Guide · Updated November 9, 2026
How to rank in AI Mode
To rank in AI Mode, start with Google’s one technical requirement: the page must be indexed and able to show a snippet in Search, with no special file or markup. Then answer the follow-up questions AI Mode searches for, say plainly what you sell, get onto the pages it already links, and check the answers by hand.
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How Google AI Mode chooses the pages it links
AI Mode is Google Search as a conversation: you ask, it searches, writes an answer and lists the pages behind it. Four mechanics from Google’s own pages decide whether yours can be one of them.
Most advice on how to rank in AI Mode (or how to rank in Google AI Mode, as many people type it) skips the part Google actually wrote down. Start there, because it rules out several tactics you will read about.
One question, many searches
Google says AI Mode splits a question into subtopics and searches for each one at the same time. It calls this query fan-out. Deep Search, announced in May 2025, pushes the same idea to hundreds of searches for one question.
The same index as regular Search
To be a supporting link in AI Mode, a page has to be indexed and able to appear in Search with a snippet. Google lists no other technical requirement, and it adds that meeting this one is no promise of a link.
Its own models, its own links
Google warns that AI Mode and AI Overviews may run on different models and techniques, so their answers and links differ. When it lacks confidence in an AI answer, AI Mode can fall back to a plain set of web links.
Answers can be personal
Signed in, aged 18 or over and with Search history on, people can get answers that draw on their past searches, and they can connect Gmail, Calendar and Photos. Your own account may not see what a new buyer sees.
What Google does not publish is how it ranks one eligible page above another. So the rest of this guide sticks to three things: what Google states, what AI Mode linked in six real searches on , and steps you can verify yourself.
AI Mode vs AI Overviews: what changes for SEO
Same index, same eligibility, different behavior. Each row comes from Google’s pages as read on , except the last one, which is how Slibur handles each.
Scroll sideways to see every column.
| What changes | Google AI Mode | Google AI Overviews |
|---|---|---|
| Where it appears | On its own page: google.com/ai, the AI Mode option after a search, or the Google app’s home screen | At the top of the regular results page, for some searches |
| When it answers | Whenever someone asks in it. It may show only web links when it is not confident in an AI answer | Only when Google judges it adds something to the classic results, so it often does not show |
| How it searches | Query fan-out: subtopics searched at the same time. Deep Search can run hundreds of searches | May also use query fan-out |
| Follow-up questions | Yes, in the same conversation. Search Console counts each follow-up as a new query | On mobile, “Show more” plus a follow-up question carries the search into AI Mode |
| Position in Search Console | Counted like a regular results page; carousels and image blocks follow their usual rules | The whole AI Overview takes one position, shared by every link in it |
| Clicks and impressions | Performance report, Web search type, mixed with the rest of your Search traffic | The same report and the same search type |
| Personal answers | Can use your past searches when you are signed in, 18 or over, with history on | Not described on Google’s AI Overviews help page |
| Ways to ask | Text, voice, images, PDFs and other files, or a pasted web address | A typed search, an image search or Circle to Search |
| Availability | 248 countries and territories, 98 languages | Nearly the same list of countries, also 98 languages |
| Which pages can be linked | Indexed pages that can show a snippet; no extra file or markup | The same rule |
| In Slibur | Not tracked | Read every day on paid plans, in your workspace’s country and language |
What changes in SEO for Google AI Mode. The rules are the ones you know; the reach is wider. AI Mode runs many searches per question and keeps the conversation going, so it rewards pages that also answer the second and third question.
Do not use one as a proxy for the other. In the six searches below, AI Mode and the AI Overview shared 16 of the 42 domains AI Mode cited. The playbook for AI Overviews still applies, it just covers part of the ground.
What AI Mode linked on November 9, 2026: six searches
To see the pattern behind the documentation, we ran six buyer questions through Google AI Mode and through regular Google Search on : United States, English, desktop, one reading each.
4 of 42
domains cited by AI Mode also held a regular page-one result for the same search.
16 of 42
were also cited by the AI Overview of that search.
6 of 6
answers linked at least one page from a company selling in that category.
17
questions AI Mode asked back at the end of its six answers, two or three each.
