What Is Google’s AI Mode? A Deep Dive Into the Current State of Search

Google’s AI Mode isn’t just an upgrade to the search experience—it’s a foundational shift. As Liz Reid, Google’s Head of Search, said, it’s “a search that goes beyond information to intelligence.” But what exactly is AI Mode, and how should SEOs respond?

AI Mode Explained: Search, Reimagined

AI Mode is powered by Gemini 2.5, Google’s state-of-the-art large language model. When a user searches, the model initiates a “query fan-out” process, generating multiple sub-queries to understand user intent better. It then pulls relevant semantic chunks from its indexed cache to generate a synthesized AI Overview.

These answers are multimodal (text, voice, images), comparison-friendly, and increasingly agentic, meaning AI will eventually perform tasks for users, like buying tickets.

How AI Mode Works Differently

1. It Uses Cosine Similarity for Relevance

Google matches your query and your content by calculating cosine similarity between their vector embeddings. High similarity means your passage (and reference) is more likely to be used in an AI Overview and AI Mode.

This visualizer helps you analyze the cosine similarity of your content to queries.

2. AI Mode Synthesizes Multiple Queries

The model employs a query fan-out approach, generating related, comparative, and personalized queries to form a more comprehensive response.

3. It’s Personalized via User Embeddings

Search results vary by user based on their Gmail, YouTube, Maps, and Chrome usage. See what Google knows about your behavior here.

The Reality of AI Overviews: Visibility Without Clicks

Studies show the impact is dramatic:

• Sparktoro’s study found nearly 60% of Google searches now end without a click.
  
• SEMRush reports organic traffic is down 30–50% for many publishers.
  
• Growth Memo observed minimal interaction with cited sources in AI Overviews.
  

How to Measure AI Mode

Here’s what you should know:

• No separate referrer—AI Mode traffic is logged as “organic” in GA4.
  
• Links in AI answers are bundled into a single “ranking #1” line item in Google Search Console.
  
• Over 50% of queries are hidden in GSC as “anonymous” per Ahrefs’ study.
  

For visibility across logged-in/logged-out users, try Ziptie.dev.

Brand Strategy in the AI Mode Era

✅ 1. Protect Your Content & IP

If you’re on Cloudflare, use their AI Labyrinth tool to shield content from LLM scraping.

✅ 2. Build Your Brand Entity

• Claim your Wikipedia, Wikidata, and Knowledge Panel listings.
  
• Use the sameAs schema markup to strengthen entity connections.
  

✅ 3. Generate Cosine-Relevant Content

• Use Qforia to generate AI-relevant query sets.
  
• Evaluate cosine relevance via MarketBrew’s visualizer or this GPT.
  

✅ 4. Align With Citation Patterns

• This study shows AI prefers fact-based product pages and deep comparisons.
  
• Ahrefs’ research found 82.5% of citations link to pages 2+ clicks deep.
  

✅ 5. Rethink Success Metrics

• Zero-click marketing is here to stay.
  
• Shift KPIs toward share of voice, topical authority, and email conversions.
  

New Toolsets for SEO Teams

AI Mode is Here to Stay

AI Mode is not a passing trend—it’s Google’s new standard. As it evolves into an agentic, multimodal, hyper-personalized experience, SEO must evolve too. Don’t just optimize for keywords. Optimize for vectors, entities, and behavioral patterns. Be the answer—because increasingly, Google won’t show anything else.