Hey there,

Ever needed a detailed explanation that pulls reliable information from numerous sources but found the process grueling? Well I’ve got great news for you, Google’s AI Mode might just be the tool you’ve been looking for. While this year’s Google I/O showcase was full of interesting new products, the tool that personally grabbed my attention was a powerful new way to find answers online. AI Mode is designed to sift through countless sources in seconds and craft a single, easy-to-understand answer, finally tackling that frustrating research process head-on.

What Exactly is AI Mode?

At its core, AI Mode is a new search experience powered by Google’s latest Gemini models. 

It combines the efficiency of classic Google Search with the power of Gemini. Now you can get a more detailed and thorough explanation to your questions without needing to leave the search engine. 

Unlike traditional chatbot experiences like ChatGPT or Gemini, AI Mode shares an answer that is drawn from reliable internet sources. AI Mode does this by running multiple simultaneous searches and combines the information into one comprehensive answer that links to sources throughout. This means that it can offer quick and complete answers while still providing direct resources you can explore. 

AI Mode vs. AI Overviews vs. Gemini: What's the Difference?

One of the biggest questions I had when I first saw AI Mode was “How is this different from AI Overviews or Gemini?” Well, there are a few major differences. The biggest is that AI Mode is meant to be a more traditional chatbot conversation while the AI Overview tool just provides you with a one-off AI generated answer. In other words, AI Overviews are an upgraded version of searching on the internet while AI Mode is a blend of searching and conversation with a chatbot. 

The key differences between AI Overviews and AI Mode are: 

• Complexity: AI Mode allows you to use your prompt engineering skills to create complex multi-part queries. 

• Interaction: AI Mode is designed for deeper engagement. This means that you can ask followup questions and explore the sources in a more meaningful way. 

• Depth: More detailed, well crafted and fully supported answers are given combining the information for multiple subsearches. 

This leaves the question of the Gemini vs. AI Mode. In my opinion these two products are very similar. Both are chatbots that can access the internet and craft high-level responses. The major difference is their purpose. AI Mode is specifically meant for searching the internet for reliable answers and then passing that information to you. Meanwhile Gemini is a more broad-focus tool that is capable of accessing the internet but that is just one of its many functions. 

How to Use AI Mode: Your Step-by-Step Guide

Now that we know a bit more about AI Mode, let's explore how to use this tool. 

Step 1: Ask a question

We’ll start by heading to Google and searching for a topic. In this case, I asked “How do reasoning models work?”. You can see that Google has created an AI Overview for me. This might be enough to answer your question but let’s assume you want to go deeper. 

Step 2: Enter AI Mode

There are a few ways to enter AI Mode but the easiest is to simply click “AI Mode” in the top left corner after you’ve entered your search.

Step 3: Sources

Once you enter AI Mode, you’ll see the following page. The main response fills the center of the screen while the right side shows you all the sources used to generate your answer. You’re also able to click on the various links throughout your answer if you want to explore where that particular information came from. 

Step 4: Follow-up Questions

Once you’ve asked your initial question AI Mode becomes a standard chatbot where you can ask any follow-up questions. Due to the nature of this tool, AI Mode will continue to find additional internet sources for each new question.

The Future of Information Gathering

It seems to me that the future of web searching and internet research will change greatly in the coming years. Tools like AI Mode are the logical next step by enabling us to access more information in a quick and organized manner. AI Overviews have already become a tool that I’m constantly using for many of my quick (and mostly dumb) questions that I find myself Googling. I’m curious to see if Google will fold AI Mode into the Gemini app in the future or if one tool will attract the majority of the users and leave the other obsolete. 

Overall, AI Mode fits well into Google’s push for more AI integration throughout their products. From a Gemini-powered Google Workspace to AI Overviews, Google sees the benefits of including AI tools in their products and I love it!