Google AI Mode is a conversational mode of Google Search that answers a question with an AI-written response, built from many searches run at once, with links to the pages it used. It opens from the AI Mode tab on google.com, a button in the Google app, or google.com/ai, and it takes follow-up questions like a chat.
Because it runs on Gemini, people also call it Gemini AI Mode, and it is the largest change to Google Search in years. Google says AI Mode passed one billion monthly users one year after launch[6], and questions people type into it are nearly three times longer than ordinary searches[4]. This guide covers it from both sides: how to use it, switch it off or fix it when it is missing, and then how it chooses the pages it cites and what that means if you want yours to be one of them.
What Google AI Mode is
Google introduced AI Mode as a Search Labs experiment in March 2025, describing it as a way to ask about “anything on your mind” and get an AI-powered response with links to the web[1]. It is not a chatbot bolted onto Search. It is grounded in Google’s own index and its knowledge systems, and every answer is assembled from pages Google can already crawl.
In Google’s own framing, AI Overviews help people “get to the gist” of a topic quickly, while AI Mode is for queries “where further exploration, reasoning, or complex comparisons are needed”[8]. That is why people ask it longer questions: a comparison of three products, a plan for a trip with constraints, a decision with trade-offs.
From Labs experiment to a billion users
AI Mode went from an opt-in experiment for paying subscribers to a default part of Search in about a year. Each step below is taken from Google’s own announcements unless marked otherwise.
How AI Mode works: query fan-out
The core of AI Mode is a technique Google calls query fan-out. In Google’s words, it works by “breaking down your question into subtopics and issuing a multitude of queries simultaneously”[2]. Search Central describes the same thing for both AI features: issuing “multiple related searches across subtopics and data sources” so the answer can draw on “a wider and more diverse set of helpful links” than a classic results page[8].
That one idea explains most of what is different about AI Mode for site owners. Your page is no longer competing for one query. It is competing to be the best answer to one of the sub-questions a fan-out generates, and the question a person typed may never appear on your page at all.
What else AI Mode can do
- Follow-up questions. You can keep asking, and each follow-up builds on the conversation[7].
- Multimodal input. Ask with text, voice, images or files, and on Chrome add open tabs to a question[7].
- Deep Search. For research questions, it runs hundreds of searches and writes a fully cited report in minutes[2].
- Search Live. Talk back and forth with Search about what your camera sees, in real time[2].
- Personal Intelligence. With your permission it can draw on your Search history and connected Gmail, Calendar and Photos. It needs you to be 18 or over and can be switched off[7].
- Fast or Pro. Gemini runs AI Mode, and a model menu lets you pick the default fast model or a Pro model with daily limits, which are higher on paid Google AI plans[7].
How to use AI Mode in Google Search
Whether you call it Google AI Mode, AI Mode on Google or Google Search AI Mode, it is the same product, and Google lists three ways in, plus Chrome’s address bar in supported regions [7]:
How to turn off Google AI Mode
This is one of the most searched questions about AI Mode, so here is the plain answer: Google does not provide a setting to disable AI Mode. Its help page offers no such switch[7]. What you can do depends on what you are trying to avoid.
Option 1: use the Web filter (official)
In May 2024 Google added a Web filter that shows only text-based links, with no AI-generated answer[12]. After a search, choose Web from the filters, or from More if it is hidden.
Option 2: make the Web filter your default (workaround)
The Web filter corresponds to a URL parameter, udm=14. If you add a custom search engine in your browser with the address below and make it the default, every search opens with plain links. This is a widely used workaround, not a Google feature, so Google could change it at any time.
https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14
Option 3: just do not open it
AI Mode only answers when you open it. A normal search still gives normal results, although AI Overviews may appear at the top, and those follow different rules. You can also delete your AI Mode history from the history panel inside it[7].
Why AI Mode is not showing
If the AI Mode tab or button is missing, it is almost always one of the reasons Google lists in its help page[7]. Answer these in order; the first “no” is your answer.
