What Is AI Mode? Definition and Example

AI Mode is a Google Search experience that gives a full AI-generated answer to complex questions, supports follow-up questions, and shows links to sources. Google announced it as a Search Labs experiment on 5 March 2025 (Google blog). It's separate from AI Overviews, which appear inside regular results.

How is AI Mode different from AI Overviews?

Google notes that the two may use different models and techniques, so responses and links will vary (Google Search Central).

How does it build answers?

Google says AI Mode uses "query fan-out": it runs multiple related searches across subtopics and sources, then brings the results together (Google Search Central). Pages that cover subtopics clearly have more chances to be used.

What does it mean for marketers?

Track AI Mode as its own engine in your prompt set. Queries there tend to be longer and heavy on comparisons, so a fair comparison page or a detailed buyer's guide is often what gets linked.

Example

A user asks: "Which email platform is best for a Shopify store doing 1,000 orders a month, and what will it cost?" AI Mode answers with three options and links. The user follows up with "Which has the best SMS add-on?", and the answer narrows.

How do you write for AI Mode?

Cover the follow-ups. If buyers ask about price, integrations and alternatives after the first question, answer each clearly on the page, under its own heading. Use specific numbers you can stand behind, state who the product is and isn't for, and keep pricing pages current. Pages that answer one narrow subtopic well can be pulled into a longer AI Mode response.

Related

• AI Overviews
• Generative engine