Google trials integrated AI Mode to streamline search experience

New Delhi: Google has begun testing a feature that merges its AI Overviews with AI Mode in Search, allowing users to shift from a standard results page to a conversational interface without switching tabs. 

The move comes as competitive pressure in the AI sector increases, with reports indicating that OpenAI has entered a “Code Red” phase and is redirecting resources toward strengthening its chat experience.

AI Mode, which launched to users in the United States in May and expanded globally in August, allows people to ask follow-up questions in a chat-style format powered by Google’s Gemini model. Until now, users had to decide in advance whether their query required a conventional search or a conversational format, switching manually to the AI Mode tab if they expected to explore a subject in more depth.

Google is now testing whether this separation is necessary. The company said the process of seeking information frequently evolves from simple queries into more detailed exploration, and the new test is designed to reflect that behaviour. 

Users will be able to open AI Mode directly from the AI Overview displayed at the top of search results and continue the interaction from the same page. The feature is being tested globally but is currently limited to mobile devices.

The development comes as Google highlights momentum for its Gemini ecosystem, which it says has reached more than 650 million monthly users as of November. Incorporating conversational features directly within Search, where AI Overviews are already used at scale, could further strengthen its positioning against rivals.

Robby Stein, Vice President of Product for Google Search, wrote on X, “You shouldn’t have to think about where or how to ask your question.” 

(1/2) Today we’re starting to test a new way to seamlessly go deeper in AI Mode directly from the Search results page on mobile, globally.

This brings us closer to our vision for Search: just ask whatever’s on your mind – no matter how long or complex – and find exactly what you… pic.twitter.com/mcCS7oT2FI

— Robby Stein (@rmstein) December 1, 2025

He added that while AI Overviews will continue to offer an initial summary, users will be able to “ask conversational follow-up questions in AI Mode from the same screen.”

“This brings us closer to our vision for Search: just ask whatever’s on your mind, no matter how long or complex, and find exactly what you need,” Stein wrote.