Google AI Mode: what it means for your SEO and paid search
Key Takeaways
- AI Mode moves search from links to answers. Google now splits complex questions into many sub-searches (“query fan-out”), combines the results into one conversational answer and cites its sources. It launched in Australia in October 2025, so this is already changing how your customers search.
- SEO still matters, but the goal is to be cited. Brands that show up in AI answers show real expertise (E-E-A-T), cover whole topics rather than single keywords, answer questions directly and use clean structure and schema markup. Technical SEO is still the base for all of it.
- Paid search is being rebuilt around AI. Your existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns can already show ads in AI Mode, and Google keeps adding AI-specific ad formats. Plan for fewer clicks from informational searches, and make sure your campaigns, product feeds and landing pages are ready for AI-led placements.
We are entering a new frontier. For more than two decades, Google has held an unchallenged monopoly over search. The public launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 saw 1 million users in just 5 days and recently hit 900 million weekly active users in February 2026, making it one of the fastest-growing consumer applications in history. ChatGPT ignited the AI “space race,” and since then, we have seen the launches of Perplexity, Microsoft CoPilot, Meta AI, Grok and Google’s own Gemini.
User behaviour is rapidly changing, with conversational AI platforms like ChatGPT quickly becoming a default for information retrieval. This rapid shift has arguably prompted Google to accelerate its own advancements.
With AI Mode, Google signals its intent to move beyond traditional “blue links” and toward surfacing direct, synthesised answers delivered conversationally.
With years of investment into paid search and SEO to drive ranking, qualified traffic, and results, this announcement has understandably sent many marketers and agencies into a tailspin.
We have broken down AI Mode below, what it is, what it means for users, importantly what it means for paid search and SEO and how brands should prepare.
What is “AI Mode” for Search?
At its core, AI Mode represents a fundamental shift in the search experience for users. Instead of Google returning a list of blue links from a search query, the system aims to deliver immediate, concise, and often conversational answers directly on the search results page.
Here’s a simplified look at how this advanced search function works:
Understanding Your Intent (Beyond Keywords): When you type or speak a query, AI Mode employs advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP). It doesn’t just look for exact keywords, it seeks to understand the meaning and intent behind your words, recognising nuances, synonyms, and even implied meanings, much like a human would.
The “Query Fan-Out” (Behind-the-Scenes Research): For complex questions, AI Mode doesn’t just run one search. It internally “fans out” your single, intricate query into multiple related sub-queries. For example, asking “Plan a 3-day trip to Melbourne for a family with young kids, including attractions and food” might trigger internal searches for “family-friendly attractions Melbourne,” “restaurants in Melbourne with kids,” and more.
Information Gathering and Synthesis: Powerful Large Language Models (LLMs), like Google’s Gemini, are at the core. These models are trained on vast datasets, allowing them to rapidly sift through the results from those sub-queries. They identify relevant information from high-quality, authoritative sources across the web, prioritising content that directly answers your question. While not fool proof, the AI aims to cross-reference information to improve accuracy.
Generating a Cohesive Answer: The LLM then synthesises all this gathered information into a coherent, conversational summary or answer. This could be a direct overview, bullet points, comparisons, or even images. The goal is to provide the “gist” of the information you need, saving you the effort of clicking through multiple pages.
Attribution and Follow-up: Crucially, AI Mode still provides source links to the web pages used to generate the answer. This is vital for transparency, verification, and providing visibility to original content creators. Furthermore, AI Mode allows for conversational turn-taking, enabling you to ask follow-up questions, with the AI remembering the context of your previous interactions.
What Does This Mean for Users?
For the average user, AI Mode promises a more efficient and insightful search experience. It means:
Faster Information Retrieval: Users get concise answers instantly without having to click through to multiple sites.
More Comprehensive Answers: AI Mode can synthesise information from countless sources to provide a more complete and nuanced picture than any single web page or piece of content.
Tailored & Deeper Results: Over time, AI Mode will offer more tailored results based on your preferences, past searches, and how you interact with information (with appropriate privacy considerations). They also have the potential to surface content in the answer you wouldn’t have found through traditional keyword searches.
What Does This Mean For Paid Ads?
For brands and businesses that rely on paid ads, the emergence of AI Mode has understandably created concern. The good news is that Google has stated that paid ads will be integrated into the new AI Mode experience.
Paid Ads can appear directly above or below the AI-generated summary. We have already seen this with AI Overviews. However, for more complex, conversational queries in “AI Mode,” Google is testing and rolling out ads that are contextually integrated within the AI’s multi-step response. For example, if a user asks “how to build a website for a small business with limited resources,” the AI might provide a step-by-step guide and then, where relevant, show an ad for a website builder directly within the flow of the answer.
Currently, Search ads (text-based) and Shopping ads (product listings with images and prices) are eligible. These ads come from existing Search, Shopping, and Performance Max campaigns. Google is encouraging advertisers to leverage their AI-powered solutions like broad match and Performance Max to ensure eligibility, as the AI’s understanding of user intent goes beyond exact keywords.
Google emphasises that ads displayed in AI Mode are highly relevant to the user’s query and the content of the AI-generated response. The AI aims to match ads to the user’s nuanced intent, even detecting commercial intent in queries that aren’t explicitly transactional.
All ads appearing within or alongside AI Mode responses are clearly labeled as “Sponsored” to maintain transparency.
These new placements offer high visibility for brands, appearing directly in the prominent AI-generated section of the search results, often “above the fold.” This means brands can connect with users earlier in their discovery and journey to purchase.
