Google AI Mode: what it means for how your brand is discovered

What is Google AI Mode?

Google AI Mode is a search mode in Google Search that answers a question with one AI-generated response, built from many web sources, instead of a ranked list of links. For a brand, this means the first impression is increasingly written by Google, not by you. Fewer people click through to check it.

Google introduced AI Mode as an experiment in March 2025 (Google, 2025). In May 2025 it opened AI Mode to everyone in the US, calling it "our most powerful AI search, with more advanced reasoning and multimodality" (Elizabeth Reid, Google, 2025). People ask follow-up questions, as in a chat. The answer becomes the shop window, not the results page.

How is AI Mode different from AI Overviews?

AI Overviews put an AI summary on top of the normal results. AI Mode replaces the results page with a conversation. Overviews appear automatically on some searches. AI Mode is a separate mode that the user chooses. Google built it for "power users who want an end-to-end AI Search experience" (Google, 2025).

The reach is still very different. Research from SparkToro, based on Similarweb clickstream data, found AI Overviews on more than 20 per cent of Google searches in early 2026. When an Overview appeared, click-through rates dropped by nearly 60 per cent. In the same period, only 0.34 per cent of searches moved into AI Mode (Search Engine Land, 2026).

How does AI Mode decide which brands to mention?

AI Mode writes its answer from sources it finds across the web. A brand gets mentioned when those sources describe it clearly. Google says AI Mode uses a "query fan-out" technique: it breaks a question into subtopics and searches each one before it writes a response (Google, 2025).

Two recent changes affect brands. In January 2026, Google let AI Pro and Ultra subscribers connect AI Mode to Gmail and Google Photos. The responses can then be tailored to each person, including shopping and travel recommendations (Google, 2026). In October 2026, Google added inline links that sit inside words and phrases in the answer (Search Engine Land, 2026). So two people may see different answers, and a mention can carry its own link.

Does AI Mode change how people search?

Yes. People who use it click out much less. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Northeastern University ran a randomised field experiment with 1,100 Google users (Search Engine Journal, 2026). With AI Mode, the share of searches that led to an external website fell by 18.8 percentage points (Search Engine Land, 2026).

The same study found that the share of users clicking Reddit fell 21.2 points. For news sites the drop was 12.5 points, and for Wikipedia 9.9. AI Mode users also ran 0.92 fewer search sessions per day.

Usage is growing fast. At I/O 2026, Google said AI Mode had passed 1 billion monthly users and that query volume was more than doubling each quarter (Search Engine Land, 2026).

Conclusion: When nobody clicks, the answer is your brand's first impression.

What do brands get wrong about AI Mode?

At IW Agency, we think the most common mistake is to treat AI Mode as a new ranking that SEO tactics can win. Four assumptions cause most of the confusion:

1. "It's too small to matter." A share of 0.34 per cent of searches sounds small. A billion monthly users does not.

2. "Ranking first still wins." An answer has room for a few names, not ten pages of results. Being one of those names matters more than any position.

3. "It's only a traffic problem." Lost clicks hurt. The bigger risk is what AI Mode says about you when you aren't there to correct it.

4. "Everyone sees the same answer." Follow-up questions and personal data shape every conversation. A single screenshot proves very little.

When does AI Mode matter most for a brand?

AI Mode matters most when people want advice before they buy. That means comparisons, considered purchases and "which is best for…" questions. These conversations are common in tech, industry and B2B, and in high-involvement consumer choices.

For everyday products bought from habit, AI Mode may matter less for now. That window is closing, because AI agents are starting to shop on people's behalf. Read more in our guide to how agentic commerce changes the moment of choice.

What should a brand aim for in AI Mode?

We think AI Mode makes clarity, recognition and feeling worth more, not less. When an assistant shapes the choice, the brand has to do the work that the click used to do. We look at it in three parts:

• Named. Does your brand appear when people ask about your category and the buying situations that trigger it?

• Described. Does the answer say what you would say, with your stance and your difference?

• Chosen. Does the description give people a reason to pick you, or only a fact to note?

The Göteborgskex case began with a familiar problem. Private labels copied Swedish cookie classics until the category felt crowded and dusty. An AI summary makes that problem worse: when brands blur together, the answer has no reason to name any one of them.

Conclusion: Brands that blur get summarised away.

What does this mean for your brand?

• Audit the answers, not the rankings. Ask AI Mode the questions your buyers ask, and record which brands are named and how. Our guide to auditing AI visibility explains the method.

• Write one clear description and repeat it. Use the same words on your website, in press material and on partner pages. Consistent wording helps AI connect every source to one brand.

• Make your website quotable. Pages that answer first, plain definitions and facts that stand on their own. See what a company website needs in the AI era.

• Invest in distinction. A generic claim gives a summary nothing to repeat. Distinctive brand assets give it something to recognise.

• Rethink what you measure. With fewer clicks, traffic understates what the brand is doing. Track how often you are mentioned and how you are described, alongside sessions.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between AI Mode and AI Overviews?

AI Overviews are summaries above the normal results, and they appear automatically on some searches. AI Mode is a separate conversational mode that the user opens. In AI Mode, the AI answer replaces the results page.

Does Google AI Mode reduce traffic to brand websites?

Yes, for people who use it. In a field experiment with 1,100 users, the share of searches that led to an external website fell by 18.8 percentage points under AI Mode (Search Engine Land, 2026).

Is generative engine optimisation the same as SEO?

No. Generative engine optimisation (GEO) is the work of making a brand visible and accurately described in AI-generated answers. It overlaps with SEO, because well-structured pages still matter. The goal is different, though: to be named and described, not ranked.

Do all users see the same AI Mode answer?

No. Follow-up questions shape each conversation. Since January 2026, AI Pro and Ultra subscribers can also connect AI Mode to Gmail and Google Photos for tailored responses (Google, 2026).

Where does this leave brands?

Clicks are no longer the only proof of interest. In AI Mode, the answer often makes the first impression, so the brand has to be clear enough to be described well. To see how your brand is named and described today, write to us at hello@iwagency.com.

Sources

• Expanding AI Overviews and introducing AI Mode — Google, 2025

• AI in Search: Going beyond information to intelligence — Google, 2025

• The latest AI news we announced in January — Google, 2026

• Google zero-click searches hit 68% in early 2026: Study — Search Engine Land, 2026

• Google AI Mode cuts clicks and user satisfaction: Study — Search Engine Land, 2026

• Research Shows Google AI Mode Sends Less Clicks & Is A Poor User Experience — Search Engine Journal, 2026

• Google updates AI Mode and AI Overview with more links, context, carousels, and information on creators — Search Engine Land, 2026