Ask the SEO Help Desk: What’s the difference between AI Overviews and AI Mode?

Question: I keep hearing about Google’s AI Mode. Is that the same thing as AI Overviews or is that different? Do they require different optimization strategies? 

Answer: Google has had its fair share of AI introductions in the last couple of years. From the introduction of Search Generative Experience in 2023 — which would evolve into AI Overviews — to AI Mode’s unveiling in March 2025, artificial intelligence has taken center stage in how Google delivers search results.  

But what exactly are these two AI integrations?  

AI Overviews

Google introduced AI Overviews to the public in May 2024 but began testing the format, known as Search Generative Experience, in May 2023. No matter what the name was, the execution was the same: provide AI-generated summaries of the top search results for a given query.  

How AI Overviews are different than traditional search results 

Traditional search results displayed simple lists of links based on keyword matching, requiring users to visit websites directly to find information. 

AI Overviews (AIOs) leverage machine learning to grasp the intent behind a query, then they provide an AI-generated summary at the top of search results. AIOs go well beyond simple keyword matching. 

But at the end of the day, AI Overviews are bulleted summaries of the top search results.  

AI Mode

A Use Case of AI Overviews vs. AI Mode  

Say you have a birthday coming up, and you’re trying to figure out the best place to go to dinner.  

A more traditional Google search (with AI Overviews) will provide you with a bulleted list of places that might match the type of dinner you want (trendy, fun, low-key). A list of articles about places to eat will likely accompany the overview, giving you the opportunity to click-through and review until you find the place you want to get a reservation for.  

AI Mode will take what AI Overviews provided to you but also give you the opportunity to ask questions, including which restaurants have reservations on the specific date and time you’re looking for. You can also give AI mode specific instructions to refine restaurant types, pricing, or whatever else you might need.  

Do AI Overviews and AI Mode require different optimization strategies? 

Yes and No. 

Both AI Overviews and AI Mode are built on solid SEO, which I talked more about in how to optimize content for Generative AI Tools.  

AI Overviews are primarily designed to show authoritative, widely accepted answers to high-volume, short-tail queries. They tend to favor well-established brands and sources that demonstrate topical authority, and they frequently pull in user-generated content such as videos, forums, and community platforms. According to a December 2025 Ahrefs study, AI Overviews are especially aligned with queries where Google can confidently summarize a single, broadly applicable answer. 

AI Mode, by contrast, is built for exploration and conversation. It typically engages with longer-tail, more specific queries and provides more detailed, synthesized responses. With the launch of AI Mode, Google introduced the concept of “query fan-out,” where a single user question is broken into multiple related sub-queries behind the scenes. AI Mode then recombines those results into a more comprehensive, context-rich answer. 

What this means for optimization: while both surfaces rely on strong SEO fundamentals, AI Overviews reward broad authority and concise answers to common questions, whereas AI Mode benefits from content that addresses nuanced intent, related follow-up questions, and deeper topical coverage. As a result, brands don’t necessarily need entirely separate strategies, but they do need content that can perform well at both the short-tail authority level and the long-tail, conversational depth level.