Scroll sideways to see every column.
| Search | AI Mode sources | AI Overview | Also on page one | Also in the AI Overview | Seller pages linked | Questions asked back |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| “best crm for small business” | 3 links, 3 domains | 7 links, 4 domains | 1 of 3 | 3 of 3 | A CRM maker (Salesforce) | 2 |
| “best project management software for nonprofits” | 1 link, 1 domain | 5 links, 4 domains | 0 of 1 | 1 of 1 | A project software maker (Celoxis) | 3 |
| “best accounting software for freelancers” | 11 links, 10 domains | 8 links, 4 domains | 1 of 10 | 3 of 10 | Accounting software makers (FreshBooks, Intuit QuickBooks) | 3 |
| “best running shoes for flat feet” | 12 links, 3 domains | None shown | 0 of 3 | n/a | A running shoe brand (ASICS) | 3 |
| “how much does a kitchen remodel cost” | 21 links, 15 domains | 17 links, 10 domains | 1 of 15 | 6 of 15 | Contractors, cabinet sellers and The Home Depot | 3 |
| “is a heat pump worth it in a cold climate” | 11 links, 10 domains | 11 links, 8 domains | 1 of 10 | 3 of 10 | Heating equipment makers (Carrier, Trane) and an installer | 3 |
Method: one reading per search of AI Mode and of the regular results page with its AI Overview, collected through a search data API on November 9, 2026. Links count by full address, so each video is one link; domains count once per search, and a domain counts as on page one even when the page there is a different one (two of the 4 matches are YouTube and Reddit). Google redirect links that hide their destination (9 in AI Mode, all in the running shoes answer, and 15 in AI Overviews) count as links but not as domains. “Page one” means the regular results, seven to nine per search here, without the forum and video boxes. Six searches on one day are a snapshot: AI Mode answers move from day to day.
What the six answers had in common
Page one was not the gate. Only 4 of the 42 domains AI Mode cited had a regular result on page one for the same search. That fits Google’s own line that its AI features can surface a wider set of links than a classic results page.
Sellers got linked. Every answer cited at least one page published by a company that sells in the category: a CRM maker, accounting software makers, a shoe brand, kitchen contractors, heating equipment makers. Your own pages can be the source.
Forums and video counted. Reddit threads appeared among the sources of four answers, and YouTube videos in four as well. In the kitchen remodel answer, 7 of the 21 links were videos. If buyers discuss your category there, AI Mode may read those discussions.
The answers were built from sub-questions. The kitchen remodel answer ran under three headings: cost by project scope, where the money goes, and rules of thumb for budgeting. The heat pump one covered what you replace, performance in the cold, and what to weigh before buying. It looks like query fan-out, made visible.
Every answer asked for more. All six ended by asking the searcher two or three things: team size, main goal, budget, location, kitchen size, heating fuel. Each reply becomes a new search, and a new chance for a page that already answers it.
How to rank in AI Mode: 7 steps
Each step maps to something Google documents or to what the six answers linked. None of them can force a link.
Make the page eligible
In Search Console, run URL Inspection on the exact page and confirm it is on Google. Then make sure no noindex, nosnippet or tight max-snippet rule hides it, that data-nosnippet does not wrap your key passage, and that robots.txt, your CDN and your firewall let Googlebot fetch it with a 200 response. The free GEO audit tool checks your homepage, robots.txt included, on 18 points.
Collect the questions buyers ask in full
People type longer questions in AI Mode, with context: team size, budget, location, what they use today. Write down 10 to 20 of them in your buyers’ own words, taken from sales calls, support tickets and the forums where they ask.
Split every question into its sub-questions
For each one, list what a careful researcher would also look up: price, alternatives, who it suits, risks, local options. That is roughly what query fan-out does on Google’s side. Google keeps the searches AI Mode runs hidden. The searches ChatGPT runs for the same question can be read, though, and they hint at how a question breaks apart. See them for any question with the free ChatGPT sources tool.
Answer each sub-question on the page you want linked
Give each one a heading worded like the question and open with a direct answer: a number, a range, a name or a date. Add a table where buyers compare options, and something only you can publish (your own prices, figures or photos), since Google asks for unique, non-commodity content. Keep the page quick and easy to read on a phone. The kitchen remodel answer above was built from blocks of this shape.
Say what you sell, for whom and for how much
Seller pages were linked in all six answers. State plainly on the page what you offer, who it fits, what it costs and where you work, so the questions AI Mode asks back (team size, budget, location) already have an answer on your site.
Earn a place on the pages AI Mode already links
Ask your buyer questions in AI Mode and list the third-party pages behind the answers: comparison articles, Reddit threads, YouTube videos, directories. Get listed, reviewed or quoted there on your merits, and join the discussions where your buyers already ask. Finding those pages at scale: AI citation tracking.
Keep your Business Profile and Merchant Center data current
Google names both in its advice for AI features, together with good images and video that back up the text. Opening hours, prices, stock and service areas are exactly the kind of detail an answer repeats.
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AI Mode SEO checklist: score your page out of 100
If you are wondering how to optimize for AI Mode one page at a time, start here. Tick what is true for the page you want linked. The first block is what Google requires; the second is what gives AI Mode a reason to pick it.
Page score: 0 of 100. What to fix first
Can Google show the page?
0 of 45 points
Google’s three requirements (1 to 3) and two of its best practices. Miss one of the first three and the rest of the list cannot help.
- 15 pointsURL Inspection in Search Console says “URL is on Google” for the exact address you want linked.
