Google has begun the UK rollout of AI Mode, a more conversational and "context-aware" layer added to its core search product.
Unlike its earlier AI Overviews, which provide brief summaries atop traditional search results, AI Mode transforms search into a deep‑dive, chatbot‑like interface tailored for complex queries.
AI Mode allows users to pose multi-part, exploratory questions that previously would have required several separate searches, enabled by the custom Gemini 2.5 model. The feature breaks down queries into subtopics via a “query fan‑out” process, performing multiple searches simultaneously to deliver a synthesised answer with relevant links included.
“You can now experience this firsthand with AI Mode, our most powerful AI search experience, with more advanced reasoning and multimodality, and the ability to go deeper through follow-up questions and helpful links to the web,”
said Hema Budaraju, Vice President of Product Management for Search at Google.
Budaraju highlighted the shift in user behavior already seen in early testing, noting:
“We’ve found that early users of AI Mode are asking questions that are two or three times the length of traditional search queries.”
Experts and publishers have voiced mounting concerns that AI Overviews - and now AI Mode - may siphon off referral traffic, hurting ad-based business models. Click-through rates have been shown to drop sharply when AI summaries replace traditional search listings.
Meanwhile, UK regulators are closely watching Google. The Competition and Markets Authority is considering designating Google a “strategic market status” provider, potentially enforcing rules around transparency and publisher rights under the new AI search paradigm. A final decision from the CMA is expected by October 2025.
Google notes that AI Mode is built on its existing ranking systems and includes new mechanisms to ensure factual accuracy. If the system lacks confidence in its AI-generated response, it will default to a standard list of search results.
“We aim to show an AI-powered response as much as possible, but in cases where we don’t have high confidence, you will see a set of web search results,” Budaraju said. “As with any early-stage AI product, we won’t always get it right, but we are committed to continuous improvement.”
AI Mode also expands the range of how users can interact with search. The feature is fully multimodal, allowing input via text, voice, or images. For instance, a user can upload a photo of a product or landmark and ask contextual questions about it.
This places Google’s AI Mode in direct competition with other AI-enhanced platforms such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT (which includes image and voice input capabilities) and Microsoft’s Copilot, which is deeply integrated across the Windows ecosystem and Bing search.
Would you like to write the first comment?
Login to post comments