GEO Glossary
AI Mode
AI Mode is a separate Google search mode where you ask in chat format and get a detailed AI answer with sources instead of a list of links.
At a glance
AI OVERVIEW Search → results page → summary at the top AI MODE Question → many sub-searches → detailed answer Follow-up questions in chat, sources on the side
Example
Instead of "phone system small office", someone asks in AI Mode: "Which phone system suits an office of 12 people who often work from home?" Google breaks the question into sub-searches, reads the results and answers with a recommendation and sources. The person can then ask follow-up questions.
In practice
In AI Mode, whoever has good answers to many sub-questions of a topic wins, not just for the main keyword. Think in topics and use cases: comparison, costs, setup, limits. Each of these pages can become a source for the overall answer.
How it fits together
AI Mode works, according to Google, with Query Fan-Out: one Prompt becomes many searches. The compact version in normal search is the AI Overview.