Google requirement
- 10 pointsNo noindex or nosnippet, no max-snippet short enough to cut the answer, and no data-nosnippet around the passage that answers the question.
Google requirement
- 10 pointsrobots.txt allows Googlebot, the page returns a 200, and your CDN or bot filter does not challenge Google’s crawler.
Google requirement
- 5 pointsNot only inside an image, a PDF, a tab that loads on click or a script. Google asks for important content in text form.
Google best practice
- 5 pointsEvery fact in your schema.org markup is also visible on the page. Using none? Tick it anyway: Google does not require markup.
Google best practice
Does AI Mode have a reason to link it?
0 of 55 points
What the six answers above rewarded, plus Google’s advice on content for its AI features.
- 12 pointsPrice, alternatives, who it suits, risks and local options each get a heading and a direct answer on this page.
Seen in the six searches
- 12 pointsFor your top questions, you are listed, reviewed or quoted on at least half of the comparison articles, threads and videos AI Mode links.
Seen in the six searches
- 8 pointsTeam size, budget and location are what AI Mode asked back. The page answers them before anyone has to ask.
Seen in the six searches
- 8 pointsA number, a range, a name or a date in the first sentence under each heading, instead of a warm-up paragraph.
Working habit
- 5 pointsHours, prices, stock and service areas match your site. If neither applies to your business, tick it.
Google best practice
- 10 pointsTen buyer questions, signed out, logged on three different days. The routine is below.
Working habit
What will not get you into AI Mode
Six tactics that come up often. Google’s documentation, or the six searches, rule each one out.
A special AI file or schema type
Google says you need no new machine-readable files, no AI text files and no special schema.org markup to show up in its AI features. An llms.txt file may serve other AI tools; AI Mode does not ask for one.
Switching Google-Extended on or off
Google-Extended governs training and grounding for the Gemini apps and Vertex AI. Google states it has no effect on inclusion in Search, and AI Mode is part of Search.
Paid list placements that pass link credit
Buying a spot in a “best tools” article with a followed link counts as link spam under Google’s spam policies (opens in a new tab) (updated ). Sponsorships are fine when the link carries rel="sponsored" or nofollow.
A page for every phrasing
Dozens of near-identical pages, one per wording of the same question, are what Google calls scaled content abuse, whoever or whatever wrote them. One strong page that covers the sub-questions does the job.
Asking AI Mode why it skipped you
Its reply is a generated answer, not Google’s ranking rules, and Google itself says AI Mode can misread web content. Treat what it tells you as a lead to verify on the pages it cites.
Chasing position one and nothing else
In the six searches, 4 of 42 cited domains held a page-one result for the same query. Query fan-out pulls pages from many related searches, so cover the sub-questions instead of betting everything on the head term.
How to check whether you appear in AI Mode
Knowing how to appear in AI Mode is half the job; checking that you do is the other half. Slibur does not track AI Mode, and Search Console folds its clicks into your regular Web traffic, so this routine does it by hand in about half an hour a month.
- 01
Sign out, or open a private window. Signed in, AI Mode can lean on your own search history. A clean session is closer to what a new buyer gets.
- 02
Search the way your buyers do. Use google.com/ai in their language and, ideally, from their country. Google lists AI Mode in 248 countries and territories, so this is no longer a US-only check.
- 03
Record the first answer before replying. Any follow-up starts a new query, with new links. Log the first answer, then explore.
- 04
Log four things per question. Is your brand named? Is one of your pages linked? Which rivals are named? Which third-party pages are linked?
- 05
Repeat on three different days. One reading is a snapshot. The same question can link other pages tomorrow.
- 06
Read Search Console next to your log. AI Mode clicks sit in Performance, Web search type, mixed with the rest. Watch which pages and queries grow after each change, and count the sign-ups or sales those visits bring: Google advises judging Search traffic by its value, not by clicks alone.
What Slibur measures, and what it does not
Google AI Overviews, every day. Each day on paid plans, Slibur pulls the actual AI Overview for every prompt in your country and language, keeps the full text and every link, and marks the days Google shows none.
Four AI assistants beside it. ChatGPT daily*, plus weekly answers from Claude, Perplexity and Grok, each stored with the sources it cites.
How it helps with AI Mode. 16 of the 42 domains AI Mode cited were also in the AI Overview of the same search. The overlap is real but partial: use the pages Slibur finds behind AI Overviews and ChatGPT as a ready list for step 6, not as your AI Mode score.
Not AI Mode. Slibur does not read AI Mode answers. It does not track the Gemini app, Copilot, Meta AI or DeepSeek either.
How Slibur reads Google’s AI answer each day, and what it records when there is none, is on the AI Overview tracker page. Which metrics to watch over time is in our guide to GEO performance monitoring.
