UK web users are getting a smart upgrade from Google this week, which is aimed at making surfing the internet feel faster and more fluid. AI Mode first launched in the US back in May and already offers those across the pond the ability to find detailed answers by typing in more complicated questions.
Now this clever upgrade is coming to the UK with Google expecting most Brits to have access by the end of the week. So what is AI Mode and how is it different from Google’s current AI Overview service, which has been available for some time?
The easiest way to explain AI Mode is that instead of typing in a simple search such as “What to do in Edinburgh?” you can now make requests far more detailed and conversational.
Once AI Mode appears in your search bar, you can say, “Things to do in Edinburgh this weekend with friends. We’re big foodies who like music but also chill vibes and exploring off the beaten track.”
This should then bring up a full search query including a detailed overview, location maps and links to the websites that Google scrapped the information from.
You can even then add to the search just like you would if you were chatting to a human.
Google says that its new AI Mode should be particularly helpful for exploratory questions and for more complicated tasks like comparing products, planning a trip or understanding complex how-tos.
“We’ve found that early users of AI Mode are asking questions that are two or three times the length of traditional search queries,” Google explained.
AI Mode has also been designed to be more multimodal. That means you can ask questions in whatever way feels most natural — whether that’s with text, your voice or even your camera.
You’ll know when it’s arrived as you should see an AI Mode box appear in your browser window.
“Starting this week, we are excited to bring AI Mode to the UK,” Hema Budaraju, Vice President of Product Management at Google, told Express.co.uk.
“AI Mode expands on what AI overviews can do; it has got more advanced reasoning, thinking and multimodal capabilities from Gemini 2.5. You can ask nuanced questions, things that would have taken multiple, multiple, multiple searches before, can actually be one prompt.”
Some might be worried by this new AI update, especially as rival firms have had issues with wrong information being served up in summaries. Google is confident it has that covered.
“I think for us it’s really important to keep the bar quality of Google search,” added Budaraju.
“We have 25 years of experience in building stronger ranking systems, strong quality systems, as well as safety systems.
“We do extensive internal testing to find challenges ourselves. And all of that is learning that goes into building up these features and these new technologies.”