3 min read
Google’s AI Mode might become the default search engine. If you are unfamiliar with what AI Mode is, it is a new AI-powered search interface that delivers conversational, comprehensive answer. Rumors suggest it might soon become the default experience for users.
What is Google AI Mode?
AI Mode is accessible through a new tab within Google Search, offering AI-generated summaries using Gemini-based models. Rather than showing traditional blue links, it enables users to interact with search results conversationally, combining summarised responses with follow-up questions, multimodal input, and AI-overviews.
Here’s how Google explained AI incorporation in one of their product blogs earlier this year when they launched AI Overviews:
AI in Search is making it easier to ask Google anything and get a helpful response, with links to the web. That’s why AI Overviews is one of the most successful launches in Search in the past decade.
How Did the Rumors Begin?
Since the mainstreaming of AI Overviews, Google has come up AI Mode, and it is sparking some serious search revolution rumors. All of this came about after Logan Kilpatrick, Google’s lead product manager for AI, hinted on X (formerly Twitter) that AI Mode would be the “default” search experience “soon.” While another executive, Robby Stein, later urged readers not to read too much into the statement, it signals Google’s intent to lead the next wave of search transformation.
What Can Happen if Google AI Mode Becomes Mainstream?
If Google AI Mode becomes the default, it could drastically affect organic traffic. Recent analyses show early signs of reduced click-through rates to publishers as AI-generated answers satisfy user queries without needing to click.
Search professionals are adjusting strategies for this shift:
- Build topical authority with rich, structured content.
- Create unique, high-value content that stands out to AI systems.
- Adapt to Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), optimizing for AI conversational search, not just keywords.
- Monitor performance using engagement-focused KPIs like conversions instead of click counts.
For users, defaulting to AI Mode signals smoother, faster search experiences, especially for complex questions and multimodal queries. For Google, it’s about reinforcing AI as the future of search.
But for content creators and publishers, it presents new challenges in visibility and monetization unless content adapts for the AI age.
UPDATE: Logan Kilpatrick soon took to X (former Twitter) to explain his comments:
In a response to Barry Schwartz’s tweet about Google AI Mode replacing the normal search, Robby Stein responded, saying users shouldn’t read too much into it. He clarified that the team is mainly focused on making AI Mode easier to access for those who want to use it, so it should be taken in this context.
