Google's AI Mode provides a chatbot-like, conversational experience right within Search. It uses the Gemini model to handle complex queries, provide tailored answers, and transform the way we find information online. It is currently available in India.
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A minor yet significant update has been made to your Google Search bar. Google AI Mode was first introduced at Google I/O 2025 and is currently officially available in India through Search Labs on the Google app for iOS and Android smartphones. Google's first major international rollout of the product occurred in June 2025 when the feature, which was previously exclusive to US users, was made available to Indian users.
AI Mode represents a dramatic change in how users interact with Search and was introduced on July 1st with a distinctive animation on the Google homepage. Unlike traditional keyword-based results, this new mode offers a conversational and AI-powered interface based on a modified version of Google's Gemini model. Users may now ask complex, multi-layered questions and receive comprehensive, cited responses.
“AI Mode is where we will first bring our frontier capabilities into Search,” said Sundar Pichai during the I/O 2025 keynote.
What's inside AI Mode?
AI Mode can be accessed through the Google app's Search Labs section and shows up as an optional tab in Search. The results interface becomes a more dynamic, back-and-forth exchange once it is enabled. It divides user input into several intent layers using a method known as "query fan-out," which enables the AI to process and produce more thorough results.
For instance, when you ask AI Mode, "What does People Matters recommend as the best AI tool?" it not only comprehends the question but also provides natural language answers along with citations to the relevant sources.
One of Google's most multi-modal search features to date, AI Mode on mobile allows voice, text, and image-based queries.
Key features and what it offers
In India, some of the features that are being introduced or anticipated soon include:
Deep Search: Generates cited, comprehensive responses to complex queries using sophisticated reasoning.
Shopping tools: Enables users to try on clothes and compare products virtually.
Data visualisation: The AI can produce charts and graphs in real time for searches pertaining to sports, finance, or the weather.
App integration: With consent, AI Mode can customize results by utilizing data from Calendar or Gmail, for example, by recommending eateries close to a forthcoming meeting. You have the option to disable this.
Why is it needed today?
AI Mode builds on AI Overviews, which was initially published in 2024 and offered generative summaries in traditional search. However, by creating a dedicated space for complex and exploratory queries that mimic human speech, this new feature goes one step further.
"This is the future of Google Search—a search that goes beyond information to intelligence," said Elizabeth Reid, vice president and head of search at Google.
She confirmed that Google Search as a whole will eventually incorporate many of AI Mode's features.
Is it for everybody?
AI Mode is most effective for complicated, research-intensive queries, according to Eugene Levin, president of the SEO platform Semrush. "I think there will be a surprisingly low percentage of people who voluntarily want to use AI Mode for everything," he told CNET.
His viewpoint reflects a growing trend: users may choose chat-based search for exploratory tasks while sticking with classic search for simple fact-based queries.
With AI Mode, Google is extending the capabilities of search engines. Finding pages is no longer as important as delivering context, logic, and dialogue. Whether AI Mode turns into the search engine of the future or just another tool in the toolbox depends on how users engage with this evolving interface. But one thing is for sure: search will never be the same.
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