Google’s unveiling of AI Mode at I/O 2025, the search giant’s annual developers’ conference, signals the most profound change to the search experience in over a decade. Powered by Gemini, Google’s most advanced AI model to date, AI Mode transforms search from a static list of links into an intelligent, task-oriented conversation.

For marketers and SEO professionals, this marks a fundamental shift in how visibility is earned, how content is discovered, and how users engage with information. In this post, we’ll break down what AI Mode is, how it works, and – most importantly – how your brand can adapt.

What Is AI Mode?

Google

AI Mode is an opt-in experience within Google Search. It embeds artificial intelligence (AI) powered chatbot capabilities into search, activating a conversational interface that enables users to interact with Google’s Gemini model directly.

When AI Mode is enabled, search results are no longer presented as a list of links. Instead, people are greeted with an intelligent assistant which they can have two-way conversations with. These chats evolve organically as they work towards what the user wants to know or find.

For example, the intelligent assistant can:

  • Answer multi-layered queries
  • Help people to complete tasks
  • Suggest follow-ups to learn more
  • Surface trustworthy web content.

"You’ll get all the capabilities of our custom Gemini model in Search — planning, researching, brainstorming and so much more - right there in the Google search results page." Google Search Blog, May 2025 

AI Mode differs significantly from AI Overviews. While AI Overviews provides summaries within traditional SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages), AI Mode replaces the entire interface with a chat-style experience that dynamically evolves based on user intent.

Core Capabilities of AI Mode

AI Mode builds upon several key technologies to redefine how users engage with search:

  • Conversational Search: Users interact in real time through natural language, with the AI refining responses based on follow-up questions and exploration patterns.
  • Query Fan-Out: Gemini deconstructs broad or complex queries into related subtopics, enabling deeper, multifaceted responses.
  • Multimodal Input: Searchers can use text and images, or even live camera input, to initiate or expand a query – a major step towards more intuitive, assistant-like search.
  • Agentic Actions: In some cases, AI Mode can complete tasks such as booking reservations or comparing product specs – effectively turning search into a platform that helps people get stuff done.

Why This Matters for SEO

This isn’t just a UI change - it's a functional shift in how Google surfaces and prioritises content. Based on how Google has described AI Mode and the current experience in Search Labs, visibility now depends far more on being referenced, cited, or used in AI responses than simply ranking in blue links.

The 'Succeeding in AI' blog by Google highlights four key points:

  • Emphasis on original, high-quality content.
  • The need for structured data, clarity, and fast, mobile-friendly pages.
  • Reinforces that E-E-A-T remains critical in AI-powered ranking and citation.
  • Does not currently provide click or impression-level data on AI-driven visibility.

Summary of How AI Mode Works:

  • Organic links are not shown in the default AI Mode interface unless prompted.
  • Responses are summarised, not listed, hence visibility depends on being cited or sourced in the Gemini response.

Strategic SEO Actions to Take Now

Google recently published their own recommendations for succeeding in AI-driven search experiences. Much of the following focus areas align directly with what Google has emphasised – including content quality, page experience, and clarity. These aren't just best practices – they’re Google-endorsed priorities for standing out in AI Mode.

  1. Topical Authority & E-E-A-T
  • Prioritise depth over breadth
  • Demonstrate first-hand expertise
  • Use trusted authors and cite sources
  • Ensure originality – Google emphasises content that offers unique value and goes beyond summarisation
  1. Optimising for User Intent
  • Focus on layered queries and intent-driven content
  • Structure pages to support follow-up questions
  • Use natural language that mirrors how people speak in real life.
  • Incorporate clarity and coherence to support generative summarisation
  1. Technical SEO Foundations
  • Implement schema.org structured data for all content types
  • Ensure fast page speed and mobile accessibility
  • Create clean internal linking patterns
  • Deliver a strong page experience – including mobile-friendliness and intuitive design – as highlighted in Google's recent developer blog
  1. Content Design & Clarity
  • Use headings and visual hierarchy to aid AI parsing
  • Cluster content into semantic themes
  • Reduce fluff and repetition - clarity improves inclusion.
  1. First-Party Data & Unique Insights
  • Publish research, statistics, case studies, and expert commentary
  • Differentiate your content from generative fluff
  1. Multi-Channel Signal Building
  • Repurpose and syndicate content across search, social, video, and apps
  • Help Google’s AI contextualize your brand across ecosystems

