Free tools / Google AI Mode Checker
Free tool · AI Mode and AI Overviews tracker
Google AI Mode and AI Overviews Checker
Type a buying query. We ask Google AI Mode live and show you its answer, every company it names and the pages it cites. We check AI Mode because Google shows no AI Overview on most queries about vendors, and AI Mode answers them.
We ask Google AI Mode. AI Overviews left the engines we query in August 2026, because Google shows no Overview on most queries about vendors.
Free, no email. Each query runs live on the engines, so it takes a minute or so.
Sample result
What a result looks like
Google AI Mode's part of a real run on 9 November 2026: "What are the best SOC 2 compliance platforms for a B2B SaaS startup?"
Google AI Mode named five companies and cited one page.
How it works
How the check works
We ask Google AI Mode your query
Live, as a search from the default market, the same way our scans measure Google. You see the answer it gives today.
We read every company it names
Each firm in the answer is listed, with spellings of one company merged only when a cited page proves it.
We list the pages it cited
AI Mode attaches reference links to its answer. Those are the pages Google drew the recommendation from, and the pages you would need to be on.
Then check every other engine
One engine is one slice of the picture. The result links straight to the free scan, which checks every engine we track.
Reference
AI Overviews and AI Mode are not the same surface
Both come from Google and draw on the same index, and both can fan a query out into several searches. They behave very differently on a buying query.
| AI Overviews | AI Mode | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it appears | A summary at the top of some results pages | A separate conversational tab |
| When it appears | Only when Google decides a summary helps; often not on vendor queries | Whenever someone opens it and asks |
| Answer length | A few sentences | A full answer with follow-ups |
| In our scans | Retired from our roster in August 2026 | On our roster since August 2026 |
What to do with a result
What each result means, and what to do about it
| If the result says | It means | Do this |
|---|---|---|
| Your company is named | Google AI Mode puts you on the shortlist for this query today. | Check the other engines with the free scan; one engine agreeing is not a trend. |
| Rivals are named and you are not | For this query, Google sends buyers to them. | Read the cited pages. If they are round-ups, earn a place on them; if they are rivals' own pages, publish the page that answers the query better. |
| A vendor's own round-up is cited | Google is reading a list a competitor wrote. | That list is beatable: an honest comparison page of your own competes for the same slot. |
| No answer came back | Google gave nothing for this query at this moment, which says nothing about anyone. | Try again later, or rephrase as the query a buyer types. |
Why we track Google AI Mode instead of AI Overviews
We tracked AI Overviews until August 2026, then replaced it with AI Mode. On the commercial queries buyers ask before choosing a vendor, Google mostly shows no Overview at all, so an Overview tracker spends its effort recording blanks on exactly the queries that matter most. AI Mode answers those queries in full, with its reference links attached.
The work that earns one earns the other. Google states that both are rooted in its core ranking systems and both can run several related searches to build one answer. A page Google cannot rank for a query is unlikely to be cited by either.
Why the cited pages matter more than the names
The names tell you who wins the query. The cited pages tell you why, and where you would have to appear to change it. In the sample run, AI Mode's only citation was a best-of list published by one of the vendors it recommended. Our read: on a lot of B2B queries, the shortlist is whoever wrote the most usable comparison page. You can write that page too.
This checks your site. It cannot tell you whether AI names you.
A free scan puts real buying queries to all five AI engines and shows who they name instead of you.
Check your AI visibility free →FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is this an AI Overviews checker?
It checks Google AI Mode, Google's conversational answer surface. We dropped AI Overviews from our roster in August 2026 because Google shows no Overview on most vendor queries. The content that earns one earns the other, since both draw on the same ranking systems.
How is AI Mode different from AI Overviews?
An AI Overview is a short summary Google adds to some results pages when it decides one helps. AI Mode is a separate tab that answers any query in full, with reference links and follow-ups. On a buying query, AI Mode answers; an Overview often does not appear.
Does it show the searches AI Mode ran?
No. Google does not return them. Google documents that AI Mode may run several related searches to build an answer, but the response we receive carries the answer and its links only.
Which country does it search from?
The default market our scans use. Google personalises AI Mode by location, so a buyer in another country may see a different answer.
Why does Google's answer differ from the other engines?
Each engine searches its own way and weights sources differently. Ask every engine at once with our Ask Every AI Engine tool to see where Google agrees with the rest and where it does not.
How do I get cited in Google AI Mode?
Rank for the query first: Google says its AI features are rooted in core Search ranking. Then answer the sub-queries a buyer has not typed yet, because AI Mode can fan one query out into several searches. Earn a place on the round-ups it cites for your category.
Does structured data help with AI Mode?
It helps Google read who you are. Google says no special markup is required for its AI features, so treat schema as clarity rather than a ticket in. Our schema checker shows what yours says.
Is there a limit?
Each network gets a daily allowance of new queries. A query someone already asked this week loads from storage and does not count.
Sources
Sources and further reading
- Google Search Central: AI features and your website: AI Overviews, AI Mode and query fan-out
- Google Search Central: optimizing for generative AI features: rooted in core ranking; no special files needed
- Search Console Help: generative AI performance report: measuring AI Mode in Search Console