Google AI Mode: what it is and what changes in SEO

Google AI Mode is a conversational search experience that replaces the ten blue links with a chat that holds context, generates sub-queries and answers with text, images and cited sources. It was introduced at Google I/O 2025, started in the US and has since reached Europe, including Portugal, once the Digital Markets Act requirements were met (Google).

This is not a side feature. It is the direction search is taking, and it changes how a brand earns organic visibility.

How it works

1. Intent parsing: it extracts the entities in the question.
2. Query fan-out: it generates and runs several searches in parallel.
3. Synthesis: Gemini composes a long answer with cited links.
4. Stateful session: the chat history is stored and reused in follow-up questions.

The foundation is described in the Search with Stateful Chat patent (US 20240289407 A1), which defines session memory, a layered architecture (analysis, fan-out, ranking, generation) and the option to constrain answers to specific sources.

AI Mode and AI Overviews are not the same

AI Overviews appear inside the traditional SERP, automatically, as a short summary. AI Mode is a dedicated, opt-in mode that keeps context across the whole session and gives long, multimodal answers. The two coexist, and both push search in the same direction: fewer clicks on the list, more decisions made inside the answer.

What this does to traffic

When an AI-generated answer shows up, clicks to organic results drop (studies report CTR falls between 15% and 46%, according to SeoProfy). There is an important nuance: pages cited inside the answer can gain visibility and trust even without ranking first. The currency shifts from ranking alone to citability.

On measurement, note that Search Console aggregates AI-feature performance without letting you isolate it, and clicks from the chat often arrive without a referrer, showing up as direct traffic. Counting pageviews alone stops being enough; you need to instrument micro-conversions.

Practical checklist

• Entities and Schema: @id, sameAs, Article, FAQ, HowTo, clean structured data.
• Content that covers the sub-questions of a topic, not just the head keyword.
• E-E-A-T: named author, solid About and Contact pages.
• Performance: Core Web Vitals within limits (LCP, INP).
• Do not block AI user-agents in robots.
• Hub-and-spoke architecture to consolidate topical authority.

How SmartLinks works on this

Preparing a site for AI Mode is structural work, not tricks: structured data, entity authority and content that answers real questions. That is what we do in SEO & AI Search, tied to demand generation, so your brand gets cited when the buyer asks, not just listed when they search.

If your organic traffic started falling without losing rankings, the answer may be given before the click. The Diagnosis shows your exposure.