Engine guides
Google AI Mode, explained: how it picks the pages it cites
By Arnav Mukherjee, founder of TofuBofu · October 6, 2026
In August 2026 we pulled Google AI Overviews out of our scans and put AI Mode in its place. The reason was blunt. On most of the queries that decide whether a brand gets chosen, Google showed no AI Overview at all, so that slot in our report kept coming back silent. AI Mode answered those same queries, with links.
That swap taught us where Google's AI answer lives for anyone comparing options. This guide is what we'd tell a brand on day one: how AI Mode works in Google's own words, what earns a citation, and how to check where you stand.
What is Google AI Mode?
AI Mode is a tab inside Google Search where the whole result is a generated answer and people keep asking follow-ups. Google announced it on 5 March 2025 and described the core mechanic in one sentence: it "uses a 'query fan-out' technique, issuing multiple related searches concurrently across subtopics and multiple data sources and then brings those results together to provide an easy-to-understand response."
At Google I/O on 20 May 2025, Google put it more plainly. AI Mode works by "breaking down your question into subtopics and issuing a multitude of queries simultaneously on your behalf." The same post says Google brought "a custom version of Gemini 2.5" into Search for AI Mode and AI Overviews in the U.S.
So the model writing the answer is Gemini, and the pages it reads come from Google Search. Keep those two apart. The Gemini app is a different surface with its own behaviour, which is why we track it separately.
How does AI Mode choose which pages to cite?
Google answers this in its own documentation, and the answer is Search. Its guide for site owners says the generative AI features "are rooted in our core Search ranking and quality systems. These features rely on AI techniques to highlight content from our Search index."
The eligibility bar is short. To appear as a supporting link, Google says a page must be "indexed and eligible to be shown in Google Search with a snippet", and adds: "There are no additional technical requirements."
Here's our read, and we label it as ours. Fan-out changes which page wins. A query like "which accounting software suits a two-person business" becomes searches about price, setup, features and alternatives. A brand with one strong homepage competes in one of those searches. A brand with a clear page for each subtopic competes in all of them, and that's where citations come from.
What should you change for AI Mode?
- Fix indexing before anything else. A page Google hasn't indexed, or can't show with a snippet, is out of every AI Mode answer by Google's own rule.
- Write one page per subtopic people search. Pricing, how it works, who it suits, how it compares. Each one is a separate search AI Mode may run.
- Don't build AI files for Google. Google's guide says "You don't need to create new machine readable files, AI text files, markup, or Markdown to appear in Google Search (including its generative AI capabilities)".
- Keep structured data honest. Google asks that your structured data match the visible text on the page.
- Check you haven't opted out by accident. Google's robots meta documentation says
nosnippetapplies to AI Mode and stops a page being used as a direct input for it. A stray tag on a template removes every page that uses it.
See what AI Mode says when people search your category. We run your queries across five AI engines, AI Mode included, and show who gets named instead of you.
Run a free AI visibility scanHow do you measure AI Mode?
Search Console now has a generative AI performance report, and Google says that as of 31 August 2026 it reached all websites worldwide. Use it. It counts "how many times links to your site were shown to a user in a generative AI feature on Google Search", split by page, country, date and device.
What it doesn't hold is the query. You can see that a page appeared, and you can't see what someone searched, what the answer said, or which competitor AI Mode named next to you. Those are the facts that tell you what to fix.
So you run the queries. Pick the ones people type when they're choosing in your category, ask AI Mode each month, and record who it names. That's the loop our scans automate, and it's the only way we know to see the answer itself.
Frequently asked questions
What is Google AI Mode?
AI Mode is a conversational answer mode inside Google Search. Google announced it on 5 March 2025 and describes it as using a query fan-out technique, "issuing multiple related searches concurrently across subtopics and multiple data sources" and bringing the results together into one answer with links to the web.
Is AI Mode the same as AI Overviews?
No. AI Overviews is a summary Google shows above ordinary results on some searches. AI Mode is a separate tab where the whole answer is generated and people can ask follow-ups. Google documents both under the same rules for site owners, so the work that gets you into one is the work that gets you into the other.
How does AI Mode choose which pages to cite?
It runs many searches against Google's index for the subtopics of a query, then cites pages that support the answer. Google states that its generative AI features are "rooted in our core Search ranking and quality systems", and that to appear as a supporting link a page must be indexed and eligible to be shown with a snippet.
Do I need llms.txt or special markup for AI Mode?
Not for Google. Google's documentation says there are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, and that you don't need to create new machine readable files, AI text files or markup. Structured data still helps Google read a page, and Google asks that it match the visible text.
Can I keep my pages out of AI Mode?
Yes. Google's robots meta tag documentation says nosnippet applies to AI Overviews and AI Mode and prevents the content being used as a direct input for them, at the cost of snippets in web search too. Search Console also has a generative AI control, which Google says it is rolling out to a subset of site owners first.
Can Search Console show which AI Mode queries mention my brand?
No. Google's generative AI performance report counts impressions of links to your site, split by page, country, date and device. It has no query dimension and no clicks. Google says the report reached all websites worldwide on 31 August 2026. To see what AI Mode says when people search your category, you have to run those queries yourself.
Sources and further reading
- Google, "Expanding AI Overviews and introducing AI Mode", 5 March 2025. The launch post and the query fan-out description.
- Google, "AI Mode in Google Search: Updates from Google I/O 2025", 20 May 2025. The subtopic breakdown sentence and the custom Gemini 2.5 model.
- Google Search Central, "AI features and your website". Supporting link eligibility and the statement that no additional technical requirements apply.
- Google Search Central, "Optimizing your website for generative AI features on Google Search". The core ranking systems sentence and the no-new-files sentence.
- Google Search Central, robots meta tag specification. How
nosnippetapplies to AI Mode. - Search Console Help, "Generative AI performance report" and the Search Central announcement, whose note dates the worldwide rollout to 31 August 2026.
Related reading
- Query fanout: why AI breaks one question into ten. The mechanic behind AI Mode, and how to cover it.
- Google has three AI answers, not one. AI Overviews, AI Mode and the Gemini app, side by side.
- What Search Console shows you about AI Mode. The report in detail, and what it leaves out.