Google’s AI mode has seen early, steady adoption
Between May 1st and July 5th, 2025, Google’s AI Mode grew from 0.25% to just over 1% of all U.S. desktop search sessions. That’s a 4x growth rate in only two months. It’s not massive yet, but it’s growing consistently, and early behavior is a leading signal worth watching closely.
This rollout wasn’t rushed. Google released the feature incrementally. It was introduced experimentally in March 2025 under Google’s AI Labs. By May 20th, it began rolling out in the U.S., and by June 27th, every U.S. user had access. Clear pattern: a calculated launch, with intent to scale.
We’re not seeing mass adoption yet. But the pace makes sense. Shifting entrenched user behavior takes time. And Google knows that. They’re not forcing the change, they’re nudging it methodically. Even at 1% adoption, Google is optimizing and observing. That’s how real transformation happens: steadily.
C-suite leaders, especially those focused on growth and digital visibility, should take note. When systems are this early and the curve is this clear, it’s not about preparing “in case.” It’s about preparing because it’s inevitable.
AI mode sessions are shorter and more efficient compared to traditional search
AI Mode isn’t just a new search interface. It changes how users find answers.
Here’s the reality of current user behavior: in traditional Google Search, a single session often involves five or more searches. People hunt, backtrack, refine, and try again. That’s how they close in on what they’re looking for.
AI Mode is more direct. In the sessions Semrush analyzed, with data from almost 69 million U.S. desktop searches between May and July 2025, users in AI Mode averaged just 2 to 3 queries per session. Their searches were getting resolved faster, in fewer steps.
The meaning is straightforward: when the platform understands more of your intent up front, context, detail, nuance, it delivers better answers faster. Less time, fewer adjustments, more clarity.
Why does this matter to your business? Because user behavior is shifting from exploration to resolution. If your content, product, or service isn’t embedded in that first or second AI-generated response, you’re invisible. Users aren’t digging through five query results anymore. The window to be part of the conversation is narrower, and more valuable.
Now is the time for leaders to adjust strategy, not reactively, but structurally. AI-powered search isn’t just changing how people search. It’s changing how fast they make decisions and which options they even see. Being first to adapt here won’t just keep you relevant. It’ll put you ahead, while others realize too late the rules have changed.
The vast majority of AI mode searches result in zero clicks to external domains
Here’s what the numbers tell us: Google’s AI Mode is mostly a closed system. In 92% to 94% of sessions, users don’t click away to another site. The search begins and ends with Google.
Compared to traditional search, where zero-click rates range from 34% to 46%, depending on whether an AI overview is included, this is a significant change. It means that in AI Mode, users are increasingly satisfied with on-page answers. The content and responses generated within the AI-driven interface are effective enough to stop the exploration process then and there.
For businesses, this changes how visibility works. It’s no longer about ranking high on the link list. It’s about presence inside the AI output itself. Your brand either gets mentioned inside the answer, or it doesn’t exist in that interaction.
Barry Schwartz, CEO of RustyBrick and News Editor at Search Engine Land, made the shift clear during a recent Semrush webinar. He said traditional metrics like clicks and conversions are becoming less reliable. He called it “billboard SEO”, tracking mentions, sentiment, voice, and visibility inside AI responses, rather than waiting for users to land on your site.
That’s not a limitation. It’s a shift in value. Strong visibility inside the response itself is worth more than a click if it drives perception and influence at the precise moment users are making decisions. But it does require a different approach to content and measurement. You’re no longer optimizing just for traffic, you’re optimizing to be included in the answer.
Users submit longer, more conversational queries in AI mode
AI Mode users are expressing themselves differently. The average search in AI Mode is 7.22 words. In traditional Google Search, it’s about 4.0. That increase isn’t random. It reflects more context being shared, more clarity being requested, and a more collaborative intent by the user.
This matters because longer queries give the AI more to work with. Users add modifiers, detail, and conversational structure. Instead of typing “SEO tools free trial,” they ask, “What are the best free SEO tools for a new startup?” That added specificity leads to more filtered and actionable results.
Compared to ChatGPT, where query lengths often exceed 20 words, AI Mode is a middle ground. Users aren’t fully conversational yet, but they’re stepping in that direction. They’re starting to trust the system to understand detailed, multi-layered questions. They’re being trained, intuitively, to speak to the engine more like a person.
This is part of Google’s plan. In its own public examples, Google showcased a 26-word query. That’s not an accident. It’s instructive. They’re designing for, and pushing toward, long-form, context-rich interactions. The back-end tech supports it through fan-out querying, which means one prompt can generate layered sub-queries and pull in synthesized insights from different sources.
For business leaders, this has major implications. Optimizing for short-tail keywords isn’t enough. If your content doesn’t address complex questions with clarity and authority, you’re not going to surface in AI outputs. You need to create content that engages with the broader topic, not just a narrow keyword. The shift in input behavior from users is already in motion. Strategy needs to catch up.
AI mode blends traditional search behavior with AI assistant-style dynamics
Right now, we’re seeing a hybrid behavior pattern in AI Mode users. While the system is built to support detailed, multi-intent prompts, most users are still approaching it with a traditional search mindset, short, direct, and often fragmented. This results in a mixed interaction model: users expect instant, ranked results, but the AI delivers processed, synthesized answers that don’t rely on link-based ranking.
