Google trials AI-only search results, replacing traditional blue links

Alphabet-owned Google unveiled a new experimental search engine feature on Wednesday, completely abandoning its iconic 10 blue links and opting instead for an AI-generated summary. This revolutionary approach, called “AI Mode,” is currently available exclusively to subscribers of the Google One AI Premium service.

Accessible from the search results page, users activate the new feature by selecting the “AI Mode” tab alongside standard search results. This feature offers extensive AI-generated summaries supplemented by hyperlinks, significantly altering how users traditionally engage with search results.

Google has been progressively integrating artificial intelligence into its search platform through its “AI Overviews,” short summaries appearing above conventional results in more than 100 countries. Advertising was incorporated into these summaries last May.

The introduction of AI Mode represents Google’s most aggressive move yet in its bid to protect its dominance in search, particularly as rivals like Microsoft-supported OpenAI have rapidly gained ground. OpenAI notably introduced integrated search capabilities in ChatGPT in October last year, intensifying competition in the AI-driven search landscape.

Ruth Porat, Google’s investment chief, has described the integration of AI into search as Google’s “biggest bet,” especially significant given that search-based advertising continues to form the backbone of Alphabet’s revenue. Last year, the company’s advertising-driven search business accounted for the majority of its earnings.

Subscribers to Google One AI Premium, a paid tier offering enhanced cloud storage and advanced AI features at additional cost, can activate the new AI Mode by clicking on the corresponding tab in the search results page.