Google plans to make it easier for users to access AI mode by allowing them to set it as the default in Search (instead of traditional links).
AI mode is a version of Google Search that uses large language models to summarize information from across the internet, allowing users to spend more time within Google without clicking through to websites. AI mode can answer complex questions, process images, summarize information, create tables, charts, and diagrams, and even help with code.
As noted by journalists at BleepingComputer, AI mode is currently optional and located to the left of the “All” tab. It is available in English in 180 countries and territories worldwide.
However, late last week, Google AI Studio product lead Logan Kilpatrick said on X that AI mode will soon become the default mode in Google.
Later, Robby Stein, vice president of product for Google Search, clarified that the company only plans to make access to AI mode easier for those who want to use it.
The company says there are currently no plans to enable AI mode by default for everyone; however, if a user prefers to always use it, a toggle or button for that will be available soon.
In that case, traditional links won’t appear by default, but you can switch to the old search results view by finding the “Web” tab, which is located at the very end of the panel.
The publication notes that in the near future, AI mode could well become the default search page for everyone. For now, Google engineers are trying to determine how this move will affect the advertising business.
Google is already testing ads in AI mode and AI Overviews and pitching to partners this kind of AI advertising. However, the digital marketing industry still doesn’t understand how it will all work if AI mode completely replaces traditional links.
Google still holds about 90% of the search market, and the company continues to send billions of clicks to publishers worldwide.
However, Google does not pay publishers and independent blogs for summarizing content with AI. Instead, the company claims, that AI overviews send more “high-quality” clicks to publishers, although there is no official data to support this claim.
At the same time, independent studies show that people are less likely to click on search results when the search engine provides them with an AI summary.
According to media reports, some independent publishers are already discussing forming an alliance of media and news outlets to address the existential crisis brought about by the introduction of AI into search engines.