At Google I/O 2025, the tech giant introduced “AI Mode” for its search engine—a transformative leap towards a more intuitive, conversational online search experience. Built on Google’s Gemini AI framework, AI Mode shifts the traditional search process from a list of blue links to rich, contextual, and synthesized answers.
Unlike previous search upgrades, this feature allows users to engage in follow-up questions, explore deeper nuances, and even generate content, such as itineraries, recipes, or email drafts. It's like chatting with a super-intelligent assistant rather than typing keywords into a box.
AI Mode is designed to provide “snapshots”—concise summaries that blend multiple sources. While these innovations are exciting, they raise significant implications for publishers and SEO strategies. With users getting answers directly from AI, traffic to original content sources could decline unless new partnerships or models are introduced.
Critics argue this may centralise too much control in Google’s ecosystem, especially if search no longer drives clicks to other websites. Yet, it also opens opportunities: marketers can optimise content for AI summarisation, and developers can build plugins to work within this new search paradigm.
In sum, AI Mode signals a future where search becomes a true conversation. It’s early days, but Google is positioning itself to remain at the heart of how we interact with information online—faster, smarter, and more personalised than ever before.