Understanding Google’s AI Mode: Key features & updates
Google is steadily transforming its search experience by scaling its introduction of AI-driven features. Following the rapid rollout of AI Overviews in the SERP, Google launched a new feature in March 2025: AI Mode.
Many in the SEO world believe that AI Mode could soon become the main way we search, gradually replacing the familiar list of links we’ve known for years.
That’s why we put together this hub page, to keep track of the latest updates to AI Mode and help you stay in the loop as the SEO industry evolves.
What is AI Mode?
AI Mode is built for open-ended, exploratory questions, especially ones that regular search results don’t adequately answer. This includes requests for advice, comparisons, and more.
When you enter a query and hit search, the AI Mode tab appears next to existing tabs like Images, News, and Shopping.
This mode takes you to a chatbot-like interface that’s kind of like Gemini’s. It displays your search query first, then answers in a full-screen view that feels more expansive than today’s AI Overviews. A card on the right provides additional sources. Just beneath the answer is a text field where you can ask follow-up questions or use voice input.
You can read more about the features of AI Mode in this article.
AI Mode is powered by Gemini 2.5 Pro, giving you access to Google’s most advanced AI model. Gemini 2.5 Pro excels at advanced reasoning, math, and coding tasks, helping you tackle complex queries with helpful links to learn more. However, it’s currently available only to subscribers of Google’s AI Plans. The default model in AI Mode will still provide fast, well-rounded assistance for most queries.
We’re bringing Gemini 2.5 Pro to AI Mode: giving you access to our most intelligent AI model, right in @Google Search.
— Google DeepMind (@GoogleDeepMind) July 16, 2025
With its advanced reasoning capabilities, watch how it can tackle incredibly difficult math problems, with links to learn more ↓ pic.twitter.com/KBglVHYOwi
Note that Google’s AI Mode tab doesn’t show for every query.
According to a post by Brodie Clark on X, based on a 3,049-query sample provided by the team at Nozzleio, the AI Mode tab appears frequently but not universally. While Google continues to push AI Mode across its search experience, there’s still a 16–20% gap where it doesn’t show up. Experts believe the gap will shrink as AI integration deepens.
Available AI Mode locations
Starting in April 2025, it has become available to all users in the US as an opt-in experiment in Labs.
As of late June 2025, AI Mode is now available to users in the US even when browsing incognito or without signing in. No opt-in via Search Labs is required.
Plus, Google rolled out AI Mode in India as an experiment in Search Labs in English.
Latest updates
- March 2025
Google enhanced its AI Mode with multimodal capabilities. Now users can upload or take photos and get AI-powered responses. The AI combines Google Lens with a special version of Gemini to get the full picture.
✨ AI Mode expands on AI Overviews with more advanced reasoning, thinking and multimodal capabilities. We're starting to roll it out to Google One AI Premium subscribers as an opt-in experiment in Labs.
— Google (@Google) March 5, 2025
Sign up for early access → https://t.co/82LFV03FAP pic.twitter.com/GfFkYoKZ4i
- April 2025
Google tested new link formats in AI Mode, moving away from the old paperclip icons. These experiments included anchor text links and direct URLs embedded within AI-generated answers. That no longer appears now.
Now they add the whole URL as clickable, but from my recent test, I didn’t see this previously. pic.twitter.com/y71bnD3K7m
— Sachin Patel (@SachuPatel53124) April 9, 2025
- May 2025
Google tested a new search interface featuring an AI Mode button. This hinted at the company’s plans to integrate a fully fledged chatbot directly into its main search experience. In this experimental version, the AI Mode button even replaced the “I’m Feeling Lucky” option.
I see this… AI Mode button next to Google Search. pic.twitter.com/zacHHA5AwH
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) May 10, 2025
- June 2025
Google rolled out a new AI Mode feature that allows users to generate charts and data visualizations. This functionality is currently available for queries related to stocks and mutual funds. You can ask AI Mode to compare stocks, display price history over a specific period, and more.
1/3 Today we’re starting to roll out a new AI Mode capability to perform complex analysis with data visualization in Labs. We showed this on stage at I/O, and starting today you’ll be able to try this out first for questions about stocks and mutual funds. You can ask to compare… pic.twitter.com/JX15wbsQeN
— Robby Stein (@rmstein) June 5, 2025
You can now also see follow-up suggestions right after the answer. This makes it easier to continue the conversation.
Since June, Google has also been testing the ability to search in AI Mode directly from the Chrome address bar on both desktop and Android devices.
AI Mode has also been spotted in the People also ask section.
- July 2025
Google announced that AI Mode works with Circle to Search and Google Lens. Users can now circle text or images, receive an AI Overview, and tap Dive deeper with AI Mode to continue the conversation, all without leaving the app.
The AI Mode button is now integrated directly into Google’s homepage search bar. A small callout invites users to jump into the AI experience before (or instead of) running a standard search.
How to analyze and monitor your website’s presence in AI Mode
AI Mode is picking up speed, and it’s something you’ll want to start including in your SEO strategy.
Here’s what you can do with SE Ranking’s AI Mode Research tool:
- See which queries show your website or brand mentions in AI Mode.
- Check out the full AI-generated answer and all the sources it links to.
- Check what’s got AI Mode mentioning your rivals.
It helps you spot patterns and see what kind of content Google tends to highlight. This gives you valuable insights into what’s working and how to optimize for greater visibility in AI Mode.
In this article, see how AI Mode selects sources, how volatile the results are, and how it compares to AI Overviews and traditional organic search.
Wrapping up
Google is continuously (and rapidly) updating AI Mode. And this is just the beginning. To stay informed about the latest developments, keep circling back to this article. We’ll be updating it regularly with key changes and new features.