AI Mode vs AI Overviews vs ChatGPT
AI Mode and AI Overviews are both Google, both use Gemini and both use query fan-out, so they are easy to confuse. They are different surfaces, and Google says they “may use different models and techniques, so the set of responses and links they show will vary”[8]. Independent data shows how much: SISTRIX found the two cite different domains for the same prompt 83% of the time[14], and Ahrefs found they cited the same URLs only 13% of the time, even though their answers were semantically similar[18].
| AI Mode | AI Overviews | Classic results | ChatGPT search | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where it appears | Own tab, app button, google.com/ai | Top of a normal results page | Results page | chatgpt.com and apps |
| You open it deliberately | ✓Yes | ✕No | ✕No | ✓Yes |
| Follow-up questions | ✓Yes | ~ | ✕No | ✓Yes |
| Uses query fan-out | ✓Yes | ✓Yes | ✕No | Not documented |
| Grounded in Google's index | ✓Yes | ✓Yes | ✓Yes | Its own index and partners |
| Links to sources | ✓Yes | ✓Yes | ✓Yes | ✓Yes |
| Clicks in Search Console | ✓Yes | ✓Yes | ✓Yes | ✕No |
| Controlled by Googlebot, not Google-Extended | ✓Yes | ✓Yes | ✓Yes | OAI-SearchBot |
Google AI Mode vs ChatGPT. Both answer in conversation and cite sources, but they rest on different indexes. AI Mode is grounded in Google Search, so a page Google cannot index cannot appear in it. ChatGPT search relies on OpenAI’s own crawler, OAI-SearchBot, and on search partners. A page can be visible in one and absent from the other, which is why they are worth tracking separately. See our guides to ChatGPT SEO and AI Overviews for the other two surfaces.
How AI Mode picks its sources
Google’s official position is short. To be eligible as a supporting link, a page must be “indexed and eligible to be shown in Google Search with a snippet”, and “there are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, nor other special optimizations necessary”[8]. Everything beyond that comes from independent studies, which use different methods and should be read as evidence, not rules.
The most useful finding is about stability. SISTRIX tracked 82,619 prompts for 17 weeks across six countries and measured how many cited domains changed from one week to the next[14]. AI Mode replaced more than half its sources every week, while AI Overviews barely moved:
| Google AI Overviews | 5% |
|---|---|
| Google AI Mode | 56% |
| ChatGPT Search | 74% |
Yet inside that churn there is a stable centre. SISTRIX found that 86.5% of AI Mode prompts keep a stable core of one to five domains that appear week after week, while about 89% of the remaining domains rotate[14]. Some kinds of site are far more likely to hold a place in that core than others:
| YouTube and video | 24.0% |
|---|---|
| Big Tech platforms | 16.0% |
| Wikipedia | 12.0% |
| Marketplaces | 10.0% |
| Forums and UGC | 3.0% |
| News sites | 1.4% |
How to rank in Google AI Mode
“Ranking” is the wrong word for a surface that cites 14 to 16 domains and reshuffles them weekly, but the question is fair: what makes a page more likely to be one of them? Google’s own best practices are the starting point[8], and the fan-out mechanism tells you how to apply them. Tick these off as you go; your progress is saved in this browser.
For the underlying discipline, the guides to generative engine optimization and answer engine optimization go deeper into structure and evidence. To make sure crawlers can reach you, use the robots.txt generator and tester. To add structured data that matches your page, use the schema markup generator.
Measuring AI Mode traffic
You can measure some of AI Mode, not all of it, and it is worth being precise about which parts.
- Clicks are in Search Console, but mixed in. Clicking a link to an external page in AI Mode counts as a click in the Performance report, under the Web search type, together with every other Google click. Position follows the same method as a results page, and each follow-up question counts as a new query[10].
- AI impressions have their own report. The Generative AI performance report shows impressions for AI Mode and AI Overviews by page, country, date and device. It shows no clicks or queries, and it does not separate AI Mode from AI Overviews[11].
