Google has launched AI Mode in the UK, allowing users to ask nuanced questions that would have previously required multiple searches.
The tool uses a customised version of Google’s latest Gemini 2.5 model alongside the search engine’s query fan-out technique, which breaks down a question into subtopics and issues a multitude of queries simultaneously.
This enables an AI Mode search to dive deeper into the web than a traditional search on Google, which the company claims will help users find “hyper-relevant” content that matches their question.
The tech giant said AI Mode is “particularly helpful” for exploratory questions and for more complicated tasks like comparing products, planning a trip or understanding complex questions.
It added that by providing the right content in a range of formats, users will be able to discover new content.
Hema Budaraju, vice president, product management, search, said in a blog post that early users of AI Mode are asking questions that are two or three times the length of traditional search queries.
Additionally, AI Mode is designed to be multimodal and users can ask questions using text, voice or video. Users can also upload a photo or image and ask a question.
The service is currently available to users in the US and India and will appear as a tab on search results pages.
Google first launched the service in an experimental format in March this year.
“As we continue to evolve the Search experience with AI capabilities, we remain focused on helping people access information and perspectives from a diverse range of sources,” Budaraju added. “With AI Overviews, we’re seeing that people have been visiting a greater diversity of websites for help with more complex questions.
“And when people click from search result pages with AI Overviews, these clicks are higher quality for websites — meaning users are more likely to spend more time on the sites they visit.”
