Google has launched an experimental version of its search engine that removes the traditional 10 blue links in favor of AI-generated summaries. This new feature, available to subscribers of Google One AI Premium, can be accessed by clicking on a tab labeled “AI Mode” alongside options like Images and Maps.
Robby Stein, Vice President of Product at Google, explained that the company had received feedback from power users who wanted AI responses for a broader range of searches. Google One AI Premium is a $19.99 per month subscription that offers additional cloud storage and access to exclusive AI features.
In its ongoing push to integrate AI into search, Google has introduced AI Overviews, which provide summaries of search results above the usual links to webpages. These Overviews are already available in over 100 countries, and last year, Google began incorporating ads into these AI summaries.
With AI Mode, the company takes this a step further by offering more detailed AI summaries with links to the sources. The traditional blue links are replaced by a search bar, allowing users to ask follow-up questions. Powered by Google’s custom Gemini 2.0 model, AI Mode is designed with advanced reasoning capabilities, making it more adept at handling complex queries.
This new development represents a significant move for Google, as it faces increased competition from Microsoft-backed OpenAI, which introduced search functions in ChatGPT last October. AI-driven search is now a major area of focus for Google, with Alphabet’s 2024 revenue—mostly driven by search-related advertising—under threat from emerging AI competitors.
However, the shift to AI-powered search has raised concerns. In February, educational technology company Chegg filed a lawsuit against Google, accusing the AI previews of diminishing the demand for original content and harming publishers’ ability to compete.