Rethinking SEO Measurement

AI Mode will also change how we report on SEO success. Traditional performance metrics like clicks and impressions may become less meaningful in an environment where users rely on AI-generated responses instead of clicking through to websites.

As of now, Google has not provided Search Console or API support for measuring how content performs within AI Mode. That means marketers are flying blind — for now. New frameworks will be needed to track:

  • Visibility in AI-generated responses
  • Brand citations or mentions
  • Task completions or micro-conversions guided by AI interactions
  • Engagement metrics such as time on site and user satisfaction

Importantly, Google has stated that clicks coming from AI Overviews may be fewer, but they tend to be more intentional - resulting in higher-quality traffic. This highlights the importance of monitoring post-click behaviour over sheer volume.

The Role of User Adoption

AI Mode’s success isn’t just technical – it depends on real users opting into and embracing this new interface. While the technology is powerful, the transition from traditional search habits to conversational exploration will take time. Adoption may be gradual, influenced by familiarity, trust, and perceived usefulness.

For now, AI Mode is opt-in and may not reflect the behaviour of the broader search audience. This makes it critical for marketers to balance traditional SEO strategies with forward-looking experiments tailored to AI-driven experiences.

Impact On Paid Search

For Paid Search, AI Mode marks another significant step towards a keywordless future. AI mode actively encourages users to submit much more complex, conversational queries into the engine, making it effectively impossible for advertisers to build out campaign structures that pre-empt every possible query that may come through. For this reason, ads will only fire for advertisers on pMax/ Shopping or Broad Search/ AI Max For Search campaigns (i.e. Exact and Phrase match keywords won’t be considered).

While it’s still very early days to judge the impact of this, these ad placements seem intended to put advertisers in front of users as a conversion option at the very start of the traditional user journey. Effectively, this has the power to replace lengthy and complex research phases with a direct path from an early prompt for information to a completed conversion within a single, AI assisted conversation.

This can fundamentally shift search media planning. Any advertisers that focus predominantly on lower-funnel activation and specific, defined keyword sets risk entirely missing out on being part of a user’s consideration, if the user never has to make a traditional lower-funnel search (i.e. brand or product-specific searches) to get to their conversion point.

Any brands who have resisted broadening keyword match types or adopting AI-driven campaign types should therefore consider how they can begin testing to future-proof their approach, and work with their Paid Search teams to find their ideal balance between AI-automation and expert manual inputs.

When Will AI Mode Roll Out?

While exact timing is still being confirmed, here’s what we know so far:

  • Q1 2025: AI Mode launched in the U.S. for opt-in users via Search Labs.
  • Q2 2025: AI Mode available to all users in US
  • Q3 2025 (expected): Rollout to more English-speaking markets and enhanced UI based on user feedback.
  • Q4 2025 – 2026: Possible default mode

"This experience is especially helpful for more complex questions that take longer to research — where people might otherwise have to piece together information from multiple sources themselves."— Google Search Blog

Final Thoughts: The New Frontier in Search

AI Mode represents a major evolution in Google’s long-term goal to move from "information provider" to "task assistant." For marketers, that means the landscape and approaches have shifted – from keyword rankings to conversational relevance.

At KINESSO, we’re not just tracking these changes – we're actively building adaptive strategies and content frameworks that make brands discoverable, useful, and preferred by Gemini-powered search.

Now is the time to act. Because the future of search isn’t just about what people type into the search bar – it’s about what Google says back.