At this year’s Google I/O event, the tech giant announced a major overhaul of its search engine with a wider release of its AI Mode feature. First revealed as an experimental tool earlier this year, the feature will now be rolling it out for all users in the U.S., but it is unknown if or when it will get a global launch.
A significant leap from AI Overviews, AI Mode introduces advanced reasoning to the search engine, with Search being able to break down your questions into subtopics. The feature is powered by a custom version of Google’s Gemini 2.5 model.
With Deep Search, the search engine can help you do research on something by issuing hundreds of searches and creating a fully-cited report in minutes. There is also Project Mariner, a previously experimental agentic feature that lets Search click around and conduct tasks for you, such as buying an online ticket. AI Mode will even personalise your search results based on past searches and, if you opt in, even access your emails for more personal context.
The AI-forward overhaul also means a focus on improving your shopping experience, from letting Project Mariner buy items for you to a new experimental feature in Search Labs that lets you virtually try on clothes by uploading a picture of yourself to create a virtual copy.
Last, but not least, Google is rolling out Gemini Live more widely. In case you are unfamiliar with it, the Live feature, which can be found in the Lens app, lets you interact with Gemini as it analyses what it sees through the camera in real-time, making it a true virtual assistant you can talk to.
