Google Launches AI Mode in Search

Google is launching AI Mode, a new AI-powered search feature for US-based users. After a short testing period in its Labs environment, the feature will be rolling out for everyone in the coming weeks via a new Search tab and the Google app.

The company describes AI Mode as its “most powerful AI search, with more advanced reasoning and multimodality, and the ability to go deeper through follow-up questions and helpful links to the web.”

New features of AI Mode include Deep Search with longer-than-usual, report-style responses, Search Live, which enables users to talk with Search about what they see in real-time using their camera, and complex analysis and data visualization. AI Mode also connects with other Google apps for more personal context and AI-assisted shopping with try-on and Agentic checkout features.

Google will also integrate a custom version of Gemini 2.5, its most intelligent model, into Search for both AI Mode and AI Overviews, a search feature Google introduced last year. The company announced more AI Mode features in the coming months, which will initially be available only to Labs users for testing.

Before ChatGPT’s launch in late 2022, Google rarely made drastic changes to its search experience. However, with the rise in popularity of ChatGPT and AI-assisted browsing, Google is under pressure to adapt its search experience to the rapidly shifting user preferences. In the last quarter of 2024, Google’s share fell below 90% for the first time since 2015 in the global search engine market, according to StatCounter.

On the other hand, ChatGPT’s search market share increased by 740% in just 12 months, from 0.25% of the global search market in early 2024 to 2.1% in 2025. This growth has been fueled by the “ChatGPT search” feature introduced in October last year.

Interestingly, this feature has positioned OpenAI as a direct competitor, not only to Google’s Chrome but also to Microsoft’s search tools, Bing and Copilot. As a reference, Microsoft has invested nearly $14 billion in OpenAI, the startup behind ChatGPT.

Despite the shrinkage in its market share, Google is still the biggest search engine in the world – a status that has gotten the tech giant in legal trouble. Google recently lost a landmark antitrust case, in which a federal judge declared its search business a monopoly.