Advertisers already running Performance Max, Shopping, and Search campaigns (especially with broad match) will generally automatically be eligible for these new placements, provided their ads win the auction and are relevant. Advertisers currently cannot opt out of showing ads in AI Mode/AI Overviews or see specific performance metrics broken out for these placements compared to other slots.
In essence, Google is working to ensure its monetisation strategy evolves with the search experience, aiming for seamless and helpful ad integrations that align with the user’s journey through AI-powered information discovery.
What Does This Mean for SEO?
The shift to AI Mode fundamentally changes how SEO professionals need to approach their strategies. It’s not the “death of SEO,” but rather a significant evolution.
There are many unknowns regarding the ultimate long-term impact and precise optimisation strategies for AI Mode. While best practices are rapidly emerging, how SEO will work in the future is far from fully understood.
What we do know is the probabilistic nature of ChatGPT and AI Mode means that SEO strategies must evolve beyond simply targeting keywords or optimising for a single, predictable ranking. Instead, brands need to focus on building holistic authority and providing the most reliable, comprehensive, and well-structured information possible.
Here are some practical tips for preparing for probabilistic search;
Prioritise E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness): Demonstrating genuine E-E-A-T through your content, authors, and overall site presence is critical.. This means showcasing real-world experience, deep subject matter expertise, and building trust signals (e.g. citations, accurate facts, transparent authorship).
Focus on Topical Authority over Keyword Density: Instead of just optimising for individual keywords, create comprehensive content clusters around entire topics. This helps AI understand your expertise across a broader domain, making it more likely to pull information from your site for various related queries.
Provide Direct, Clear, and Concise Answers: AI Overviews aim to answer questions directly within the SERP. Structure your content to immediately answer common user queries (e.g. in the first few paragraphs, in dedicated FAQ sections, or using clear headings) Use simple, natural language that is easy for both humans and AI to parse.
Structure Content for AI Consumption:
- Logical Headings (H1-H6): Use clear, descriptive headings that outline the content’s structure.
- Bullet Points and Numbered Lists: These formats are easily digestible and often directly incorporated into AI summaries.
- Concise Paragraphs: Break down dense text into shorter, focused paragraphs.
- Schema Markup: Implement relevant structured data (e.g., Article, FAQ, How To, Product) to provide explicit context to AI algorithms about your content.
Emphasise Factual Accuracy and Citations: As AI synthesises information, it relies on verifiable facts. Ensure your content is accurate, supported by data, and cites reputable sources. AI models are more likely to reference content that demonstrates a commitment to truthfulness.
Anticipate Conversational and Long-Tail Queries: Think beyond traditional keywords to how users might ask questions in natural, conversational language. Optimise for these longer, more specific queries, as they are common triggers for AI.
Diversify Content Formats: While text is primary, AI Overviews can incorporate multimodal elements. Consider using images, videos, and infographics, and ensure their accessibility and optimisation.
Monitor AI Overview Performance: Regularly check how your content appears (or doesn’t appear) in AI Overviews for your target queries. Analyse what content is being cited and how it’s being summarised to refine your strategy.
In essence, AI’s probabilistic nature demands that brands provide content that is unquestionably authoritative, highly relevant, impeccably structured, and factually robust, increasing the probability that it will be chosen and utilised as a reliable source for AI-generated responses.
With AI Mode, we anticipate an acceleration of Zero-Click searches. As the AI aims to provide direct, synthesised answers right on the search results page, users may get the information they need without ever clicking through to a website. This will likely lead to a reduction in direct organic traffic for many informational queries, requiring brands to adjust their expectations regarding traditional click-through rates. We have already seen evidence of client site traffic drops that correlate with the launch of AI overviews, particularly around informational searches.
Finally, good technical SEO remains fundamental. Site speed, mobile-friendliness, crawlability, indexability, and the proper use of structured data are all essential. AI needs to easily access and understand your content to feature it, and structured data provides explicit signals to AI about your content’s meaning and context.
AI Mode is not going to entirely replace traditional search. Instead, we are moving towards a hybrid model where both co-exist, helping Google hold on to their significant ad revenue whilst transitioning users to the new search experience.
How Can Brands Prepare?
Whilst this change presents a significant risk for brands who remain static, at Lamington we believe it presents a golden opportunity for those forward thinking brands who are willing to invest now to grow share.
Refocusing effort and investment on SEO will be critical in preparing for the new search experience. Ensuring your SEO efforts are focused around the above elements, will set you up for success in this new era.
Frequently Asked Questions
AI Overviews are the short AI summaries that appear at the top of standard Google results. AI Mode is a separate, fully conversational search experience. It handles longer and more complex questions, breaks them into many sub-searches, and lets people ask follow-ups while keeping the context. Think of AI Overviews as a summary added to search, and AI Mode as a different way to search altogether.
Not entirely, but expect fewer clicks, especially on informational searches where people get their answer without visiting a site. We’ve already seen client traffic drops that line up with AI Overviews launching. The visitors who do click through tend to be further along in their decision and convert better. Measure success by visibility and citations in AI answers, and by lead and revenue quality, not just sessions.
Yes. Ads from existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns can appear in AI Mode, clearly labelled as sponsored, and Google is testing new AI-native formats such as conversational ads and chat-based lead agents. Broad match, AI Max and Performance Max are the main ways in. Check with your Google rep or agency which formats are live in Australia now, because rollouts differ by market.