shopping answers.
For service businesses and anyone with a location, Google Business Profile plays the same role. Google names keeping both up to date as a best practice for AI features (source: Google Search Central). Assign someone to review them every month.
The October 15, 2026 update shows where AI Mode is heading. Google is adding more inline links higher in responses, testing an official-websites section and making creator profiles clickable. It also says usage of Preferred Sources has grown more than 7x since the start of the year (source: Google).
All of this points one way. AI Mode is giving more visibility to the original source. Your own website has to be the clearest answer about your products, pricing and category. If a review site explains your pricing better than your pricing page does, AI Mode may cite the review site.
The people behind your brand matter too. Put real authors on your content, show their experience and publish original data, opinions and examples nobody else has. Earned mentions on trusted publications, partner sites and industry communities give Google more evidence that you belong in the answer.
If you’re weighing how much of this is new versus classic SEO, our breakdown of GEO vs SEO walks through where the two overlap and where they don’t.
Google counts traffic from AI features, including AI Mode, in the Search Console Performance report under the Web search type (source: Google Search Central). Since June 2026, Google has also been rolling out Search Console insights on how your pages appear in generative AI features, including impressions, which pages appear and in which countries (source: Google).
Expect impressions to grow faster than clicks on some queries, because many AI answers satisfy the searcher without a click. Our guide to zero-click search covers how to judge value when clicks drop.
Search Console won’t show you how you’re described. Pair it with manual checks: run your top buyer prompts in AI Mode every month and record which brands are cited and what the answer says about you.
Google started testing ads in AI Mode in May 2025. Where relevant, ads may appear below and integrated into AI Mode responses. Google said advertisers running Performance Max, Shopping and broad match Search campaigns, including AI Max, are eligible (source: Google Ads & Commerce blog).
At Google Marketing Live on May 20, 2026, Google added two formats built with Gemini. Conversational Discovery ads answer a person’s specific question, and Highlighted Answers let relevant ads appear inside a list of recommendations. Both are labeled “Sponsored” and include an independent AI explainer. Google also said its Direct Offers pilot, running since January 2026, will surface deals directly in AI Mode responses (source: Google).
In the same post, Google cites a survey it commissioned from Ipsos in which 75% of people reported making faster, more confident decisions using AI Mode. Keep in mind that Google paid for that research.
What this means for your account is practical. Exact and phrase match campaigns aren’t on Google’s eligibility list. Review whether Performance Max, Shopping or broad match with AI Max fits your goals. Your product feed and landing pages also need to answer detailed questions, because AI Mode queries are long and specific. Our PPC team sets up campaigns with these placements in mind.
Google AI Mode is one channel in a bigger shift. Buyers also ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity for recommendations. Each one draws on a different mix of sources, but most of the work that earns a citation in one helps in the others.
That is why splitting SEO, GEO and PPC across separate teams creates gaps. The SEO team optimizes for rankings. The paid team writes landing pages for conversions. Nobody owns whether AI tools recommend you, and the gap shows up as competitors cited in answers you should own.
At 95 Projects, we run SEO, GEO and PPC as one program for ecommerce, SaaS and B2B service brands, and our founder, Austin Coker, is on every account. We start with high-intent keywords and buyer prompts, because that’s where revenue comes from, then build the content, technical fixes and campaigns to win those answers. For Buoy, that approach made the brand the first ChatGPT recommendation for its category in three weeks (see the case study).
If you ran your category search in AI Mode and didn’t like what you saw, look at our AI search services or book a call. We’ll show you where you appear today and what it takes to get cited.
Austin Coker is the CEO and founder of 95 Projects. He has worked in SEO since 2020, when he built and sold an ecommerce brand that grew mainly through search. He founded 95 Projects in 2022 to help SaaS, ecommerce, and B2B service companies show up wherever their buyers search, from Google to ChatGPT and AI Overviews.
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Google AI Mode is a conversational search mode inside Google Search. It answers complex questions with an AI-generated response and links to sources, and you can ask follow-up questions by text, voice or image. Its default model is now Gemini 3.5 Flash.
Yes. AI Mode is part of Google Search and has been open to everyone in the US since May 2025, with no Labs sign-up needed. Some newer features, such as information agents, launch first for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers.
AI Overviews are summaries shown at the top of a regular results page. AI Mode is a separate, conversational experience built for longer questions, and it uses query fan-out to search many subtopics at once. Google says the two may use different models and techniques, so their answers and links can differ.
Make sure your pages are indexed and eligible to show a snippet, which are Google’s only stated requirements. Then publish clear, detailed pages for the questions your buyers ask, link them together and keep structured data, Merchant Center and Business Profile accurate. Google says optimizing for AI search is still SEO.
Yes. Clicks and impressions from AI features, including AI Mode, are included in the Performance report under the Web search type. Google is also rolling out Search Console insights that show which of your pages appear in generative AI features and in which countries.
Yes. Search Console now has a toggle to opt your site out of generative AI features such as AI Overviews and AI Mode, and you can use nosnippet, data-nosnippet, max-snippet or noindex at the page level. Opting out removes traffic and impressions from those features, though Google says it doesn’t affect rankings elsewhere.
Yes. Google has tested ads in AI Mode since May 2025, and Performance Max, Shopping and broad match Search campaigns, including AI Max, are eligible. In May 2026 Google added Conversational Discovery ads and Highlighted Answers, both labeled “Sponsored”.
