The Google AI Mode rollout has begun, and users are finding the option to search differently, popping up more and more in 2025. The first big changes began with the launch of AI Overviews (AIO), a new search feature that directly answers questions and links to further information at the top of results.
With Google AI Mode now in testing, there are a couple of different ways you can search for what you want. In this guide, Perfect Afternoon discusses what each new feature does and how best to use it for your benefit.
What Is Google AI Mode?
Google AI Mode launched in 2025 and promises to provide a more conversational search experience with your very own AI Agent. Functioning more like a chatbot, AI Mode completely replaces the traditional results page with a more streamlined search experience. AI mode aims to help with complex tasks that require research, planning, or comparisons.
Google wants the new search results to handle multi-layered questions in a conversational style, rather than the quick, concise summaries of factual or informational topics available through AI Overview.
What Is Google AI Overview?
Google AI Overview was the first step in Google’s push toward AI-driven search, expanding widely in 2024 and 2025. Unlike AI Mode, which replaces the entire results page, AI Overview sits at the top of the traditional search results. Its purpose is to deliver quick, factual summaries that answer your query in seconds while still linking to relevant websites for deeper exploration.
AI Overview works best for straightforward informational searches, definitions, and quick comparisons, where users want clarity without the back-and-forth conversation. Rather than guiding you through a process like AI Mode, it aims to cut down the time it takes to get to an answer and show multiple trusted sources at a glance.
Google AI Mode vs Google Overview – What’s The Difference?
The main difference is how each feature delivers results. AI Overview enhances the traditional search page by placing a short, AI-generated summary at the top, followed by the usual links and sources. It’s designed for quick answers and easy browsing, helping you confirm details or scan multiple perspectives in seconds.
It also provides the sources needed to complete your request if you have been looking for services or products as part of your search.
Google’s AI Mode replaces the search page entirely with a conversational AI agent that guides you through complex or layered questions. While this is meant for research, planning, or decision-making tasks, the search giant may add additional features.
As Google shared during the launch of AI Mode, “Type, talk, snap a photo, or upload an image. AI Mode uses advanced multimodal capabilities to deeply understand your question, no matter how you ask it.”
Will Google AI Mode Replace Traditional Search?
Some of these AI experiments will eventually bear fruit. AI research and support are expensive; with Google running several trials, including AI Mode, AIO, and Gemini, we expect to see a combination of features in the future.
Is there any point in AI Mode alone, or will Google need to change its traditional settings to start seeing more engagement? Do AI Overviews make sense for covering more search results, or should they be scaled back for exceptional cases?
Google must balance how it sees search expanding, how to best cater to users, and how to provide the ad revenue required to support the whole enterprise.
Preparing For New Search Experiences
Whether you need quick answers or a deeper, conversational approach, Google’s new features can change your search. Perfect Afternoon can help you adapt your digital strategy to stay visible in AI Overview and AI Mode. Contact us today to learn how.