* On paid plans. ChatGPT is read on chatgpt.com in every country Slibur tracks except Venezuela and Puerto Rico, where it is asked weekly through its API.
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AI Mode stays a hand check. For the rest of AI search, Slibur asks your buyers’ questions on day one and shows who gets named and which pages get cited.
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ChatGPT and Google AI again every day while you keep visiting your dashboard. Claude, Perplexity and Grok are asked once, at sign-up.
One “Run now” and the 18-point site audit. After the trial, our free GEO audit tool still audits any site, without an account.
On paid plans only: team invites and the weekly email summary with alerts.
* On paid plans. ChatGPT is read on chatgpt.com in every country Slibur tracks except Venezuela and Puerto Rico, where it is asked weekly through its API.
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Sources for this guide
Everything this guide on how to rank in AI Mode attributes to Google comes from its own pages, all read on : the Search Central guide (opens in a new tab) called “AI features and your website” (updated ), the Google Search help pages on AI Mode (opens in a new tab) and AI Overviews (opens in a new tab), the Search Console help page on how clicks, impressions and position are counted (opens in a new tab), the Search Central post on succeeding in AI search (opens in a new tab) (), the AI Mode announcement at Google I/O (opens in a new tab) () and the documentation on Google-Extended (opens in a new tab) (updated ).
The six searches are our own reading from the same day. How Google orders the sources within one AI Mode answer is not documented anywhere, so the steps and the checklist weights are practical advice built on the sources above.
Questions about AI Mode SEO
About Slibur itself? Read the full FAQs or see every plan and price.
Is AI Mode SEO different from regular SEO?
Not in its rules. Google says AI Mode has no extra requirements and needs no special optimization: the page must be indexed and able to show a snippet. What changes is how far one question reaches. AI Mode runs many searches per question and keeps the conversation going, so pages that answer the follow-ups get more chances to be linked.
Does AI Mode only link pages that rank on page one?
Google sets no such rule. In six searches on November 9, 2026, only 4 of the 42 domains AI Mode cited held a regular page-one result for the same search. Since AI Mode splits a question into several searches, a page can be picked for one of the sub-questions without ranking for the words typed.
What is the difference between AI Mode and AI Overviews?
AI Overviews sit on top of some regular results pages and often do not appear. AI Mode is a separate conversational search: you can ask it anything, it splits each question into many searches and it takes follow-ups. Google says the two may use different models, and in our six searches they shared 16 of 42 cited domains.
Does Search Console show AI Mode traffic?
Yes, inside your regular numbers. Google counts AI Mode clicks and impressions within the Performance report, as part of the Web search type, alongside all your other Search traffic. A click on an external link in AI Mode counts as a click, and a follow-up question counts as a new query.
Can I keep my pages out of AI Mode?
Only with the controls that also shape your regular listings. A nosnippet or max-snippet rule (or data-nosnippet around a passage) narrows what Google may quote, and noindex removes the page from Search altogether. Blocking Google-Extended does not take you out of AI Mode.
Does llms.txt or schema markup help with Google AI Mode SEO?
Google says neither is needed: no AI text files and no special schema.org markup. Structured data still helps Google read facts such as prices correctly, as long as it matches what the page shows.
How long does AI Mode optimization take to show results?
Google first has to recrawl the page, and by its own account that may take days or even months; you can request a recrawl in Search Console. After that there is no fixed delay, and answers change from day to day, so judge progress over several weeks of readings.
Does AI Mode prefer long or short content?
Google sets no length. Its advice for AI search asks for unique, non-commodity content that satisfies the reader, and it notes that people ask longer, more specific questions there. A page earns its length by answering the follow-ups a buyer would ask next, each with a direct answer, not by its word count.
Do keywords still matter for AI Mode?
Less as exact strings. Searchers give AI Mode whole questions with context (team size, budget, location), and query fan-out turns each one into several searches. Use the words your buyers use, put them in headings that read like their questions, and never repeat a phrase for its own sake: Google lists keyword stuffing among its spam policies.
Is AI Mode available outside the United States?
Yes. On November 9, 2026, Google’s help page listed AI Mode in 248 countries and territories and 98 languages, practically the same list as AI Overviews.
Does Slibur track Google AI Mode?
No. Slibur covers Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Grok; it does not track AI Mode, the Gemini app, Copilot, Meta AI or DeepSeek. For AI Mode, use the hand check on this page. For the five it tracks, the 7-day trial asks for no card and takes up to 10 prompts, and paid plans start at $59 a month.
Can an agency or a tool guarantee a spot in AI Mode?
No. Google chooses the links for every answer and says that meeting its requirements does not guarantee one. A promised spot is a reason to walk away.
See who AI search names for your buyers’ questions
That is how to rank in AI Mode: an eligible page, answers to the follow-ups and a place on the pages it links. Check AI Mode by hand each month. For AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Grok, Slibur does the reading for you from day one.
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