Google rolls out AI-only search results

Google has begun testing an AI-only search tool as part of its plan to accelerate the roll out of artificial intelligence features across its platforms.

Powered by Google’s latest Gemini 2.0 agent, the new AI Mode works by telling using what is on the internet, rather than showing them.

Instead of serving up a list of links, the new feature uses Google’s massive search index to generate answers to queries in a conversational way that is similar to chatbots like ChatGPT.

“You can ask anything on your mind and get a helpful AI-powered response with the ability to go further with follow-up questions and helpful web links,” the search giant announced in a blog post on Wednesday.

“AI Mode is particularly helpful for questions that need further exploration, comparisons and reasoning. You can ask nuanced questions that might have previously taken multiple searches – like exploring a new concept or comparing detailed options – and get a helpful AI-powered response with links to learn more.”

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AI Mode is currently only available to users paying for Google One AI Premium, though it will likely follow a similar launch pattern to previous AI tools, which become available more widely if successful.

Google also unveiled new updates to its AI Overviews, which appear at the top of the search results page during regular web searches.

The overviews will begin appearing more frequently, covering areas like mathematics and coding.

Users will no longer need to be signed in to see the AI Overviews, meaning the changes will impact the roughly 5 billion people globally who use Google with or without an account.

Google’s AI features have faced pushback from publishers and other websites, as they are designed to keep users on its own platform through so-called zero-click search.

Online education firm Chegg recently filed a lawsuit against Google, claiming that its referral traffic was being ruined by AI Overviews.

The AI tools have also been criticised for giving false information, such as telling users to eat rocks and stick cheese to pizza using glue.

Google said that these examples, which were widely shared on social media last year, were “not representative of most people’s experiences”.