Over time, this behavior is expected to evolve. What we’re seeing today is likely just a transitional phase. The technology is ready, but user behavior often lags when habits are deeply ingrained. Still, with Google reinforcing longer queries in both interface design and marketing, the progression toward a more conversational, assistant-style interaction is clear.
What differentiates AI Mode is how it handles those longer queries. Instead of returning simple links, it triggers a system Google refers to as “fan-out.” This allows it to deconstruct a query into multiple subtopics, run simultaneous underlying searches, and then generate a single, comprehensive response. In execution, it reduces the number of searches needed and increases clarity on the first try.
For executives, this matters in terms of visibility and touchpoints. If your brand is relevant to a user’s intent, you may appear in only one consolidated response. That’s the only window that user sees. Traditional search gave you five or ten chances to appear across clicks, now, it may be just one. If you’re not present in that synthesized output, you lose relevance in the user journey altogether.
Adaptation here requires a deeper understanding of user intent and query context. Optimizing content for keyword density or simple question-answer formats won’t be enough. What the system prioritizes now is content that answers complex, multi-faceted queries with authority, reliability, and completeness.
Traditional SEO metrics are becoming less applicable in the AI search era
In AI Mode, most users do not leave the results page. They get what they need from the AI summary or synthesis and move on. That’s why traditional SEO metrics, such as click-through rates or organic sessions, are no longer reliable indicators of success in this environment.
When nearly 94% of AI Mode sessions are zero-click, measuring traffic loses relevance. Your brand’s presence inside AI answers becomes the new signal of success. Content that is surfaced, mentioned, or cited within the response is what influences perception, even if there’s no click.
Barry Schwartz, CEO of RustyBrick and News Editor at Search Engine Land, referred to this situation directly. In a recent Semrush webinar, he made it clear that we’re moving into a landscape that depends more on visibility and presence rather than measurable traffic. This requires a major mental shift for marketing and SEO teams that have historically optimized for linear metrics like backlinks and sessions.
For decision-makers, this is strategic. It impacts how you measure ROI, assign budget, and evaluate channel value. Monitoring brand mentions, share of voice, and sentiment inside AI-generated content will become essential. This no longer resides only in the SEO funnel, it’s a brand-level concern that overlaps product, marketing, and communications.
Content needs to be built with new strength: authority beyond the keyword and clarity beyond the headline. It must earn its place in the AI-generated summary, not just rank on a page. If it doesn’t, you’re invisible to a growing segment of your audience, even if you’re technically ranking.
SEO strategies must adjust to evolving AI-powered search behaviors
AI-powered search has changed the rules. Users are entering longer, more detailed queries. AI systems are resolving intent with fewer interactions, and instead of showing a list of links, they’re delivering direct answers. Visibility now depends on whether your content is included in those AI-generated responses, not just your search position.
To stay relevant, your SEO approach needs to evolve immediately. Ranking #1 won’t matter in sessions where the user never clicks. What matters is getting cited in that top-level AI response. That’s not about keywords alone, it’s about coverage, credibility, and context. Your content needs to answer not just a question, but a complete intent.
What the AI looks for isn’t thin content or isolated blog posts. It rewards depth. It prioritizes topic authority, structured, extensive content that covers all dimensions of a subject. If you’re only optimizing for isolated keywords, your visibility in AI Mode will drop. If you’re building meaningful resources that solve multiple related queries in one place, your chances of being included rise.
This requires more strategic planning. You’ll need to map the full scope of your audience’s questions and intents around a topic, then develop integrated content across that structure, each piece supporting the other with continuity and value.
Also, your unique value proposition needs to stand out clearly. AI systems weigh authority and distinctiveness when selecting content to summarize. If your content doesn’t establish what differentiates your perspective or product, it will be treated as noise.
Executives need to view this shift not just as a marketing change, but as a broader transformation in how discovery and trust are built online. Investing in content that reflects expertise, clarity, and full topical understanding isn’t tactical anymore. It’s strategic. It’s what defines whether your company maintains visibility in an environment where AI is becoming gatekeeper to customer attention.
Recap
AI Mode isn’t a concept. It’s already influencing how people search, how answers are delivered, and how brands either show up, or disappear.
The shift is clear: fewer clicks, more context, tighter visibility windows. Traditional SEO metrics are losing function. Ranking isn’t enough. If your brand isn’t included in the AI-generated response, users won’t see you. And once this behavior scales, playing catch-up won’t be cheap or easy.
What matters now is precision at the content level and alignment at the strategic level. That means investing in authority, topical depth, and brand clarity across every interaction point. It means tracking the right signals, mentions, sentiment, inclusion, not vanity metrics.
Google is placing AI at the center of its search experience. That’s not a feature update. That’s an ecosystem shift.
For decision-makers, the opportunity is to move before the rest of the market adjusts. Rethink visibility, redefine success, and build a content strategy that earns relevance in a zero-click, AI-native future. Wait too long, and you’re optimizing for a model that’s already gone.