- Most searches still end without a click. SparkToro’s analysis of Similarweb panel data found 68% of U.S. Google searches ended without a click in early 2026, and only 0.34% went to AI Mode[19]. Traffic is therefore the wrong measure of AI Mode on its own. Whether you are named in the answer matters, clicked or not.
That last point is what Search Console cannot show you: whether AI Mode mentions your brand, for which questions, and whether you hold that place over time. CoreCited tracks Google AI Mode as its own surface, alongside AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Gemini. See how AI visibility tracking works.
Questions people ask
What is Google AI Mode?
Google AI Mode is a conversational mode of Google Search that answers a question with an AI-generated response and links to the pages it drew on. It is powered by Gemini models and uses a technique Google calls query fan-out, splitting your question into many related searches and combining what it finds. You can ask follow-up questions and use text, voice, images or files.
Is Google AI Mode free?
Yes. AI Mode is part of Google Search and free to use where it is available. Some features, such as the more capable Pro model, have daily limits that are higher on paid Google AI plans, and some agentic features launched first for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers.
How do I turn off Google AI Mode?
Google does not offer a switch that removes AI Mode from Search. You can simply not open it, since it is a separate tab. To get results with no AI at all, use the Web filter under More on the results page. Adding &udm=14 to a Google search URL, for example as a custom search engine in your browser, opens that Web filter directly. That is a widely used workaround, not a Google setting.
Why is AI Mode not showing for me?
Google lists four common reasons: AI Mode is not available in your country or territory, your Search language is not supported, you are not signed in to a personal Google Account, or you use a Workspace account where the administrator has turned Search off. Updating the Google app or Chrome and going to google.com/ai directly can also help.
What is the difference between AI Mode and AI Overviews?
An AI Overview is a short generated summary placed above the normal results on an ordinary search. AI Mode is a separate conversational experience you open deliberately, meant for questions that need exploration, reasoning or comparison. Google says they may use different models and techniques, so their answers and links vary, and studies find they cite different sources most of the time.
Which Gemini model powers AI Mode?
Google made Gemini 3.5 Flash the default model in AI Mode for everyone at Google I/O in May 2026. Users can also choose a Pro model with daily limits. Google updates the model regularly, so check its Search announcements for the current one.
Is Google AI Mode the same as the Gemini app?
No. The Gemini app is Google's standalone AI assistant. AI Mode lives inside Google Search, is grounded in Google's search results, and links out to the web pages it uses. Blocking the Google-Extended token affects Gemini's use of your content, but it does not affect AI Mode.
How do I rank in Google AI Mode?
Google says there are no special requirements beyond being indexed and eligible to show with a snippet. In practice, pages that get cited are crawlable, answer specific sub-questions clearly near the top of a section, cover the related angles a fan-out would search, keep structured data consistent with visible text, and are the kind of source AI Mode favours for that topic. The ranking checklist on this page covers each step.
Does AI Mode traffic show in Google Search Console?
Yes. Clicks to external pages from AI Mode count as clicks in the Performance report under the Web search type, mixed in with other search traffic. Since mid-2026 Search Console also has a Generative AI performance report that shows impressions, not clicks, for AI Mode and AI Overviews combined.
Can I stop my site from appearing in AI Mode?
Only by limiting how it appears in Search generally. The nosnippet, data-nosnippet, max-snippet and noindex controls apply to AI features too. Blocking Google-Extended does not remove you from AI Mode, and there is no directive that removes you from AI Mode while keeping you in regular results.
Does AI Mode use my search history?
It can. Personal Intelligence in AI Mode references previous searches and activity saved in your Search history, and you can connect Gmail, Calendar and Google Photos. It needs you to be 18 or over with history turned on, and you can switch it off in your personalised results settings.
Is there a Google AI Mode app?
There is no separate AI Mode app. AI Mode is a button on the home screen of the Google app on Android and iPhone, a tab on google.com, and an option in Chrome's address bar in supported regions.
Sources
Google’s announcements and documentation are primary sources. SISTRIX, SE Ranking, seoClarity, Ahrefs and SparkToro are independent studies with their own methods, dated below.