Google Search has launched AI Mode in the UK, offering a powerful AI-driven search experience designed to handle complex, nuanced questions with advanced reasoning and multimodal input. Powered by a custom Gemini 2.5 model, AI Mode allows users to ask longer, multi-part queries that previously required multiple searches, making it ideal for exploratory questions and complicated tasks such as product comparisons, trip planning, or understanding complex how-tos.
Key Features of AI Mode
- Advanced Query Handling: AI Mode breaks down complex questions into subtopics using a query fan-out technique, issuing multiple simultaneous queries to dive deeper into the web and deliver hyper-relevant content.
- Multimodality: Users can interact via text, voice, or images, enabling natural and flexible question input. For example, users can tap the microphone or upload a photo to ask questions.
- User Experience: AI Mode appears as a tab on the Google Search results page and within the Google app for Android and iOS, facilitating easy access.
Benefits and Impact
AI Mode enhances content discovery by providing relevant web content in various formats with prominent links, supporting Google’s mission to offer diverse information sources. Early usage shows users ask questions two to three times longer than traditional queries, reflecting the tool’s capability to handle complexity. Additionally, AI Overviews have led to users visiting a wider variety of websites and spending more time on them, indicating higher-quality engagement.
Quality and Reliability
Rooted in Google’s core quality and ranking systems, AI Mode incorporates novel approaches to improve factual accuracy. When confidence in AI-generated responses is low, traditional web search results are displayed instead. While acknowledging that AI Mode is an early-stage product that may not always be perfect, Google is committed to continuous improvement to enhance user experience and reliability.
