Will Google’s AI-only search mode attract or alienate users?

The news: Google is testing an AI-only search option to compete with the likes of Perplexity and ChatGPT Search.

• AI Mode is ostensibly a full page of AI Overview summaries with Knowledge Graphs and shopping data in place of website links.
• Google’s models determine when to include hyperlinks and whether user queries would benefit from an image or video, such as with a “how-to” query.

Google also announced that AI Overviews will now be powered by Gemini 2.0 to address more complex queries.

Is there interest? AI Mode could reinforce Google’s efforts to compete in the AI market but may alienate consumers who prefer Google’s non-AI search results. More than half (57.8%) of US consumers prefer Google Search over AI platforms like ChatGPT, per Pearl.

The risk: This puts Gemini to the test after a series of notable inaccuracies and even threatening responses. Gemini’s news summaries have a 60% error rate, per the BBC, worse than Perplexity, GPT-4o, or Microsoft’s Copilot Pro.

To address any lingering issues with Gemini, Google said AI Mode will respond with web search results when it’s unsure about potential bias or quality.

The reward: If AI Mode can offer a useful—and accurate—search experience, Google’s established market share and brand name could push its AI rivals aside.

AI Mode could also help Google gather more data about users’ search habits and whether they care about citation links to decide how much information AI Overview gives its users.

Our take: Google could benefit from offering an opt-out choice for AI Overviews as it introduces AI Mode to avoid overwhelming AI-weary consumers and to conduct its own A/B testing.

With Gemini’s ability to exclude links in AI Mode’s results, the burden is on users to weed out misinformation. Additionally, web publishers could face disruptions to their content monetization.