AI search & GEO
Google AI Mode: What It Is, How to Use It (or Turn It Off) and What It Means for Your Site
Both sides of AI Mode: how to use it (or dodge it) and what your business needs to do to get cited, with Google's official dates and a real test with ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini.
Google AI Mode is the tab in Google Search that answers with an AI-written response, links to its sources and lets you keep asking follow-ups like a chat. It's free, it lives at google.com/ai, and you can't fully delete it, but you can keep it out of your way.
Plenty of people want both. In the US, “google ai mode” gets about 368,000 searches a month and “turn off ai mode google” another 4,400 (DataForSEO, October 2026). Google says AI Mode passed one billion monthly users in May 2026.
We read Google's help pages and its docs for site owners, and asked ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini the same questions. Here's how to use it or switch it off, and what it means for your site, which is what AI search and GEO is all about.
On this page
What is Google AI Mode (and what it isn't)
It's search as a conversation: you ask in your own words, and Google replies with its own answer and links to the pages it used.
Google AI Mode is Google's most advanced AI search experience. It breaks your question into subtopics and runs many searches at once, which Google calls “query fan-out.” Then it writes one answer, links the pages it consulted and lets you ask follow-up questions.
So the short answer to what is AI Mode: Google Search, rebuilt as a chat with sources. It runs on Gemini (Gemini 3.5 Flash by default since May 2026) and takes text, voice, photos and files.
What it isn't: it's not the summary that sometimes appears on its own above regular results, which is an AI Overview. It's not the Gemini app either. It's a separate tab you choose to open.
When did Google AI Mode come out, and where does it work?
Google AI Mode came out in the US on May 20, 2025, and today it works in more than 200 countries and territories.
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| March 5, 2025 | Launches as a Search Labs experiment in the US |
| May 20, 2025 | Opens to everyone in the US |
| August 2025 | Rolls out in English to 180+ more countries |
| September 2025 | Adds Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and four more languages |
| October 7, 2025 | 40+ more countries; 200+ in total |
| May 19, 2026 | Passes one billion monthly users |
| August 31, 2026 | Search Console starts reporting it for every site |
The search data tells the same story from the other side: searches for “turn off ai mode google” peaked at 8,100 in October 2025 and still run around 4,400 a month (Ubersuggest).
How to turn on AI Mode in Google Search
There's nothing to turn on in settings: AI Mode shows up as a button in Google Search and opens with one click or tap.
Google lists three official ways in: go to google.com/ai, type a question on google.com and click AI Mode, or tap AI Mode on the home screen of the Google app on Android or iPhone.
How to enable AI Mode in Google Chrome
On desktop Chrome, click the AI Mode button on the right side of the address bar or the New Tab search box, or press Tab and then Enter. Google notes that AI Mode in Chrome isn't on every device yet.
Why is AI Mode not showing in Google Search?
It's usually the account or the app version. Try google.com/ai while signed in to a personal account, with the app updated: on work, school or Family Link accounts, an admin or parent controls some features. Google also keeps redesigning its search box, so the button can move.
How to use Google AI Mode step by step
To get good answers, ask with context, check the sources it links and use follow-up questions in the same conversation.
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Open AI Mode
Go to google.com/ai, click AI Mode after a search or tap the button in the Google app.
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Decide whether to keep history
Signed in with history on, you can pick up past conversations. Without it, AI Mode still works.
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Ask with full context
“Dinner in Chicago for 8 on Saturday night, under $40 a head, with a patio” beats “restaurants Chicago” every time.
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Add voice, a photo or a file
A photo of a label or the PDF of a quote saves you half the explanation.
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Open the sources before you trust it
Every answer links its pages. Open at least two when money, health or legal stuff is involved.
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Keep asking
Ask for a table, a three-line summary or more detail on one point. It remembers the conversation.
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Rate it and clean up your history
Use thumbs up or down, then delete anything you don't want saved.
I need [what you're looking for] in [your city] for [when]. My budget is $[amount] and it must [requirement]. Compare the top 5 options in a table with price, rating, main advantage and the website each fact comes from.
Google AI Pro and Ultra: what you pay for in AI Mode
Using AI Mode costs nothing. Paying means moving up a tier, and it helps to know what you're buying before you reach for the card. Here is what changes, according to Google's help page and its plans page.
| What you want | Free | With Google AI Pro or Ultra |
|---|---|---|
| Ask questions in AI Mode | Yes, with the default models | Same |
| A more advanced Gemini model | No | Yes, with daily limits, for ages 18 and up on a personal account |
| Deep Search, long reports built from many searches | No | Google lists it for subscribers in the US |
A pro move: don't pay just to improve your site in AI Mode. Getting cited has no VIP lane, because Google says there are no extra requirements. Consider it if your work involves long questions, like comparisons or market research, and the free models fall short.
Try a week without paying and count how often you hit the wall. Prices vary by country, so check Google's plans page before you subscribe.
How to turn off Google AI Mode (and what you can't turn off)
There's no official switch to delete Google AI Mode, but you can ignore it, hide its button in Chrome and search without AI.
| What you want | How | Official? |
|---|---|---|
| Search like before | Don't click AI Mode | Yes |
| Hide the button in Chrome's address bar | Right-click the address bar, uncheck “Always show AI Mode” | Yes |
| Links only, no AI | The Web filter under the search box | Yes |
| Web filter by default | A custom Chrome search engine ending in &udm=14 | No, Google can change it |
| Leave the Search Labs experiment | Search Labs, Manage, toggle off AI Mode | Yes, if you joined there |
How do I remove AI Mode from Google Search?
