Google is transforming the search experience with its latest generative AI technologies: AI Overviews and AI Mode. These innovations mark a significant evolution in how people find and interact with information online, enhancing both the efficiency and depth of Search.
What Is AI Overviews?
AI Overviews is a generative AI feature integrated into Google Search that summarizes key information from multiple sources directly in search results. Designed for complex and exploratory queries, it gives users a concise answer with links to dig deeper into authoritative content.
More than 1.5 billion users have interacted with AI Overviews, with especially high engagement among users aged 18–24. Google has found that people using this feature are more satisfied with their search experience and tend to explore a broader range of websites.
Key Features:
- Summarizes information across trusted sources
- Links to high-quality content for further reading
- Appears only when it adds significant value
- Reduces the need for multiple search queries
How AI Overviews Ensure Quality
Google’s emphasis on quality and safety is built into AI Overviews through:
- Search ranking systems that prioritize reliable content
- Human and adversarial testing, including red-teaming
- Higher scrutiny for YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) queries
- Spam protections via tools like SpamBrain
- Sensitive topic filtering, preventing AI Overviews from appearing for inappropriate or harmful queries.
Introducing AI Mode: Deeper Exploration Through Generative AI
AI Mode is a new, opt-in search tab designed for users who want to go even deeper. Building on AI Overviews, AI Mode offers advanced reasoning, multimodal input (text, voice, image), and the ability to ask follow-up questions.
Early testing revealed that queries in AI Mode are twice as long as traditional searches. It shines in use cases like:
- Comparing products
- Learning complex concepts
- Planning trips or events
- Asking “how-to” or multi-part questions.
How It Works:
- Uses a custom Gemini model for advanced understanding
- Applies a query fan-out method to explore multiple subtopics simultaneously
- Integrates real-time web data, the Google Knowledge Graph, and shopping insights
- Supports context continuity across follow-up questions
Quality and Safety in AI Mode
AI Mode is backed by the same robust protections as AI Overviews, plus additional advancements:
- Agentic reinforcement learning to minimize hallucinations
- Custom model training to improve factual accuracy
- Built-in safeguards against explicit, unsafe, or misleading responses
- Improved understanding of satire, humor, and sensitive topics
- Visual enhancements and contextual linking to drive actionable next steps (e.g., booking tickets).
Known Limitations of AI Mode
While powerful, AI Mode isn’t perfect. Some limitations include:
- Occasional hallucinations or misinterpretations
- Challenges with math and complex logic
- Context issues with follow-up queries
- Potential for false equivalence or seemingly biased responses
- Risk of producing inconsistent outputs for similarly phrased queries
Google is transparent about these risks and continues to refine AI Mode through user feedback and testing.
Accessing AI Mode
You can try AI Mode through:
- The Search tab after entering a query
- Directly at google.com/aimode
- In the Google app by tapping the magnifying glass icon.
Final Thoughts: The Future of Search
AI Overviews and AI Mode are reshaping how we interact with information, offering more intuitive, personalized, and comprehensive search experiences. Google’s approach emphasizes quality, safety, and user control, ensuring that these tools enhance — rather than replace — the open web.
These updates signal not just a smarter search engine, but a more capable digital assistant. As Google continues to innovate, the boundary between search and conversation becomes increasingly seamless — paving the way for the future of information discovery.