Google just announced a dedicated AI Mode tab for Search.

Google is reshaping how we interact with its search engine through the introduction of a new, AI-driven experience called AI Mode. This feature, which blends conversational intelligence with Google’s powerful web indexing capabilities, is now officially rolling out to a select group of users in the United States. It represents a significant shift from traditional search, turning simple queries into rich, dynamic interactions powered by artificial intelligence.

What Is AI Mode?

AI Mode is a newly introduced tab within Google Search that offers a more intuitive and conversational experience. Similar to existing filters like Images, News, or Shopping, this tab is focused entirely on delivering AI-generated results instead of standard website listings. Rather than displaying a collection of blue links, AI Mode provides direct, synthesized answers that are pulled from across the web and organized using Google’s Gemini 2.0 language model.

Unlike the AI Overviews that appear above traditional results, this feature stands as a standalone mode—cutting out regular results altogether to focus solely on AI-generated insights.

Official Rollout Details

Google confirmed that AI Mode is now being gradually introduced, starting with a “small percentage” of U.S. users. These users will start to see the AI Mode tab directly in their Search interface in the coming weeks. Previously available only through Google Labs on an experimental basis, the feature is now being made more widely accessible to users who opt into Labs—no waitlist required.

Gemini 2.0 at the Core

At the heart of AI Mode lies Gemini 2.0, Google’s next-generation large language model. This advanced system powers the reasoning, multimodal understanding (text and images), and depth of analysis that makes AI Mode truly intelligent. Users can ask detailed or complex questions and receive structured, conversational responses. Gemini is also what allows the integration of visual search via Google Lens, supporting image-based queries alongside text input.

Smarter, Richer Search Experience

The AI Mode interface is designed to do the heavy lifting for users. It intelligently gathers and organizes data from a wide array of sources, presenting the information in a clear, digestible format. Key additions to this experience include:

• Conversational Follow-ups: Users can ask follow-up questions to dig deeper into a topic without starting a new search.

• Integrated Web Links: Helpful sources and references are linked directly within AI-generated responses.

• Visual Cards: For searches involving locations or products, AI Mode shows visual cards that contain practical information—like store hours, reviews, ratings, and inventory availability. These are especially useful for local queries like restaurants, salons, or retail stores.

• Shopping Enhancements: When looking up products, users can view shoppable options, complete with images, real-time pricing, shipping details, and stock levels at nearby locations.

Desktop Panel and Search History

One of the newest features being rolled out alongside AI Mode is a dedicated side panel—initially for desktop users—that displays a history of your past AI searches. This lets users revisit previous queries easily and pick up where they left off. Each saved interaction contains the original AI response, and users can seamlessly ask follow-up questions to expand on prior searches.

Ads Integration for Conversational AI

In a separate development, Google is also beginning to experiment with ads inside conversational AI environments. Through its AdSense for Search network, the company is allowing websites and AI chatbot platforms to display ads within their AI-assisted answers. Although still in the early stages, this move suggests a growing strategy to monetize AI-driven search interactions.

How to Access AI Mode

To try AI Mode, users must activate the feature via Google Labs and have Search History enabled. There are three ways to enter the experience:

1. Visit google.com/aimode

2. Type a search query and tap the “AI Mode” tab just below the search bar

3. On the Google mobile app, tap the AI Mode tab located under the search bar on the home screen

AI Mode initially launched in March as an experiment, but it has now evolved into a central part of Google’s vision for the future of search. The gradual expansion to more users in the U.S. marks the next step in this journey, with a broader rollout likely on the horizon. Google is continuously adding new tools and capabilities—such as shopping cards and history tracking—to refine the experience even further.