AI is fueling more (not fewer) searches as users ask more complex, conversational, and visual questions, says Google’s VP of Product
AI hasn’t replaced traditional search – it’s expanding it, according to Robby Stein, Google’s VP of Product for Search, speaking in a new interview on Lenny’s Podcast.
Google is seeing more searches than ever as people ask harder, more conversational, and more visual questions powered by AI, Stein said. (Search Engine Land)
Google Q3 Report: AI Mode, AI Overviews Lift Total Search Usage
Google reports that AI features are adding searches rather than replacing them, pointing to more AI-led sessions and steady traffic flowing to sites.
- Google says overall and commercial queries grew year over year, with growth faster than in Q2.
- AI Mode queries doubled in Q3, reaching 75M daily active users.
- AI Overviews’ query-growth effect was “even stronger” in Q3. (Search Engine Journal)
Google AI Mode’s Early Adoption and SEO Impact
Google’s AI Mode is live—and while it’s not yet dominant, the early behavior signals are worth watching.
Using a large, anonymized dataset from real users, we explored how users are adopting AI Mode and what that might mean for the future of search and marketing. (Semrush)
AI Mode Sees Steady Adoption in Its First Two Months
In the first two months since the rollout of AI Mode in May, the share of AI Mode usage among Google search sessions increased roughly 4× (from 0.25 % in early May to a little over 1 % by early July).
So Far, AI Mode Sends Minimal Traffic to External Domains
From our clickstream sample, we saw that, on average, 6–8 % of AI Mode sessions led to someone visiting an external domain.
That means 92–94 % of AI Mode searches were zero-click searches.
Average AI Mode Query Length vs. Traditional Google Search
One way of understanding how people use AI Mode is by query length. In our study, the average AI Mode query was almost twice the length of a traditional query (7.22 words vs. 4.0 words).
The Implication of Longer Queries
On AI Mode, the queries stretch out a little. With seven words, there’s more room for more conversational and detailed queries.
Somewhere Between Google Search and ChatGPT
AI Mode works like an AI assistant, but most users still treat it like a search engine—offering short, traditional queries instead of detailed prompts.
AI Mode Is Shaping the Future of Search—and SEO
Early AI Mode adopters are experimenting, but not yet fully committing, to long-form conversational interactions like they do with ChatGPT.
And while AI Mode does send traffic out—about 6–8 % of sessions include an external click—it’s still overwhelmingly a zero-click experience. (Semrush)
Also read: Online Casinos To Play Critical Role In Gambling Industry Growth: Report
AI is rewriting discovery and retrieval. Clarity now decides which blogs stay visible through Google volatility and AI-powered search.
For years, I told bloggers the same thing: make your content easy enough for toddlers and drunk adults to understand.
If a five-year-old can follow what you’ve written and someone paying half-attention can still find what they need on your site, you’re doing something right. (Search Engine Land)
Top ways to ensure your content performs well in Google’s AI search
People often ask how to make content that’s “what Google wants.” Our answer is that Google wants to show content that fulfills people’s needs.
Focus on making unique, non-commodity content that visitors from Search and your own readers will find helpful and satisfying. (Google for Developers)
Also read: Is Google’s AI Mode Killing Blog Traffic?
Google AI Mode: What does it mean for SEO?
Google rolled out AI Mode in the US earlier this year, and with it came a significant shake-up to the way users search for information in the world’s most popular search engine.
What is Google AI Mode?
AI Mode, initially launched as part of Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) under Search Labs, is now being integrated as a default option for some users.
Unlike AI Overviews, which overlay generative summaries within traditional SERPs, AI Mode presents a full-screen conversational interface, removing the classic ten blue links entirely.
What can the US rollout tell us about the impact?
AI Mode was introduced in the US earlier in 2025, and we already have seen substantial impact on search behaviour and results, very similar to the impact of AI Overviews when it was launched in May 2024.
1. A reduction in clicks
In the US, many publishers and businesses have reported significant drops in organic click-through rates, with some citing a 30–70 % decrease depending on the search query.
We can expect to see a continued rise in ‘zero click’ searches, since a substantial portion of Google searches now end without users clicking on any links.
2. Less importance of ‘top ranking’ pages
AI Mode does not necessarily favour the top three links on Google; it pulls information from a wide pool of sources including government sites, high-authority publishers, and frequently cited domains.
While exact source lists are not transparent, early analysis suggests it prioritises consensus-backed, frequently crawled pages with clear authorship and structured data.
3. A shift in search behaviour
Instead of typing “membership platform features,” they’re asking things like “What should I look for in a membership system for a charity?” AI Mode thrives on context-rich, nuanced prompts.
Traditional on-page keyword approaches may become less effective, and many news websites have reported significant declines in traffic as fewer people are directed to their site.
4. Fragmented reporting for the time being
AI Mode is experimental, and analytics are still catching up.
US marketers noted challenges in tracking traffic sourced via AI responses, while Google Search Console hasn’t yet surfaced AI Mode impressions or clicks (yet).
What does AI Mode mean for you?
Keeping up with the speed of Google’s changes has been a marathon for any Search Specialist. But this latest introduction means that organisations should address some key things.
First, shift your reporting expectations. It’s likely that traditional SEO metrics such as organic sessions and CTR will decline, which is a natural consequence of AI-first interfaces reducing direct traffic from SERPs.
