Google may be testing removing AI Mode from search
Glenn Gabe found Google results with no AI Mode tab at all, weeks after Google told investors AI Mode makes less money than normal search. It is one test, but it is a strange one.
Getting into AI answers
Google is testing search without its AI chat mode
Google is testing results pages with no AI Mode tab and no "Ask anything" box under the AI answer, spotted by Glenn Gabe and reported by Barry Schwartz. Gabe says removing that box would stop people carrying the conversation on into AI Mode. It is a test, not a rollout, so nothing changes for your site today.
the timing is wild considering Google's Q3 earnings where they said AI Mode monetization was lower than traditional search results
Who this affects: Everyone with a website that gets traffic from Google.
- Do nothing, this is a limited test that may never ship.
Google's AI answers now show shop stock and offers
Google's AI Mode has started showing local store inventory and offer labels inside its answers, spotted by Gagan Ghotra. He links it to Google's announcement that its new Gemini 4 Hydrogen model now powers AI Mode and makes answers more visual. He says merchants need nothing special beyond normal SEO plus feeding Google your inventory and offers.
Who this affects: Shops and local businesses with stock or special offers to show.
- Add current offers in your Google Business Profile dashboard.
- Send store inventory to Google through Merchant Center.
Four AI tools almost never recommend the same business
A Yext study of 491,972 local searches found Gemini, OpenAI, Perplexity and Anthropic picked the same top business only 4% of the time, shared by Alex Groberman. In 48% of cases all four named a different winner. In the rare cases they agreed, the winning business's own website was among the cited sources 91% of the time.
If an AI system never identifies your company as a candidate, your review count is not going to save you.
Who this affects: Local businesses checking whether chatbots recommend them.
- Our take: do not judge your AI visibility from one chatbot.