For decades, Google’s homepage has trained users to initiate searches with keywords, expecting a list of ranked links in return. Now, a few days ahead of its annual I/O conference, the tech giant is testing a change to its homepage interface by introducing “AI Mode,” a new feature designed to deliver AI-generated responses to user queries. The feature, which in some cases replaces the iconic “I’m Feeling Lucky” button, marks a departure from the company’s historically minimalistic homepage.
A Google spokesperson confirmed that AI Mode has started appearing for a select group of users within the US through the company’s Labs environment, where experimental features are tested before potential public deployment.
AI Mode is built to extend Google’s AI offerings beyond snippets and summaries, and comes after the company has been testing AI-powered chat products since 2023. Rather than displaying a traditional list of ranked links, the AI mode feature delivers AI-generated answers. It builds on the foundations laid by AI Overviews, a product that was rolled out last year and designed to summarize key content from various sources. Unlike its predecessor, however, AI Mode offers a more interactive experience by delivering full conversational responses on a separate results interface.
The move is part of Google’s broader attempt to scale adoption of its Gemini AI model, which, according to data disclosed during a recent antitrust proceeding, currently serves approximately 35 million daily active users. This figure pales in comparison to ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, which has an estimated 160 million daily users.
Google’s homepage has long been regarded as a paragon of digital simplicity, featuring only a search bar, two buttons, and little visual clutter. For decades, the “I’m Feeling Lucky” button has been a well-known fixture, directing users straight to the top result of a search query without displaying the full results page. Now, the visual presentation of the AI Mode button varies in different test instances. In some, it is embedded within the search bar next to the image search icon, while in others, it appears below the bar, replacing “I’m Feeling Lucky.” Certain versions feature dynamic styling, including color changes upon hovering, which is designed to attract user attention.
This also comes at a time when traditional search, the bedrock of online information retrieval for decades, is facing a challenge from the rise of AI chatbots – unlike traditional search, which presents a list of websites that might contain the answer, AI chatbots can provide direct, synthesized answers to user queries. This can be faster and more convenient for users seeking specific information, and does away with their need to navigate through multiple web pages. They can also ask follow-up questions to refine their queries, and AI chatbots can learn from user interactions and tailor their responses based on context and past queries, offering a more personalized experience than the often generic results of traditional search. Google’s response to this has been to accelerate its own AI development and test how best to present it to end-users, which is where AI Mode comes in.
