The most direct push for Google’s Gemini chat so far.
I’ve ingested all this information for you, won’t you please ask for it, in a dedicated chat field? Credit: Getty Images
Google will soon take more steps to make AI a part of search, exposing more users to its Gemini agent, according to recent reports and app teardowns.
“AI Mode,” shown at the top left of the web results page and inside the Google app, will provide an interface similar to a Gemini AI chat, according to The Information.
This tracks with a finding from Android Authority earlier this month, which noted a dedicated “AI mode” button inside an early beta of the Google app. This shortcut also appeared on Google’s Android search widget, and a conversation history button was added to the Google app. Going even deeper into the app, 9to5Google found references to “aim” (AI mode) and “ai_mode” which suggest a dedicated tab in the Google app, with buttons for speaking to an AI or sending it pictures.
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Google already promotes Gemini with links below its search homepage. (“5 ways Gemini can help during the Holidays” is currently showing for me.) Search results on Google can also contain an “AI Overview,” which launched with some “use glue for pizza sauce” notoriety. People averse to AI answers can avoid them with URL parameters and proxy sites (or sticking to the “web” tab). Gemini has also been prominently added to other Google products, like Pixel phones, Gmail, and Drive/Workspace. And the search giant has also been testing the ability to attach files to a web search for analysis.
But offering AI chat access directly from the search results page would likely reach the largest audience and give Gemini a boost in visibility.
Offering AI-powered search is important to Google as ChatGPT moves forward with its own AI-powered search, which started with paid subscribers and is rolling out to all free (logged-in) users this month as part of a blitz of OpenAI releases (dubbed “ship-mas”). Microsoft similarly offers Copilot-powered search, and Perplexity likewise offers AI-powered search of its own. Even DuckDuckGo, which typically pitches itself as an alternative to Google policies, offers both AI summaries and a privacy-minded AI chat filter.
