Google has launched its most advanced search experience in Australia, with AI Mode now live in English for users across the country. First introduced in the United States earlier this year, AI Mode is rolling out to more than 40 countries as Google accelerates its shift towards generative AI-powered search.

This marks a significant moment in search evolution, with direct implications for how people find information, discover content and interact with brands online.

For digital marketers, publishers and businesses dependent on organic traffic, the changes are not cosmetic. They are structural.

What Is Google AI Mode?

AI Mode is an opt-in feature that enhances traditional search with AI-generated responses. Users can now enter longer, more complex prompts and receive conversational answers complete with summaries, tables, images and prominent web links.

It supports multimodal input, meaning users can ask questions not just via text, but also through voice or image uploads. For example, someone can photograph a Korean restaurant menu and ask which dishes are vegetarian. AI Mode will interpret the image and generate a helpful answer, citing relevant sources.

At the core of the experience is a customised version of Google’s Gemini model, using a “query fan-out” technique to break down complex queries into multiple sub-questions. The system then performs a series of mini-searches in parallel to deliver a single, rich response.

From Search Engine to Answer Engine

AI Mode represents a fundamental pivot in Google’s role. It is moving from being a search engine that indexes content to acting as an answer engine that synthesises and delivers information directly.

This is especially useful for exploratory queries or planning-based tasks. Users are no longer typing short keywords and clicking around. Instead, they are inputting fully formed prompts such as:

• “Plan a Saturday walking itinerary in Melbourne with local cafes, art galleries and a vegetarian lunch.”
• “Compare coffee brewing methods by taste, ease of use and required equipment.”
• “Help me decide between Shopify, Squarespace and Wix for an ecommerce site.”

These are high-context questions that would previously have required several separate searches. AI Mode handles all of this in one step.

For marketers, that is both impressive and unsettling. The way users consume content is changing, and so is the opportunity to be part of their discovery journey.

The Immediate Impact on Organic Traffic

For businesses and publishers that rely heavily on organic traffic, AI Mode introduces a significant challenge.

Instead of showing a traditional list of search results, Google now leads with a fully formed AI summary. Web links are still provided, but they are integrated into the AI response itself. This shift places brand visibility behind an additional layer, reducing the likelihood of users scrolling further or clicking through.

Where businesses once competed for page-one rankings, they now compete for inclusion within the AI response. This is a different game altogether.

Early signals from AI Overviews, the precursor to AI Mode, suggest traffic declines for some publishers of up to 35 percent year-on-year, based on SimilarWeb data analysed by the ABC. While Google maintains that overall clicks remain “relatively stable,” many smaller outlets are seeing meaningful drops.

If Google’s AI already answers the user’s question, the need to click through disappears. For content-led businesses such as media, affiliate marketing or educational brands, that is a direct hit to audience reach, ad revenue and lead generation.

SEO Is Under Pressure

Long-tail keywords have long been a strategy for smaller businesses and niche brands to rank organically without needing massive domain authority. AI Mode, however, is built specifically to handle long-form, complex queries. The very search behaviour that long-tail SEO depends on is now being intercepted and resolved by AI.

Rather than triggering multiple searches or step-by-step clicks, Google now handles the complexity internally. This means fewer opportunities for long-tail content to surface, reducing its visibility in high-value user journeys.

Marketers will need to reconsider how they approach keyword strategy. Success will depend less on volume-driven keyword targeting, and more on owning the topic area outright and ensuring content is structured and cited in a way that makes it AI-eligible.

Local Discovery Is Also Changing

Local businesses are not immune to these shifts. While Google still supports maps, local packs and reviews, AI Mode can now embed those elements directly into answers. If a user asks:

“Create a day trip in Sydney with hidden bars, vintage shopping and vegan dinner options”

AI Mode will pull from various data sources, including Google Business Profiles and Google Maps, and construct a complete itinerary. Only a select few businesses will be included, and that selection is algorithmically determined.

For smaller operators, this raises the bar. Basic local SEO is no longer enough. Businesses must ensure their listings are fully optimised, regularly updated, include rich media, and feature structured data that AI systems can interpret.

Informational Content Faces an Existential Test

Websites built around how-to content, explainers and comparisons are particularly vulnerable. These types of pages were once the bread and butter of organic search. Now, they are precisely the kinds of content AI Mode is trained to summarise, distil and deliver, often without users needing to click further.

It is not that content creation is obsolete. Far from it. But the value chain has moved. To be cited in AI responses, content must be credible, up-to-date and easily digestible by machines. That means investing in structured data, schema markup and semantic clarity.

Marketers must also shift how they measure content performance. The traditional metrics of sessions and bounce rates may give way to more nuanced indicators like AI citations, source mentions and referral traffic from answer panels.

A New Era of Search

Google AI Mode is not just a new feature. It marks a structural change in how information is found, presented and valued online. The implications for visibility, engagement and traffic acquisition are significant.

For marketers, this is a time for strategic adaptation. While some traffic channels may contract, new ones are emerging, from AI-driven referrals to multimodal discovery. Those who understand the shift early, optimise for inclusion and adapt their content models will be best positioned to succeed.

Google may be evolving, but the fundamentals of digital strategy still hold: be discoverable, be relevant, and most importantly, be trusted.

Now, the challenge is getting there before the algorithm writes you out of the answer.