Google Search Is Now A... Conversation!?

Hey, I'm your host, Jim Carter, and welcome back to the prompt so, if you haven't heard, Google has officially launched AI Mode. And let me tell you, it's not just another search feature. It's a real shift in how we interact with information online. Think back to the last time you googled something simple. Maybe it was how to cook a perfect steak, or you searched for a good co working space in Lisbon. You probably scrolled through blue links, opened a few tabs, skimmed articles, ignored a few pop ups, the whole usual routine. Now imagine replacing all of that with a conversation. That's what AI mode promises. So let's break this down. AI Mode is Google's latest experiment inside Search Labs, and it's powered by a custom version of Gemini 2.0, their most advanced AI model to date. Gemini isn't just smart, it's multimodal, meaning it can understand and work with text, voice and images at the same time. You can ask it a question by speaking or typing, and it will respond not just with an answer, but with context, nuance, real reasoning. Let's say you ask something layered, like what are the best stops on a road trip from New York City to la, and what time of year is ideal for each one. A regular search might throw you 20 blog posts, five listicles and a forum thread from 2012. With AI mode, you get a curated synthesized response, all organized into a thoughtful conversational answer. It might recommend Zion national park in April, Austin in October and explain why and and if you want to tweak your route, just ask a follow up question. No need to start from scratch. This isn't just surface level convenience. It's powered by a technique called Query fanout, where AI mode runs multiple related searches in the background across different subtopics, then fuses everything together into one seamless reply. It's like having a personal researcher working behind the scenes while you chat. Now here's where it gets really interesting. This new experience transforms search from something passive to where we used to type in a keyword and wade through options to something interactive and collaborative. Instead of links, you're getting knowledge. Instead of digging for the right source, you're having an intelligent conversation that keeps evolving with your curiosity. But this evolution raises some big questions. For one, where do websites fit in when the AI is giving you the answer directly? If you're a business that depends on search traffic, like bloggers, marketers, e commerce brands, this is not a minor update. It's a whole new environment. You you may not get the click anymore, but your Content might still be used in the AI's synthesized response. That means visibility will depend on being cited in these AI answers, and that requires rethinking how we create and optimize content. We've talked before on the show about the need to optimize for LLMs, not just humans or traditional SEO. Well, AI mode makes that need urgent. Your content still needs to exist on the web, but now it also needs to be structured, relevant and trustworthy enough for AI to reference it. And let's not forget that this isn't available to everyone yet. Google is rolling this out carefully right now. It's exclusive to US based Google One AI premium subscribers on a $19 per month tier. So they're experimenting, gathering feedback and slowly refining the product before unleashing it more widely. This tells us that Google knows just how much of a game changer this could be and they're treading cautiously. They're also taking trust seriously in areas like health and finance, and AI mode includes source citations and is expected to become even more robust with video visuals and improved factual accuracy in future updates. Google isn't just throwing this into the wild, they're positioning it as a responsible evolution of the platform, especially as competition from OpenAI, Perplexity and other AI native search tools heats up. So where does this all leave us? Well, this could make learning, decision making and planning way more intuitive. But I'm also aware of how it changes the rules of the Internet, which when the search engine becomes the destination, the ripple effects are huge. It's not just about what we search, it's about how we search and how that process can shift from friction to flow, from typing keywords to having real conversations with intelligent systems. So here's my question to you. Are you ready for that shift? Are you thinking about how your work, your brand or your content fits into this new model of discovery? If you've got access to AI mode or I encourage you to try it out, ask it something weird, something layered, something that usually takes you a few tabs to figure out. Then see what it does with that. And when you do, come tell me about it in the Fast Foundation Slack community. That's where these conversations really come to life. If you're not already a member, go to fastfoundations.com Slack to join. I'd love to hear what you think and what you're building in this AI driven future. Alright, that's a wrap for today. Thanks for tuning in to the prompt. Until next time, keep experimenting, keep learning, and as always, keep asking better questions. I'll catch you in the next one, Sa.