For decades, Google stood at the pinnacle of the internet, dominating the digital world with confidence.
Since its founding in 1998, the company transformed how people accessed information, replacing old-school web directories with powerful algorithms that made search fast, accurate, and indispensable. This innovation helped Google grow into one of the most influential and wealthy tech giants in history.
That dominance, however, was challenged with the arrival of OpenAI’s ChatGPT—a conversational AI that reimagined how users interact with information.
While it started as a curiosity, its potential quickly became clear. Google reportedly declared a "code red", viewing ChatGPT not just as a competitor, but as a direct threat to its core search business.
What began as an innovation soon escalated into a full-scale tech rivalry. The rise of generative AI sparked a race between Google and OpenAI—between an entrenched digital empire and a bold newcomer poised to reshape the future of how people worldwide seek, use, and understand information online.
And here, AI Mode is Google's main weapon, which marks its ambition to remain the de facto leader in the search engine industry.
Read more about our latest updates to Search here ↓ https://t.co/Zz7mBXjqJ5
— Google (@Google) May 1, 2025
In a blog post, Google said that:
AI Mode is essentially a conversational AI assistant backed directly into Google Search. The AI leverages the company’s massive search index to generate richer, more contextual responses.
According to Google, AI Mode offers enhanced responses that include local images, reviews, ratings, store hours, and real-time pricing. It also features memory capabilities, allowing users to return to and continue previous interactions.
For example, someone searching for the best folding camping chairs under $100 could receive a detailed list complete with purchase links, likely sourced from user-generated reviews and expert sites.
For the new feature, users on desktop that accesses AI Mode, can see a left-side tab that let them start new queries or see history in order to jump back in to previous research.
Google is also introducing rich product and place cards, giving users easy-to-read images, ratings and reviews, store hours for businesses, real-time pricing, etc.
Users can even find a map if there are multiple listings, which can show up when they searched for places.
And now, Google is expanding the reach of its experimental AI Mode in Search, the company announced.
The rollout will start with a “small percentage” of users who will begin to see an AI Mode tab when using Search. However, those eager to try it right away can access the feature through Google Labs—no waitlist required.
AI Mode represents a deeper fusion between Google's core search product and its Gemini-powered AI assistant.
As rivals like Perplexity present themselves as AI-first search engines, Google’s advantage lies in its unparalleled search index and dominant market share—about 90%. Despite being threatened by the likes of others who indirectly (and directly) wish to eat away some of Google's massive pie, this AI Mode shows how Google is still a powerhouse with enough resources to remain relevant.
Not only that Google has the capacity to remain undisputed, the company also has an iron fist to control the web in general.
The popularity of Google Search, now enhanced with AI Mode, can create a shift that could have significant implications for web publishers.
Traditionally, traffic to websites has been driven by Google’s blue links. But if AI Mode provides users with complete answers, reducing the need to click through to source websites, it could impact the revenue models that many content creators and publishers depend on.
Not to mention that AI Mode also opens a business opportunity for Google to improve its monetization strategy.