# AI Mode: one question becomes several searches.
> How Google AI Mode builds a response, according to Google: query fan-out, follow-up questions, links to the web, and the same eligibility as Search.
- Page: https://mohammedteto.com/platforms/google-ai-mode/
- Language: en — French version: https://mohammedteto.com/fr/visibilite-ia/
- Author: Mohammed Teto (https://mohammedteto.com/#person)
- Published: 2026-10-07
- Updated: 2026-10-04
Google describes AI Mode as dividing a question into subtopics and searching each one. Which searches are run for a given question is not published.
AI Mode is described by Google as its most powerful AI search experience: a question receives an AI-powered response, with follow-up questions and links to the web. For site owners, the conditions are the same as for AI Overviews. Google documents query fan-out for both; what its help page adds for AI Mode is follow-up questions.
Documentation last checked: October 4, 2026. It is re-checked every quarter, and each check is entered in the [change log](https://mohammedteto.com/research/change-log/). These pages can change; the statements below are quoted or paraphrased from the sources linked, as they read on that date.
## What is documented
| Statement | Source |
|---|---|
| "AI Mode is Google's most powerful AI search experience." | [Google Search Help, AI Mode](https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/16011537) |
| It uses a "query fan-out" technique: the question is divided into subtopics and each is searched | [Google Search Help, AI Mode](https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/16011537) |
| Responses include links to the web | [Google Search Help, AI Mode](https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/16011537) |
| "AI Mode doesn't always get it right." | [Google Search Help, AI Mode](https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/16011537) |
| AI Overviews and AI Mode "may use a 'query fan-out' technique — issuing multiple related searches across subtopics and data sources" | [Google Search Central, AI features](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features) |
| No additional requirements; a supporting link must be indexed and snippet-eligible | [Google Search Central, AI features](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features) |
## What the cited sources do not cover
- Which sub-queries are generated for a given question.
- How links are chosen among the pages retrieved.
- A separate report for AI Mode in Search Console.
Where the documentation is silent, this page says so and does not fill the gap.
## Access and controls
The controls are those described for [AI Overviews](https://mohammedteto.com/platforms/google-ai-overviews/#access): the snippet controls and `noindex`. There is no AI Mode-specific tag in the documentation cited here: Google's AI-features documentation covers both surfaces in one page and lists no control that applies to AI Mode alone.
## A test protocol for Google AI Mode
This is a procedure to follow, not a result. No test of Google AI Mode is reported on this page.
1. **Write questions as a person would ask them**, including long ones with several conditions.
2. **Ask each one in AI Mode**, where it is available to you, and keep the response and its links.
3. **Ask one follow-up question** per test, the same each time, and keep that response too.
4. **For each link shown, note the subtopic it answers.** This is your own classification; it is not a record of the searches Google ran.
5. **List the subtopics for which none of your pages is linked.**
6. **Repeat**, with the same wording.
What to record for each run is listed in [what is recorded](https://mohammedteto.com/ai-search-intelligence/#record); how many prompts a reading needs is in [how many prompts make a reading](https://mohammedteto.com/ai-search-intelligence/#sample). The rules a measurement must meet before it is published on this site are in the [research methodology](https://mohammedteto.com/research/methodology/).
## What to do with the result
- **You are linked for the main question and not for the subtopics** The gap is in coverage: which sub-questions does your site not answer?
- **You are linked for a subtopic only** That page is doing the work; check that it says who you are.
- **The response describes you wrongly** See [inaccurate or outdated AI answers](https://mohammedteto.com/problems/inaccurate-ai-results/).
- **Others are named for the category** See [competitors recommended by AI](https://mohammedteto.com/problems/competitors-recommended-by-ai/).
No one can guarantee a mention, a citation or a position in Google AI Mode. What can be worked on is access, the clarity of the entity, the evidence on the page and the independent sources. The method is [The Authority Architecture System](https://mohammedteto.com/method/).
## Frequently asked questions
### Is AI Mode the same as AI Overviews?
No. Google presents AI Overviews as a snapshot with links, and AI Mode as an AI search experience with follow-up questions. Google's documentation for site owners treats the two together: same eligibility, same controls.
### Can I see which sub-queries AI Mode ran?
The documentation cited here does not describe a way to see them. What can be observed is which links are shown, and for which part of the question.
### Do I need different content for AI Mode?
Google states that there are no additional requirements. Covering the sub-questions around a subject is ordinary editorial work, not a special format.
## Other platforms
- [ChatGPT](https://mohammedteto.com/platforms/chatgpt-visibility/) OAI-SearchBot, the referral parameter, and what OpenAI does not publish.
- [Google AI Overviews](https://mohammedteto.com/platforms/google-ai-overviews/) Eligibility through Google Search, and the snippet controls.
- [Gemini](https://mohammedteto.com/platforms/gemini-visibility/) Google-Extended, a control separate from those of Google Search.
- [Perplexity](https://mohammedteto.com/platforms/perplexity-citations/) PerplexityBot, Perplexity-User and the recommendation to allow the first.
- [Claude](https://mohammedteto.com/platforms/claude-visibility/) Three Anthropic crawlers with three different effects.
How the engines differ, and why each is measured separately, is set out in [AI visibility](https://mohammedteto.com/ai-visibility/). Related analyses are collected in [Insights](https://mohammedteto.com/insights/).
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