AI Mode Not Replacing Google Search, This is the New Update
Speculation continued to mount regarding when Google’s AI Mode might become the default search experience, potentially replacing traditional Google Search on the company’s homepage. Recent comments from a Google executive suggested that the traditional Google search engine may be replaced by AI Mode entirely and that it may happen sooner than anticipated. However, there is a new update to the Google search results and the AI Mode tab will be removed, instead.
Last September 6, Logan Kilpatrick, lead product manager for Google AI Studio, announced that Google was making AI Mode more accessible through a dedicated “google.com/AI” URL. When a Twitter user responded to Kilpatrick’s post by suggesting AI Mode should become the default search experience, Kilpatrick simply replied: “soon.”
Google has invested heavily in artificial intelligence over recent years, developing Gemini and numerous other AI-powered products like the AI Mode. In search specifically, the company has already prioritized its AI Overviews feature—AI-generated summaries that now appear prominently at the top of many search result pages.
AI Mode, which debuted this summer, represents Google’s newest AI search change. The tool merges traditional chatbot functionality with Google’s search capabilities, delivering real-time AI-generated responses rather than conventional link lists.
After Kilpatrick’s response gained traction, Robby Stein, Google Search’s VP of Product, attempted to temper expectations. “Wouldn’t read too much into this,” Stein posted on Twitter. “We’re focusing on making it easy to access AI Mode for those who want it.”
However, Stein’s cautionary statement deserves similar scrutiny to Kilpatrick’s original comment. The answer remained unclear, until we found what’s the ‘Big New AI Mode Update.’
What’s the new AI Mode update?
The new update is just as the Google Search’s VP of Product said, making AI Mode more accessible. A new button appears on the top of search engine to take you to AI Mode. This is how it looks like:
So no, AI mode is not going to be the default search engine. Not in the distant future, anyway. Instead, Google is adding a new Dive Deeper in AI Mode button at the top of the Google search results. So the AI Mode is easily accessible.
Furthermore, AI Mode tab is now removed. There shouldn’t be multiple AI Mode shortcuts anyway. Users are used to the first tab being the ‘All’ — for search results, and the second tab being the images.
Adding AI Mode as the first tab leads to accidental clicks, which is a bad user experience.
Moreover, Google earns a significant revenue from Google search. The search giant hasn’t figured out how to monetize AI Mode as of now. So the traditional search engine is not going away.
AI Mode Tab and AI Overviews May Retire
Unlike many speculated, AI Mode is not replacing Google Search. In fact, AI Mode tab and AI Overviews may be going away. The AI overviews button may be replacing AI overviews. Having multiple AI modes on the top of the search results wouldn’t benefit anyone.
As the AI-powered search scenario adjusts to new changes, users, and industry experts, increasingly believe that AI-driven results may eventually take over the traditional Google Search, if not willfully then forcefully.
Should AI Mode eventually replace traditional Google Search, the implications for the web economy could be severe. Many publishers rely heavily on Google search traffic, which has declined substantially as the company embraces AI-powered results that frequently generate zero clicks to external sites.
All you will get is news from Reddit, Facebook, and Twitter without fact checking.
Major publications including The New York Times have experienced notable drops in organic search traffic. Industry observers have dubbed this trend the “traffic apocalypse” (Columbia Journalism Review), “AI armageddon” (Wall Street Journal), and warned that “AI is killing the web” (The Economist).
