I was mid-Zoom with some colleagues, searching for something related to our conversation, when Google popped up with a prompt: “Would you like to try AI Mode?”

There was no question, of course. I clicked yes.

We’ve been talking about the evolving nature of search and the impact Google AIO may have on traffic to news sites. But AI Mode takes this a step further — and it’s now clear to me just how dramatic that shift could be.  

Back in March, a senior search executive told me news publishers should be planning for a “near-zero search strategy” within two years (more on this from INMA’s April report As Search Ends for News, Here is What’s Next). At the time, it sounded provocative. Now, it feels inevitable.

The phrase “Google Zero” is cropping up more often. Check out Nick Thompson on search and Neil Vogel on Google Zero. I’ll dive into this more in the coming months.

As you’d expect, the AI Mode interface is clean and intuitive. It invites users to ask “detailed questions,” nudging them away from the keyword-based habits of traditional search.

Suggested prompts help guide the experience, and the layout mirrors other answer engines we’re starting to see across the ecosystem.

When I tested it with a colleague who was German, we tried a few contentious questions. Some returned traditional results — albeit with a slightly different design — while others triggered the full AI Mode experience: conversational answers, no links below, and a seamless prompt to follow up with another question. It’s AIO but without the fallback to classic search below it.

Sources are cited subtly — small link icons appear inline, unbranded, but clickable. A note in the top right corner shows how many sources were used with three clearly listed.

Interestingly, we’ve heard from several publishers that conversations are underway about being featured in those top-right source boxes — but only if they have a Gemini or Cloud partnership. It seems AI companies are beginning to lock publishers into their ecosystem. 

Times are changing, fast. As noted in the post above, some countries and companies may not have seen impact yet. But I think we can all agree that they will soon. Now is the time to prepare for an AI answer engine-first world.

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