Google Unveils AI Mode in Search, Taking on ChatGPT and Perplexity AI

Sophia Steele

Sophia Steele

March 05, 2025 · 5 min read
Google Unveils AI Mode in Search, Taking on ChatGPT and Perplexity AI

Google has announced the launch of a new "AI Mode" experimental feature in Search, designed to enable users to ask complex, multi-part questions and follow-ups to delve deeper into a topic directly within Google Search. This move marks a significant step forward in the tech giant's efforts to take on popular services like Perplexity AI and OpenAI's ChatGPT Search.

The AI Mode feature is initially being rolled out to Google One AI Premium subscribers starting this week and is accessible via Search Labs, Google's experimental arm. This new mode utilizes a custom version of Gemini 2.0 and is particularly helpful for questions that require further exploration and comparisons, thanks to its advanced reasoning, thinking, and multimodal capabilities.

For instance, users can ask questions like "What's the difference in sleep tracking features between a smart ring, smartwatch, and tracking mat?" and AI Mode will provide a detailed comparison of what each product offers, along with links to articles that it's pulling the information from. Users can then ask follow-up questions, such as "What happens to your heart rate during deep sleep?" to continue their search.

Google notes that in the past, it would have taken multiple queries to compare detailed options or explore a new concept through traditional searches. With AI Mode, users can access web content but also tap into real-time sources like the Knowledge Graph, information about the real world, and shopping data for billions of products.

Robby Stein, VP of Product at Google Search, shared in an interview that users are asking questions that are about twice the query length of traditional search, and they're also following up and asking follow-up questions about a quarter of the time. "And so they're really getting at these maybe harder questions, ones that need more back and forth, and we think, it creates an expanded opportunity to do more with Google search, and that's what we're really excited about."

Stein also noted that as Google has rolled out AI Overviews, a feature that displays a snapshot of information at the top of the results page, it has heard that users want a way to get these sorts of AI-powered answers for even more of their searches, which is why the company is introducing AI Mode.

AI Mode works by using a "query fan-out" technique that issues multiple related searches concurrently across multiple data sources to then bring those results together in an easy-to-understand response. The model has learned to prioritize factuality and backing up what it says through information that can be verified, and that's really important, especially in sensitive areas like health.

Since this is an early experiment, Google notes that it will continue to refine the user experience and expand functionality. For instance, the company plans to make the experience more visual and also surface information from a range of different sources, such as user-generated content. Google is teaching the model to determine when to add a hyperlink in a response (e.g., booking tickets) or when to prioritize image or video (e.g., how-to queries).

Google One AI Premium subscribers can access AI Mode by opting into Search Labs and then entering a question in the Search bar and tapping the "AI Mode" tab. Or, they can navigate directly to google.com/aimode to access the feature. On mobile, they can open the Google app and tap the "AI Mode" icon below the Search bar on the home screen.

In addition to the launch of AI Mode, Google also shared that it's launched Gemini 2.0 for AI Overviews in the U.S. The company says AI Overviews will now be able to help with harder questions, starting with coding, advanced math, and multimodal queries. Plus, Google announced that users no longer need to sign in to access AI Overviews, and the feature is now being rolled out to teen users as well.

This move by Google marks a significant step forward in the development of AI-powered search capabilities, and it will be interesting to see how users respond to this new feature. With AI Mode, Google is taking a bold step towards creating a more conversational and intuitive search experience, and it's likely that this will have a significant impact on the search landscape in the months to come.

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