To appear in Google AI Mode, meet the same bar as the rest of Google Search (indexed, snippet-eligible, not excluded in Search Console), then make sure one strong page answers each part of the question AI Mode will break a query into. Google says AI Mode searches every subtopic of a question at once, and in our scans it took fewer of its sources from roundups, and more from community sites, than any other engine.
How does AI Mode find sources?
AI Mode is the conversational side of Google Search. People reach it at google.com/ai, from the AI Mode button on a results page, in the Google app, or by continuing from an AI Overview. They can ask with text, voice, images or files, and follow up.
Google's help page describes the retrieval step plainly: AI Mode divides a question into subtopics and searches for each one simultaneously across multiple data sources, then combines the results into one response. Google calls this query fan-out. Its own example expands a question about fixing a weed-filled lawn into related searches about herbicides, removing weeds without chemicals and preventing weeds. Each fan-out search is a separate chance for one of your pages to be retrieved. What is query fan-out? covers the idea in more depth.
Three more documented details shape what you can do:
- It is built for hard questions. Google says AI Mode is most helpful where exploration, reasoning or complex comparisons are needed.
- It can fall back to plain links. When Google does not have enough confidence in an AI response, AI Mode may show a set of web links instead.
- It can be personal. For signed-in adults with history turned on, AI Mode can draw on past searches and, if connected, Gmail, Calendar and Photos. Some searchers can also choose between a Fast model and a Pro model.
Eligibility is shared with AI Overviews. A page must be indexed and eligible to show a snippet, and the site must be included in the Search generative AI control in Search Console, which covers AI Mode, AI Overviews and generative AI features in Discover. Google adds that AI Mode and AI Overviews may use different models and techniques, so the responses and links they show will vary.
What did AI Mode cite in our scans?
Our scans cover the questions Cituna tracks about AI visibility software: 33 scans in the 30 days to 22 September 2026 (how we count). AI Mode gave 248 answers containing 1,814 citations to third-party sites, about 7.3 per answer.
Its five most-cited sites were youtube.com (159 citations), reddit.com (94), geoptie.com (52), semrush.com (47) and otterly.ai (45). The last three sell AI visibility software.
| Feature | AI Overviews | AI Mode |
|---|---|---|
| When it appears | Only when Google judges it adds to classic results | When the searcher opens AI Mode or continues from an AI Overview |
| Built for | Getting the gist of a topic quickly | Exploration, reasoning and complex comparisons |
| Answers in our scans | 523 | 248 |
| Third-party citations per answer | 7.9 | 7.3 |
| Most-cited site | youtube.com (371) | youtube.com (159) |
| Roundups' share | 51% | 45% |
| Video share | 21% | 20% |
| Community share | 13% | 17% |
| Articles' share | 13% | 16% |
Roundups took a smaller share in AI Mode than in any other engine in our scans; ChatGPT's figure was 79%. Community sites took more, led by Reddit (94), LinkedIn (34) and business.quora.com (7). Personal writing showed up too. Tim Soulo's blog, whose cited pages are alternatives lists, drew 25 citations, and for "how much do AI visibility tools cost" the sources included one person's LinkedIn article on what to pay for AI search visibility tracking.
For the same pricing question, AI Mode also cited YouTube, a roundup on zapier.com and a roundup of AI visibility tool prices on detailed.com. For "AI visibility tool with an API for developers", it cited a LinkedIn article on AI search visibility APIs and cloro.dev, which sells an API for search and AI answers. What Google AI Overviews and AI Mode cite has the full lists.
What does that mean for your site?
Cover the subtopics, on one page. Fan-out means AI Mode searches the pieces of a question, not just the question. A page that answers the main question and its obvious parts, such as price, alternatives, integrations and limits, each under its own heading, gives more of those searches something to retrieve.
Do not build a page per sub-query. Google says creating separate content for every variation, including fan-out queries, mainly to manipulate AI responses breaks its scaled content abuse policy. One complete page beats a stack of thin ones.
Comparisons are the native format. Google names complex comparisons as AI Mode's strength. A fair comparison page with a clear table gives it material to compare. How to write a comparison page AI engines cite covers the format.
Spread beyond your own site. With roundups at their lowest share and community and video above a third of citations between them, AI Mode rewards being discussed on YouTube, Reddit and LinkedIn, not only being listed.
Feed Google's other data. Where it fits, Google says generative AI responses can include product listings and local business details, and that Merchant Center feeds and Google Business Profiles help with both.
How do you get into AI Mode, step by step?
- In Search Console, open Settings, then Search generative AI, and confirm your site is included, for every property.
- Confirm your key pages are indexed and free of snippet restrictions you did not intend.
- For each buyer question, write down the three to six subtopics a fan-out would search, using Google's lawn example as the model.
- Check that your page for that question answers each subtopic under its own heading, and add what is missing to the same page.
- Build or fix one comparison page for the comparisons your buyers make most.
- Make a short YouTube video for your most valuable question.
- Take part, openly and under your own name, in the Reddit and LinkedIn discussions AI Mode cites.
- If you sell products or serve a local area, bring your Merchant Center feed and Business Profile up to date.
- Test in a signed-out browser, ask two follow-up questions each time, and note which pages are linked. Personal context can change answers for signed-in users.
- Track impressions in the Generative AI performance report in Search Console. It covers AI Overviews and AI Mode, and its dimensions are page, country, device and date. How to use Google Search Console for AI search explains the report.
What to do first
- Confirm the Search generative AI control is set to include.
- Pick your most valuable question and list its subtopics, then check your page covers every one.
- Publish or fix one comparison page with a clear table.
- Run the question in AI Mode while signed out and record the linked pages as your baseline.