Google AI Overviews Now Launch Directly Into AI Mode
▼ Summary
– Google now automatically switches users to AI Mode when they ask a follow-up question from an AI Overview in Search, aiming to create a seamless conversational flow.
– This feature overlays AI Mode directly over search results, removing source citations and potentially reducing traffic to publishers.
– Google has made Gemini 3 the default model powering AI Overviews globally, providing these AI-generated summaries on the search results page.
– The change is significant as it actively directs searchers into an AI conversation within Google, rather than to external websites.
– This shift is expected to further decrease click-through rates from Google Search results to content creators’ sites.
Google is now streamlining the search experience by automatically shifting users into a dedicated AI conversation mode when they ask a follow-up question from an AI Overview. This change, designed to create a more fluid and natural interaction, means the transition from a standard search result to an ongoing dialogue happens instantly. The company states this update makes the shift to a conversation “even more seamless,” based on testing that showed users prefer an experience that flows naturally. Importantly, this global rollout also comes with an upgrade under the hood, as AI Overviews are now powered by the Gemini 3 model by default.
The functionality activates when a user clicks “Show more” on an AI Overview. Instead of simply expanding the information panel, the interface overlays the full AI Mode directly on top of the standard search results. To return to the traditional list of links, a user must click the ‘X’ in the top corner. Notably, this conversational view removes all source citations and links, a significant shift that redirects user engagement away from publisher websites and into Google’s own AI environment.
This move represents a substantial evolution from earlier tests. Previously, Google had confirmed it was experimenting with this direct jump to AI Mode. The official launch confirms the company’s direction: to keep users within its ecosystem for extended query sessions. The upgrade to Gemini 3 as the standard model globally further reinforces this push, aiming to deliver what Google calls “a best-in-class AI response right on the search results page.”
For marketers and content creators, the implications are considerable. This update will likely result in even fewer clicks from Google Search to publishers, as it actively funnels user curiosity into a closed-loop AI conversation. AI Overviews already occupy prime real estate at the top of results pages for countless queries, making visibility a challenge. This new follow-up experience intensifies that challenge by providing immediate, context-aware answers without requiring a visit to the source. The strategic push is clear: Google is guiding searchers from its traditional web index into its proprietary AI Mode, fundamentally altering the traffic dynamics that many websites rely on.
(Source: Search Engine Land)
