Google’s is betting big on AI Mode. It’s now available in over 200 countries and territories and more than 40 languages. This is the next step in search engines’ response to the challenge of AI search. And today, we’re looking at what it means for marketers …
What’s the context?
Since the unstoppable rise of AI, Google and other search engines have tried to incorporate AI features within their existing search. Take AI Overviews, which we’ve become used to seeing over the past year. It incorporates AI, but it’s primarily the same experience as making a Google Search.
AI Mode is different. It’s a direct competitor to conversational LLMs like ChatGPT and Claude. Instead of a list of blue links, users are now getting the conversational AI-powered answers, summaries and recommendations from within the Google UI.
Powered by Gemini, AI Mode is Google adapting to how ChatGPT users now expect to see information online. But is it going to overtake traditional search? And how can marketers adjust their strategies around it? Let’s break it down.
What is Google AI Mode?
AI Mode is essentially a chat-driven layer built directly into Google Search. Ask a question and instead of just links, you’ll get a live, AI-generated overview with sources, comparisons and suggested next steps. It can plan, summarise and guide users in a way traditional results never could, but services like ChatGPT do all the time.
For brands, that should sound alarm bells. Users are now discovering brands inside AI answers, not just in organic listings. And unlike traditional search results (which give a spread of possible answers) AI mode delivers a single, confident summary. That means fewer opportunities for your brand to appear unless you’re explicitly included in that answer.
Here’s an example. A search term like “What is the most fuel-efficient car?” is one that a lot of people will be targeting. A Google search gives you:
- A range of options to choose from Google Shopping
- A mixture of articles and opinions from a number of different sources
- A selection of “also asked” similar search terms that help you refine your query
We dropped that same question into AI mode and saw:
- One summarised answer containing facts and figures from a number of sources
- A few selected recommendations
- A list of sources, represented by a few small links in the answers, and further reading in a sidebar section.
It’s a remarkable difference, and not at all what you think of when someone asks you to “Google” something. The key difference for marketers though is the fact that searchers using AI mode are finding the answers they need, within AI mode. There’s much less of an incentive to leave Google and actually visit another website, until they want to make a purchase.
What impact are we seeing?
Early reports suggest AI Overviews can reduce click-through rates by up to a third, with some sites seeing traffic fall by as much as 60%. But the silver lining is that traffic which does arrive tends to be better qualified users asking more specific questions, looking for trusted sources, and converting at higher rates.
So, while volume may dip, the quality of leads arriving through LLMs may be improving. That raises a critical question: how do you start ranking your site in AI search?
How to optimise for AI Mode
We’ve been looking at how to start ranking in AI searches for a while, and our approach is based around tweaking existing SEO strategies. Here’s where to start:
Answer real questions: Write content that directly solves problems. We say it a lot, but use your expertise, the most unique content will come from your own personal experience.
Show experience and expertise: Demonstrate credibility with first-hand knowledge and case studies. The key here is that they’re your case studies, nobody else will have posted this first!
Use structured data: Schema, FAQs, and clear formatting all help Google’s AI understand and summarise your content. A trick we use is to keep Q&A sections in blogs (a bit like this one), to around 40 words per answer, the same formatting that AI Overviews use!
Build topical authority: Think in terms of user journeys, if people find your site because of a topic, it shouldn’t be confined to a single blog or service page. Use internal linking to make a natural user journey.
Keep it conversational: Write clearly, in a natural tone, your content should be able to be quoted or read aloud.
What’s the Google AI Mode user experience like?
For users, AI Mode cuts out steps. Instead of clicking around, they get reviews, product comparisons, itineraries or even shopping lists directly in results. Essentially, it does the filtering for them.
The main difference between Google’s AI Mode and, sat, ChatGPT, is that Google’s model is based around pulling the most up-to-date information from their vast index of sources.
For marketers, that means your content needs to be present and up-to-date, or you risk disappearing from the picture altogether.
How do you measure success?
This is where it gets tricky. Right now, Google Search Console doesn’t clearly separate AI Mode traffic, so marketers have to get creative.
In house here at GetCrisp, we use DragonMetrics’ SEO tool. Their keyword tracker allows us to see where keywords we’re following rank in search, but also in additional fields such as within AI Overviews and related search results. It’s not an exact science yet, but the chances are if you’re featuring here, you’ll also feature as an AI Mode source.
Expect Google to add more transparent reporting as adoption of AI Mode grows, but for now, it’s about monitoring position trends rather than just click counts.
How does AI Mode affect paid search?
AI Mode is also changing ads. Conversational queries make broad match and intent-driven campaigns more effective than old-school exact match targeting.
Ads may appear above, below or even inside AI summaries, and understanding user language is key to making campaigns work. We’ve covered how AI is affecting paid search in another recent article.
Final thought
Is AI Mode the future of search? Yes. Kind of.
It’s definitely changing how search works, building toward a more conversational approach. Uptake of the service itself has increased by 4x since launch, but only to just over 1% of all total Google searches.
Marketers who create content that’s original, trustworthy and user-first will still win, and SEO best practice still applies. The measure of success is changing though. Being cited by an LLM may soon start mattering more than being position one on organic search.
For marketers, your next steps should be:
- Audit your content. Make sure it answers real questions, cites trustworthy sources, and demonstrates first-hand experience.
- Track visibility. Start monitoring more than just positions in search, but mentions in AI Overviews, reviews or Also Asked as indicators of authority.
- Check your user journey. Traffic that reaches your site through AI will have higher buying intent, so make sure they can get where you want them to go!