You can't remove it from Google Search for good. What you can't switch off either is AI Overviews: Google treats them as a core part of Search, and its official way around them is the Web filter.
AI Overviews vs AI Mode: what's different and what it means for SEO
They look alike, but they're not the same. Both can use query fan-out and link out to sites, and Google asks for no extra requirements for either. What changes is the moment, the format and the links.
| Aspect | AI Overviews | AI Mode |
|---|---|---|
| How it opens | Appears on its own above the results, when Google thinks it adds value | You open it: button, tab or google.com/ai |
| What it's for | A quick overview of a complex topic | Exploring, comparing and nuanced questions |
| Conversation | Not by itself: a follow-up question moves you into AI Mode | Yes, with follow-up questions |
| Where you measure it | Performance in Search Console, with clicks under Web | Same |
Two takeaways for your business. First, the two features can use different models, so their links can differ and you can show up in one but not the other. Check both in the Generative AI report. Second, nosnippet, data-nosnippet and max-snippet limit what Google shows from your pages, and noindex takes you out entirely.
Google also says clicks from AI Overviews are higher quality because people spend more time on the site. Test that against your own data before you believe it.
How to rank in Google AI Mode and get your site cited
The rules didn't change, the click path did: to get cited, your page has to be indexed and be the best answer to each subquestion.
Google says there are no extra requirements or special optimizations for AI Mode: the page just has to be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet, even if you just built a website with AI. Its guide to generative AI features in Search, updated July 10, 2026, says it's still SEO.
The lever is query fan-out. Ask “best dental implants in Austin with financing” and AI Mode looks up prices, financing, reviews and location separately. The page that answers those subquestions wins, and they're pure long-tail keywords.
| Do this | Don't waste time on this |
|---|---|
| Stay indexed with a visible snippet | An “AI Mode schema,” which doesn't exist |
| Answer the subquestions on one page | An llms.txt file, which Google Search ignores |
| Add firsthand experience, data and dates | Chopping text into tiny chunks |
| Keep Business Profile and Merchant Center current | Buying mentions |
For the full picture of what changes and what doesn't, read GEO vs SEO.
How do you track AI Mode in Search Console?
With the Generative AI performance report, open to every site since August 31, 2026. It shows how often links to your site appeared in AI Overviews and AI Mode, by page, country and device. Clicks stay in the regular Performance report under Web.
Can you keep AI Mode from using your site?
Yes. In Search Console settings, the Search generative AI control lets you exclude your site from AI Overviews, AI Mode and the AI features in Discover. You'll lose that traffic, but it doesn't affect the rest of your rankings or AI training, and it kicks in within a day or two.
I'm a customer in [city] looking for [service]. Which [type of business] would you recommend and why? Compare them in a table with typical price, ratings and the website you got each fact from.
Run this prompt in AI Mode for your five most important services and write down who gets cited. If it isn't you, open the page that is and see which subquestions it answers that yours doesn't.
When AI Mode links to you, your title and description decide whether people pick you. Test them first in our SERP simulator.
Frequently asked questions about Google AI Mode
Is Google AI Mode free?
Yes. Using AI Mode costs nothing: all you need is Google Search or the Google app. The only paid part is picking the most advanced model from the menu in the Ask anything bar, which Google reserves for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers 18 and older, with daily limits that can change. For finding a dentist, comparing laptops or decoding a medical bill, the default models are more than enough.
Is Google AI Mode the same as Gemini?
No, but they share a brain. Gemini is Google's family of AI models and also its standalone assistant, with its own app and website, built for writing, summarizing, coding and making images. AI Mode runs on Gemini inside Google Search and is built for searching: it pulls from Google's index, the Knowledge Graph and shopping data, and links the pages it used. Rule of thumb: research the web in AI Mode, get things written in Gemini.
What model does Google AI Mode use?
Gemini. According to Google, Gemini 3.5 Flash became the default model in AI Mode for everyone on May 19, 2026. In the model menu you'll usually see Auto or Fast for everyday questions, and Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers 18 and older can switch to a more advanced Gemini model, with daily limits. Google swaps models often, so check that menu to see what you're running today.
Where is my Google AI Mode history?
Inside AI Mode itself, in its history panel, and on the Search history page in My Activity in your Google Account. From there you can delete single searches or all of them, and Google says deleted items disappear within 24 hours. One detail almost nobody mentions: a search that started in an AI Overview and continued in AI Mode shows up as two entries, so you need to delete both.
What happened to AI Mode on Google?
Nothing permanent: as of October 2026, AI Mode is live in the US and more than 200 countries and territories. If the button vanished, it's usually one of three things. Google keeps testing its search box (it rolled out a new one on May 19, 2026), your work, school or Family Link account limits some features, or your app needs an update. Go straight to google.com/ai: if it loads, AI Mode is still there and only the shortcut moved.
How is Google AI Mode different from ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is OpenAI's standalone assistant: it can search the web, but it's built to chat, write and code, and its top models sit behind paid plans. Google AI Mode lives inside Google Search, so every answer is grounded in Google's index, Knowledge Graph and shopping data, it links the pages it used, and it's free. Use AI Mode to research the web with sources, and ChatGPT when you want something written or built from scratch.