Google AI Mode (Not AI Overviews!) | Google's new AI search is coming: Why websites could lose up to 64% of their traffic
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Published on: September 1, 2025 / Updated on: September 1, 2025 – Author: Konrad Wolfenstein
Google AI Mode (Not AI Overviews!) | Google's new AI search is coming: Why websites could lose up to 64% of their traffic – Image: Xpert.Digital
The end of Google search as we know it: This is how radically the new AI mode changes everything
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"Overview with AI" in German Google search results corresponds to what is also known internationally as AI Overviews, KI‑Übersichten, or Google AI Overview. This is an AI-generated summary displayed above the classic results list—without text in the image, but as a directly integrated answer from Google.
Google AI Mode, often called "AI Mode," is a more advanced, conversational, and interactive search function. It uses advanced generative AI (e.g., Gemini 2.5) and offers conversational answers, logical reasoning, multi-step queries, and personalized content. AI Mode is significantly more comprehensive and, when activated, replaces the classic results list with a completely new type of search.
Google's biggest search revolution is starting soon in Germany: What the new AI mode means for you
Google is facing the most massive transformation in its history. The way billions of people search for information every day will fundamentally change. With the upcoming launch of Google AI Mode in Europe and Germany, the search engine giant is heralding the end of the era of the "ten blue links" and replacing them with an intelligent, conversational assistant that answers complex questions directly on the results page.
What promised users a more convenient and faster search experience is developing into an existential threat for millions of website operators, publishers, and online businesses. Initial studies warn of dramatic drops in organic traffic of up to 64 percent, as users will have little reason to click on external links. Powered by the advanced AI model Gemini, personalized features, and future "agentic capabilities" such as automatic restaurant reservations, AI Mode is more than just a new feature—it's a paradigm shift. This text explores how it works, its far-reaching consequences for SEO and online marketing, and shows how users and businesses need to prepare for the impending AI revolution in online search.
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Google AI Mode: The Future of Online Search – A Revolutionary Change in the Search Experience
Google is preparing for the biggest change to its search engine since its founding. Google AI Mode, already available in over 180 countries, is about to launch in the European Union and Germany. This new search feature marks the transition from a traditional link-based search engine to an intelligent, conversational assistant that delivers complete answers directly on the results page.
What is Google AI Mode?
Google AI Mode represents a fundamental reinvention of Google Search. Instead of the traditional list of ten blue links, AI Mode presents a completely new user interface as an additional tab next to familiar categories like Images and News. Users receive complete, artificial intelligence-generated answers directly in the search results page, without having to click on external websites.
The technology is based on Google's most advanced AI model, Gemini 2.0, which is specifically optimized for internet search. A unique feature is the query fan-out technique, in which the system splits a user query into several related subtopics and researches them in parallel across different data sources. The results are then summarized into a coherent, easily understandable answer.
AI Mode accesses a variety of Google's own data sources, including the Knowledge Graph, real-time data, shopping data for billions of products, and high-quality web content. This comprehensive data integration enables the system to generate deeper and more nuanced answers than would be possible with simple text analysis.
Availability and current developments
After launching in the US in May 2025 and expanding to India and the UK, Google AI Mode is now available in over 180 countries, but not yet in the European Union. The EU's strict data protection rules and regulations, particularly the AI Act and GDPR, are likely the reason for this delay.
Nevertheless, signs pointing to an imminent launch in the EU are increasing. Initial tests have already been observed in Romania, where users have shared screenshots of teasers and pop-ups with references to AI Mode. These developments indicate that Google is moving forward with the technical and legal preparations for the EU rollout.
In Germany, AI Overviews, a precursor to AI Mode, have been available since March 2025. They display AI-generated summaries above traditional search results. These now appear in about 17 percent of all search queries and are already having a noticeable impact on user behavior.
Functionality and technical innovation
Google AI Mode fundamentally differs from the traditional search engine in its conversational nature. Users can ask complex, multi-part questions in natural language and receive detailed answers immediately. After the initial answer, follow-up questions can be asked, enabling conversational research reminiscent of interacting with a human expert.
The technology makes it possible to answer questions that would previously have required multiple separate searches. For example, when asked about the differences between sleep tracking features on different devices, AI Mode can provide a comprehensive analysis that compares smartwatches, smart rings, and tracking mats, highlighting their specific advantages and disadvantages.
Another innovative element is the personalization feature. AI Mode takes into account previous conversations, searches, and interactions in other Google services like Maps. For example, if a user frequently searches for vegan restaurants, corresponding recommendations are automatically given priority.
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Advanced agentic capabilities
In the US, so-called agentic capabilities have already been added to AI Mode, enabling AI to perform complex tasks independently. The most prominent example is restaurant reservations: Users can express their preferences in natural language, such as the number of guests, the desired time, the type of cuisine, and the location. AI Mode then automatically searches various booking platforms such as OpenTable or Resy, checks availability in real time, and presents a curated list of suitable restaurants with direct booking links.