KPI expectations should shift away from clicks, and towards AI metrics such as AI Overview SERPs.
Second, put a greater emphasis on AIO & content. AI still pulls its information from traditional search engine sources, so SEO tactics should continue to ‘get the basics of visibility’ right.
Content structure will continue to be important, if not more so. To appear in AI Mode answers, businesses must surface as trusted sources, with clear credentials.
Ultimately, businesses will need to write content that AI wants to feature: and conversational search will become more important.
Also read: Google Gambling SEO 2025: YMYL/E-E-A-T, Indexing & Compliance for US/UK iGaming
How to plan for the future of AI in Search
AI isn’t a new thing in search, but its significance continues to grow, and SEO continues to adapt.
- Conducting content audits and optimisation: Rework pivotal pages to match conversational query structures, surface key information near the top of pages, and use relevant schema.
- Ensure content hierarchy: Turn cornerstone pages into conversational guides that AI Mode can reference more easily.
- Experimental monitoring: Track presence within AI responses for high value target queries.
- Google Business Profile: For organisations with physical locations, keeping the Google Business Profile and other directories up to date means that correct and current information will be referenced in AI Mode or AI Overviews, when generated for local search terms.
- Stay ahead of emerging mechanisms: LLMs.txt is a new standard proposed by some AI and SEO experts, that allow websites to opt in or out of being crawled by LLMs.
Overall, AI Mode is now about visibility within AI-generated answers, not just rankings. (Reading Room)
Initial Thoughts on Google AI Mode
Google AI Mode is a new tab that provides AI-generated answers to queries, using a ‘query fan-out’ technique for detailed summaries.
Google explains how it generates these answers in some recently published documentation.
The critical process is what Google calls a ‘query fan-out’ technique, where many related queries are performed in the background.
The results from these related queries are collected, summarised, and integrated into the AI-generated response to provide more detail, accuracy, and usefulness.
Having played with AI Mode since its launch, I have to admit it’s pretty good. I get useful answers, often with detailed explanations that give me the information I am looking for.
It also means I have less need to click through to cited source websites.
AI Mode removes that friction. You get most of the content directly in the AI-generated answer.
You can still click to a webpage, but often it’s easier to simply ask AI Mode a more specific follow-up question.
Contrary to AI Overviews, AI Mode will provide summaries for almost any query, including news-specific queries.
Playing with AI Mode, I’ve seen some answers to news-specific queries that don’t even cite news sources, but link only to Wikipedia.
With these types of results in AI Mode, the shelf-life of news is reduced even further.
Where in search you can rely on a Top Stories news box to persist for a few days after a major news event, in AI Mode news sources can be rapidly replaced by Wikipedia links.
Google is certainly not done experimenting with AI Mode.
We haven’t seen the final product yet, and because it’s an experimental feature that most users aren’t engaged with (see below) there’s not much data on CTR.
As an educated guess, the clickthrough rate from AI Mode answers to their cited sources is expected to be at least as low, and probably lower, as the CTR from AI Overviews.
This means publishers could potentially see their traffic from Google search decline by 50 % or more.
- Google I/O 2025: Announcements, Takeaways & Impacts on SEO
Amsive - Seriously, please stop with the new acronyms. It’s still SEO: Search Everywhere Optimization.
Sparktoro - SEO still matters for AI Search engines
Ziptie - Google AI Mode’s Query Fan-Out Technique: What is it and How Does it Mean for SEO?
Aleyda Solis - How to measure topical authority [in 2025]
Growth Memo (seoforgooglenews.com)
Also read: What is GEO? The Ultimate Guide to Generative Engine Optimization vs. SEO
FAQ
What is “AI Mode” in Google Search?
AI Mode is a feature in Google Search that replaces the traditional list of blue links with a full-screen conversational interface. It breaks user queries into multiple sub-queries in the background, summarizes content from multiple sources, and delivers a unified generative AI answer.
How does AI Mode impact traffic to content websites?
AI Mode dramatically increases zero-click sessions, as approximately 92–94 % of AI Mode searches don’t lead users to click external domains. When users do click through, it is in only 6–8 % of sessions.
Does good SEO ranking still matter under AI Mode?
Yes—but not as before. Traditional ranking can help, but visibility inside AI Mode answers (“being cited by AI”) is now a critical new metric. Content must be structured, authoritative, and conversational to be chosen by AI.
Can AI-generated content rank or be cited in AI Mode?
Yes. Google does not automatically penalize AI-assisted content. What matters is whether the content is helpful, well-edited, accurate, and aligned with user intent.
How should content be optimized for AI Mode?
– Build topical authority by covering full subject clusters.
– Use clear structure, headers, lists, schema (FAQ, HowTo).
– Write in a conversational style that answers user questions directly.
– Use human editing, citations, facts, and uniqueness.
How do marketers track performance when clicks decline?
Marketers should shift from click metrics to visibility: track AI mentions, brand mentions, presence in AI-generated summaries, engagement metrics (scroll depth, time on page), and toolkits that support AI visibility analysis.
Is AI content use risky with respect to Google penalties?
It is only risky if used improperly. Mass-produced, low-quality, duplicative AI text triggers Google’s spam policies. But AI used as an assistant—refined by human editors—can align with Google’s quality guidelines.