In 2024, Google CEO Sundar Pichai started hinting at AI Mode, saying the company needed to "move faster" in 2025 and be "focused on unlocking the benefits of [AI] technology".
So far, Google has kept its word.
After less than three months in Google Labs, the company launched AI Mode, an AI search experience powered by Gemini. It means SEOs have to keep adapting to a changing search landscape.
Here is what it means for SEO (search engine optimisation).
We will cover:
- What is Google AI Mode?
- What is the difference between AI Mode and AI Overviews?
- How does Google AI Mode work?
- How does AI Mode affect SEO?
- How should SEOs respond to AI Mode?
- How can you appear in AI Mode answers?
What is Google AI Mode?
Google AI Mode is an AI search experience similar to ChatGPT. While AI Mode still mentions brands and cites sources (much as AI Overviews do), it does not include the ten blue links of traditional search results.
What is the difference between AI Mode and AI Overviews?
AI Mode and AI Overviews have some differences (and similarities):
| AI Mode | AI Overviews | |
| Citations | Yes | Yes |
| Organic search results | No | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Analytics | No | No |
The most worrying part for SEOs is the lack of organic search results. SEOs have already seen the impact of AI Overviews on traffic (on average, click-through rates (CTR) drop by 34.5%) and they cannot track these new touchpoints.
How does Google AI Mode work?
SEOs need to understand how search engines and their answers work.
At first glance, Google AI Mode works much like AI Overviews: it uses a custom version of the company's Gemini model to generate answers. The difference lies in how that model works.
Instead of relying only on the user's query, AI Mode uses a technique that runs several queries at once. You can watch it happen while you search. In the example below, AI Mode runs 10 different searches.
AI Mode also offers extra search features, including:
| Purpose | Example | |
| Deep Search | For in-depth reports with citations | Do deep research on the costs, timelines and considerations for renovating a two-storey house with 1 bedroom and 2 bathrooms |
| Search Live | For real-time searches using video and audio | Help me find the screw I need to fix this table |
| Agentic capabilities | For task-based searches | Can you help me find and buy tickets for Lorde's next tour? |
| Shopping | For e-commerce searches | Help me find outfit options for a semi-formal evening wedding in summer |
| Personal context | To improve searches based on past searches or connected apps, such as Gmail | Help me find some places to eat based on my upcoming trip to Oregon |
As for how AI Mode cites or chooses which websites to show, some known AI Overviews signals probably play a part in deciding which websites appear in AI Mode's generative answers:
- Core ranking systems, such as helpful content
- Databases, such as the Google Shopping Graph
- Structured data, such as Product or LocalBusiness.
Which brings us to the next question for SEOs: how does AI Mode affect their work?
How does AI Mode affect SEO?
Google AI Mode affects SEO in several ways, including:
Visibility
Like ChatGPT, Gemini and other answer engines, AI Mode has no ten links. Either you are cited or you are not. For SEOs (and the businesses they represent), that means less visibility across the buying journey, which can affect key metrics such as sales.
Traffic
SEOs have already noticed a link between the spread of AI Overviews and falling traffic to websites, with some sites losing 20 to 60% of their traffic. With AI Mode, you will probably keep seeing less traffic from Google.
Analytics
A lack of data is nothing new between SEOs and Google. Google Search Console does count AI Overview and AI Mode touchpoints, but SEOs cannot filter the data to see where impressions or clicks came from and tell apart traditional search, AI Overviews and AI Mode.
Strategy
SEO is the foundation for appearing in Google AI Mode (and other AI search experiences), but practitioners need to build on that foundation to win in these experiences. That starts with rethinking strategy around:
- Content originality
- Content readability
- Content organisation.
Bear in mind, though, that AI Mode's impact on search engine optimisation depends on adoption. Unlike AI Overviews, which appear within the traditional search experience, AI Mode asks users to change their behaviour: they have to select a different tab to start searching.
Adoption is growing fast, though. In the UK, searches for "ai mode" rose from 90,500 in September 2025 to 673,000 in August 2026 (DataForSEO, Google UK, September 2026).
