Google Expands AI Overviews Feature, While Introducing An 'AI Mode' To Its Search Engine

For years, Google has reigned as the undisputed ruler of the internet, standing tall with unshakable confidence.

Since its founding in 1998, the tech giant revolutionized online search, replacing outdated directories with an advanced algorithm that indexed the web, making information accessible with just a few keystrokes. This dominance turned Google into a powerhouse, amassing wealth and influence that overshadowed nearly every entity with an online presence.

But then came OpenAI’s ChatGPT—a seemingly small but incredibly disruptive force. It didn’t take long before Google started considering ChatGPT as a threat—a "code red" moment.

More than just a fleeting innovation, OpenAI’s rise signaled a looming existential threat to Google’s core business.

What followed was an all-out technological arms race—a battle between an unshakable tech empire and an ambitious challenger with the potential to redefine the future of the internet.

When Google responded to ChatGPT by creating its own AI it calls Gemini, OpenAI seemingly addressed the move by teasing SearchGPT, which further sent chills down Google's spine.

What followed was the inevitable: OpenAI released ChatGPT Search feature, where the chatbot can look for something up on the internet to answer users' queries, free for all users.

This was literally Google's worst nightmare come true.

Google responded to this by releasing what it calls an 'AI Mode' feature.

While Google Search has long been using AI for its various parts and features, this AI Mode is essentially a LLM-powered Google Search.

Another way of saying it, AI Mode is an AI-only version of the search engine.

This feature, initially introduced as an experimental feature in Google Search, has a goal of competing against OpenAI’s ChatGPT Search, as well as Perplexity AI.

According to Google in a blog post, with this AI Mode, "you'll be able to ask complex, multi-part questions and ask follow-ups to dig deeper."

Available directly within Google Search, the AI-powered feature uses a custom version of Gemini 2.0, which makes it helpful in answering questions that "need further exploration and comparisons thanks to advanced reasoning, thinking, and multimodal capabilities."

In an example, Google showcases who AI Mode can help users in questions like: "What’s the difference in sleep tracking features between a smart ring, smartwatch, and tracking mat?"

Responding to the query, AI Mode can give a detailed comparison of what each product offers, along with links to articles that it’s pulling the information from.

It does this by running several related searches in the background simultaneously, guessing what subtopics the asker will be interested in next, but by first presenting one cohesive answer that summarizes multiple lines of inquiry, as explained by Robby Stein, vice president of product for Google search.

Because it's powered by LLM, users can ask follow-up questions, like: "What happens to your heart rate during deep sleep?" to continue the search, for example.

Available to Google One AI Premium subscribers, this AI Mode can be accessed via Search Labs, Google's experimental arm.

After turning it on, users can access AI Mode via Google Search results pages for any search query by clicking o the tab labelled 'AI Mode.'

Google announced this as part of its AI Overviews announcements.