‘AI mode’ was first announced at the annual Google I/O conference by Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai on 20th May and went live soon after in the US and is currently rolling out in the UK.
The Google CEO later confirmed in an interview that AI Mode will be incorporated into the main Google search over time.
So what is Google AI Mode?
When users activate Google AI mode (see screenshot below) they will be provided with a conversational, question-and-answer experience similar to ChatGPT instead of the traditional list of links.
How does AI Mode impact SEO and SEO Strategy?
From a tech SEO perspective, it’s business as usual and nothing has really changed here. Websites that do well will still need to have the SEO tech fundamentals in place such as being accessible to search engines, having good site architecture, doing well in Core Web Vitals and having the relevant schema mark-up etc in place so tech SEO is not going away anytime soon…
On page AI SEO
For on-page SEO in the new world of AI, targeting the right keywords and having optimised page titles and sub-heads is still a sound strategy although how the content is written and structured needs careful attention.
Content will need to be clear, structured and meaningful as AI Mode doesn’t need a full article – it looks for individual paragraphs that answer a specific question well. Ideally write a catch all piece of content such as ‘BMW IX review’ and use the sub-heads to answer specific questions such as battery range, boot space, reliability, residual value etc
So, the use of subheadings (optimised H tags) that match real questions is key here.
Other forms of content that work well for are TL;DRs, vs content, pros vs. cons tables (make sure they are HTML); Glossaries; How-to guides; FAQs, Comparisons
GenAI systems also prefer clear, direct language that matches user queries closely. Make sure you use plain language questions and direct answers and avoid jargon, metaphor and acronyms..
And It is also prudent to display author bylines, credentials, and dates as well as having author pages to back up the authoritativeness of the content i.e. has it been written by a subject matter expert?
Off page SEO
Having good third-party validation is still a vital part of SEO so making sure your site has authoritative back links and citations is going to be key for success in the new world of AI.
Click Through Rates
The big elephant in the room is the click-through rate on AI-assisted research queries is a lot lower. Comparing this year’s clicks to last year’s is an apples-to-pears comparison and a lot of publishers are concerned that users will get what they need from the AI answer rather than clicking through to a website.
Google has defended this claim saying this is not the case but it is still a great area of concern for publishers and web site owners.
Google Ads
Although Google hasn’t rolled out Google Ads at launch, there are plans to roll this out imminently and it has been reported that Google is currently pitching the new Google Ads AI proposition to Ad agencies so a live date for this could be a matter of weeks away.
Current Google vs Google AI Mode
Both will be running side-by-side and although Google has stated that AI mode will eventually replace traditional Google search, I think that will be some time before it actually happens as traditional search (including Google Ads) is the main revenue and profit generator for the business so Google won’t suddenly switch this off!
If you would like to learn more about SEO in the new world of AI, please do get in touch, we’re happy to run a free audit to see how well your website is optimised for AI and ensure you’re future proofed for the upcoming changes.
Wonderly are one of Memcom's 2025 Strategic Partners. If you are interesting in learning more about partnership opportunities for 2026, please get in touch with sylwia@memcom.org.uk to find out what options are available.