How should SEOs respond to AI Mode? (3 essential steps)
The next steps SEOs can take with AI Mode are:
1. Reset expectations
If you haven't already, reset the expectations of the businesses you work with on traffic. You will very likely see (if you haven't already) a drop in traffic caused by AI Overviews and AI Mode, given that Google is the largest search engine in the world.
"Our AI results may give people more context about a topic overall, and display more relevant supporting links, than with classic Search.
This may provide a more engaged audience and new opportunities with visitors, but you might not optimize for these if you focus too much on clicks instead of the overall value of your visits from Search.
Consider looking at various indicators of conversion on your site, be it sales, signups, a more engaged audience, or information lookups about your business."
John Mueller
Depending on your SEO strategy, though, you should see an increase in qualified traffic. Listed companies such as NerdWallet and HubSpot have seen this, reporting lower traffic alongside higher revenue.
NerdWallet, for example, grew revenue by 35% in 2024 while losing 20% of its monthly website traffic. The pattern, common across industries, shows the shift search engine optimisation has to make.
2. Move from SEO to omnichannel SEO
This means extending search engine optimisation to optimising for search everywhere. AI Mode is one example among a growing number (ChatGPT, Meta AI and Claude) of how search has changed.
People no longer use only Google to find what they need, and SEOs have to adapt if they want to help businesses get found online and turn that visibility into quote requests, shop visits or purchases.
The best place to start is our guide to search everywhere optimisation. In the meantime, here are the key points of how the approach works:
| Strategy | Tactics |
| Produce top-tier content | Include specific data Include specific details, such as "walk briskly for 10-15 minutes" Develop multimedia assets, such as quizzes, tools, videos and graphics |
| Maximise brand reputation | Create top-tier thought leadership content (see above) Claim profiles in local listings and directories Manage reviews proactively |
| Strengthen SEO | Enhance site content with schema markup Allow AI crawlers to access the site Streamline page experience with UX improvements and faster loading |
3. Double down on SEO fundamentals
Finally, the most important step SEOs can take is to double down on the fundamentals of search engine optimisation: keep producing optimised content, optimise local listings such as Google Business Profile and earn trustworthy backlinks.
Websites with a solid SEO foundation are more likely to appear in AI Overviews, and some of those factors probably carry over to AI Mode, so that the AI search experience gives accurate, helpful answers.
Google reiterates the need for search engine optimisation in its own documentation, advising site owners who want to succeed in AI search experiences to:
- Make sure Google's crawlers can access your site
- Offer a great page experience through speed, usability and good design
- Create unique, reliable, people-first content
- Check that structured data matches the visible content
- Support content with visuals such as high-quality images and videos
- Keep your Google Business Profile and Merchant Center up to date (where relevant to your business).
That is why you should keep investing in SEO rather than pulling back out of fear.
How can I appear in AI Mode answers?
When it comes to appearing (or ranking) in AI Mode answers, we know a few things:
- AI Mode is "rooted" in Google's core quality and ranking systems
- AI Mode uses real-time information from the web, the Knowledge Graph and the Shopping Graph
- AI Mode uses its training data to decide when and how to link to information
The Google Search Central team has expanded on these points, stressing core SEO requirements such as crawling and indexing, helpful content and page experience.
So what isn't mentioned that SEOs should be doing? A few things:
- Build your off-site presence, for example through linked and unlinked mentions, to establish your brand as a trusted source and a recommended product or service; the more specific the mention, the better.
- Optimise local targeting, for example through on-site content or local listings, to target location-specific (and less competitive) AI Mode queries. In these cases AI Mode will most likely link to your Google Business Profile.
- Strengthen your omnichannel marketing, such as email and social media, to improve relevance signals when AI Mode draws on a person's Gmail and other connected apps to personalise answers.
Beyond these optimisations for appearing in AI Mode, think about what happens when someone does visit your site. You need a marketing strategy that turns these more qualified users into new customers and then into long-term advocates of your brand.
If you want to find out now whether your website appears in AI Overviews, have a look at the best AI Overview tracking tools.
Get ahead (and grow your online visibility) now
You can move faster and adapt to today's search landscape, and you don't have to learn everything yourself first. At Visilay we have helped our clients appear across search experiences, from AI Overviews to Perplexity and ChatGPT, and we can help your business do the same with our AI SEO services.
Find out what we can do for you by contacting us today for a tailored proposal.