This functionality is based on Google's Project Mariner, a prototype for interaction between humans and AI agents in the browser. The system simultaneously performs multiple tasks, such as searching, planning, and entering data, and leverages the capabilities of the Knowledge Graph and Google Maps.
More agent-based features are planned for the future, including booking event tickets and appointments for local services. Google is working with established partners such as Ticketmaster, StubHub, and Booksy.
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Impact on website traffic and online marketing
The introduction of AI Mode brings profound changes for website operators. Because AI Mode delivers complete answers directly within the search interface, users' need to click on external websites is reduced. Initial studies are already showing dramatic effects: Websites can experience declines in organic traffic of 18 to 64 percent.
Information-oriented websites such as advice portals, travel blogs, medical education sites, and cooking websites are particularly affected. The British Publishers Association has already filed an antitrust complaint with the EU Commission, accusing Google of exploiting the structural dependence of content providers and causing serious, irreparable damage.
Click-through rates on organic search results drop significantly in the presence of AI-generated answers. Studies show declines of 47.5 percent on desktop devices and 37.7 percent on mobile devices. Even websites cited in AI answers experience significantly lower click-through rates than in traditional search.
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- Google Ai Overviews: Global expansion and new monetization strategies transform the search landscape
New SEO strategies for the AI era
The changes brought about by AI fashion require a fundamental reorientation of search engine optimization. Instead of relying on traditional ranking factors, it is becoming increasingly important to design content in such a way that it can be easily understood and cited by AI systems.
Content originality and uniqueness are becoming increasingly important, as AI systems prefer to cite specific, data-driven information. Structured data is becoming more important to help crawlers understand content. Content readability and organization must be optimized to make it suitable for AI processing.
Website owners need to rethink how they measure success. Instead of relying solely on traffic numbers, visibility in AI-generated responses is becoming a new, important indicator. This requires new analytics methods and tools to understand when and how content appears in AI-generated responses.
Personalization and user experience
AI Mode offers a highly personalized search experience. The system learns from user behavior and adapts responses accordingly. With repeated interactions, the AI takes previous preferences and interests into account, continuously improving the relevance of the results.
One innovative feature is the ability to share AI Mode results. Friends and family can directly join an AI conversation via a link and ask their own questions. This creates new forms of collaborative information search and could accelerate the feature's adoption through recommendations.
The Canvas feature allows users to organize and plan information across multiple sessions. This feature was specifically designed for complex tasks such as creating study plans or travel planning and demonstrates AI Mode's potential as a long-term digital assistant.
Impact on the advertising landscape
Google plans to integrate ads into AI Mode based on its experience with other AI features. This could create new, highly attractive ad spaces as users stay longer in the Google experience and click less on external websites.
New challenges are emerging for companies in customer acquisition. Traditional SEO strategies are losing effectiveness, while optimization for AI citation is gaining importance. Companies may need to reallocate their advertising budgets and focus more on paid placements in AI-generated answers.
International expansion and linguistic diversity
Although AI Mode is already available in over 180 countries, its functionality is currently limited to English. Google has announced plans to expand access to additional languages and regions, although the EU remains excluded due to regulatory challenges.
This global expansion demonstrates Google's ambition to establish AI Mode as the standard search function. Experts predict that AI Mode could become the predominant form of online search in the coming years, increasingly displacing traditional link-based search.
Technological competition and market development
AI Mode competes directly with other AI search platforms such as ChatGPT Search, Perplexity AI, and Bing Copilot. This competition drives innovation and leads to rapid development of available features.
The AI search engine market is growing rapidly. A market volume of $43.63 billion is forecast for 2025, rising to $108.88 billion by 2032. This development is primarily driven by generative AI, which is expected to reach a market share of 54.2 percent in 2025.
Social and ethical implications
The transformation of Google Search through AI raises important questions about information diversity and opinion formation. If a single AI generates answers to millions of search queries, this could lead to a homogenization of information and perspectives.
Reliance on AI-generated answers could impair the critical evaluation of information. Users may be less inclined to consult different sources and consider different viewpoints if they have already received a seemingly complete answer.
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Preparing for AI-dominated search
Companies and website operators should prepare early for the changes brought about by AI fashion. This includes adapting content strategies, optimizing for AI citations, and developing alternative traffic sources.
Creating high-quality, original content is becoming more important than ever. AI systems prefer specific, well-structured, and data-driven information. Companies should tailor their content accordingly, paying attention to readability and logical organization.
The future of search
Google AI Mode represents just the beginning of a comprehensive transformation of online search. The integration of multimodal capabilities, the processing of images, videos, and audio files, and the development of even more advanced AI models will further revolutionize the search experience.
The pace of development is increasing. While previous Google innovations took years to spread globally, rollout cycles are shortening significantly. This demonstrates Google's commitment to maintaining its leadership position in the fast-moving AI landscape.
The coming years will be crucial for shaping the digital information landscape. AI could fundamentally transform the internet and set new standards for human-machine interaction. At the same time, the impact on the diversity of information sources and the economic foundations of digital publishing must be carefully monitored and, if necessary, regulated.
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