Source: https://oguzerol.com/en/what-is-ai-mode/ GEO / AEO # What Is AI Mode? Google's Chat-Based Search [Oğuz Erol](https://oguzerol.com/en/about-me/) | 5 min read | Published: 3 August 2026 | Updated: 13 October 2026 ## Quick summary AI Mode is the separate Google Search tab that answers in conversation. How to open it, how it differs from AI Overviews, and what site owners should do. **AI Mode** is a separate tab in Google Search that answers your question in conversation. You type or speak a question, a Gemini-based system compiles an answer from the web with links, and you ask follow-ups in the same window. It launched in Turkey on February 18, 2026 ([Webrazzi](https://webrazzi.com/2026/02/18/google-ai-modu-ve-ai-bakisi-ozelliklerini-turkiye-de-de-kullanima-sunmaya-basladi/), Turkish); Google rolled it out gradually, so the tab did not appear in every account at once. ## How do you open AI Mode? According to Google’s help page ([as of October 2026](https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/16011537?hl=en)) there are three ways: - go to google.com/ai, - type your question on google.com and tap the **AI Mode** tab on the results page, - tap the AI Mode icon on the Google app’s home screen. Turkey and Turkish are among the supported countries and languages. Basic use does not require signing in, but some features, such as interactive visuals and Personal Intelligence, do. If you cannot see the tab, try google.com/ai. ## How is it different from AI Overviews? Both produce AI-generated answers, but they are used differently. | | AI Overviews | AI Mode | | --- | --- | --- | | Where | A summary box above normal results | A separate tab, a chat screen | | When it appears | When Google decides it is useful, without you choosing | When you switch to the tab | | What it gives | A short summary with classic results below | A longer answer, links and follow-up questions in the same window | | How it works | Quick summary | Splits the question into sub-questions and searches them at once (Google calls this “query fan-out”) | I cover AI Overviews separately: [What Is AI Overviews](https://oguzerol.com/en/what-is-ai-overviews-what-does-it-show-in-turkey/). ## When should you use AI Mode and when classic search? This section is my opinion, not Google’s rule. AI Mode helps with multi-condition or comparison questions that one search would not answer: “a restaurant in Kadıköy for two, under a set budget, with outdoor seating”. If you want one fact, an address, or a specific website, classic search is faster. Answers can contain errors; for health, legal and money topics, open the links and check the source. ## What changes if you have a website? **There is no extra requirement.** According to Google’s documentation ([as of October 2026](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features)), appearing in AI Overviews or AI Mode needs no new file, markup or special schema. The page must be indexed and eligible to be shown with a snippet; that makes you eligible, it is not a guarantee. The basics still apply: let Googlebot crawl, put important content in text, internal links, page experience, and structured data that matches the visible text. In practice that means three things: 1. **There is no separate “AI Mode SEO”.** If your page answers the question clearly and is indexed, it can be a source for AI Mode too. The wider framework is in my [GEO guide](https://oguzerol.com/en/geo-guide/). 2. **You can limit what Google shows** with snippet controls: `nosnippet`, `data-nosnippet`, `max-snippet`. These also limit what appears in AI features. `noindex` removes the page from the index entirely. 3. **Because of query fan-out,** Google searches several sub-topics for one question. A page that also answers a topic’s side questions may match more of those sub-searches than a one-line page. That is my inference from how Google describes it, not a ranking rule. ## Can you measure traffic from AI Mode? Only partly. According to Google, appearances in AI Mode are counted in the Search Console Performance report under the “Web” search type; the documentation mentions no separate filter for AI features. So you cannot separate a click that came from AI Mode from one that came from AI Overviews or classic results. Treat any figure that claims “AI Mode sent this much traffic” with suspicion; I cannot make that split for my own sites either. ## If you want help with this I look at how your site appears in AI search and produce a prioritized roadmap; the work is done remotely. The scope is on my [AI search visibility](https://oguzerol.com/en/ai-search-visibility-geo-aeo/) page. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Do I need an account to use AI Mode? Google’s help page lists no required sign-in for basic use ([as of October 2026](https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/16011537?hl=en)). Some features, such as interactive visuals and Personal Intelligence, ask you to sign in. ### When did AI Mode launch in Turkey? It was announced on February 18, 2026, the same day as AI Overviews. The rollout was gradual, so not everyone saw it that day. ### Do I need a separate SEO effort for AI Mode? No. Google says there are no additional requirements; ordinary search optimization applies. ### How do I know if my site appears in AI Mode? Appearances from AI Mode are grouped under the “Web” type in Search Console, with no separate line. For a manual check, ask AI Mode questions about your topic and look for yourself in the source links; that is a sample, not a measurement. [Back to top ↑](https://oguzerol.com/en/what-is-ai-mode/#icerik) ## You may also find these useful [What Is AI Overviews, What Does It Show in TurkeyWhat Google AI Overviews is, how it differs from AI Mode, whether you can turn it off, and what it means for site owners, with Google's own rules.](https://oguzerol.com/en/what-is-ai-overviews-what-does-it-show-in-turkey/)[What Is GEO: How It Differs From SEOGEO is the work of getting your content used as a source in ChatGPT and Google AI answers. How it differs from SEO, what Google says, and what to do.](https://oguzerol.com/en/what-is-geo/)[GEO Guide: Visibility in AI SearchWhat actually helps with GEO and visibility in AI search, Google's official position, and a reading order for 20 articles: understand, apply, measure.](https://oguzerol.com/en/geo-guide/) [Browse all articles →](https://oguzerol.com/en/articles/)