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At Google I/O 2025, held in May, the company unveiled a series of significant advancements, emphasizing its commitment to integrating artificial intelligence across its product ecosystem.
Notably, Google announced it will be rolling out AI Mode to all global users, making it poised to become the next core search experience.
Please note: this is going to impact every type of marketer – this isn’t just another Algorithm Update. It’s a message to marketers that the whole buying journey is changing.
AI Mode
AI Mode is Google’s most significant update to Search in decades. It replaces traditional link-based results with conversational, AI-generated answers, using Google’s Gemini large language models.
This is a shift from search as a tool to search as an interactive assistant.
AI Mode is a conversational layer within Google Search that enables users to interact with search results through a chatbot-like interface. Instead of simply displaying links, Google now provides dynamic, AI-generated answers tailored to the user’s intent, behavior, and context.
Key characteristics:
Conversational Search: Users can ask follow-up questions naturally, with Google remembering the context.
AI Overviews: Instead of blue links, AI generates summaries that synthesize web content into concise, helpful responses.
Multimodal Capabilities: Future versions will support images, videos, and voice for input and output.
It allows users to go deeper and ask follow-up questions that are answered with quick responses and helpful links — a minimal, conversational search experience that excludes traditional SERPs completely.
That means Google currently has three main generative search products:
- Gemini is the powerful AI model and standalone assistant you can chat with.
- AI Mode is the application of Gemini’s capabilities directly within Google Search, transforming how users receive information from search results.
- AI Overviews (formerly part of the Search Generative Experience or SGE) are concise, AI-generated summaries that appear at the top of some Google search results.
This means brands need to jump full-force into AI search strategy and rethink their measurements for success. Ranking on page one is no longer the benchmark, it’s about being understood and recommended by AI.
That requires clear, structured content, strong topical authority, and a deep understanding of customer intent.
Gemini Live
Gemini AI Ecosystem
Gemini 2.5 Pro: An upgraded version of Google’s large language model, now integrated into Chrome and the Gemini app, boasting a user base of 400 million.
Project Astra: A prototype AI assistant capable of processing video input, aiming to provide real-time, multimodal assistance.
Gemini Live: A voice-based AI agent designed for in-depth two-way conversations, enhancing user engagement through natural language interactions.
eCommerce Try it On
Google’s AI-powered “Try it on” brings a personalized, confidence-building shopping experience right in Search. It integrates seamlessly into Google’s evolving AI Mode, and while limited in scope initially, it signals a major shift toward immersive, low-risk shopping. As it expands beyond U.S. labs, brands should position themselves to participate—and stand out—in this new era of digital retail.
Important to know: You will be able to give an image of yourself from your camera roll to Gemini and it will show you what the clothing from a website looks like on you.
This feature is powered by the Shopping Graph (Google’s knowledge graph for products) and is powered by a custom image generation model that understands the human body and nuances of clothing.
You can test this feature in Search Labs. It’s only available in the US right now. The service is available to any merchant with a shopping feed who is eligible to show free listings.
If you are a clothing merchant, check out the requirements here.
Strategic Implications for Brands & Retailers
Merchants should optimize to be eligible: accurate product feeds, quality labeling (“Try it on” badge)
Emphasize body inclusivity: support a wide range of sizes and skin tones
Market smartly: promote AR try-on in ads and product pages to stand out
Leverage Analytics: monitor engagement, conversions, and return reductions.
Agentic Checkout: Buy for me with Google Pay
This has the potential to significantly change how people shop online.
Important to know. Google introduced “agentic checkout.” Once you’ve found a product you want to buy, you can tap on “track price” on any product listing. You can set the size, color, or whatever options you want and your buying agent will keep an eye on the product for price drop notifications.
When this happens, Google will add the item to your cart and check out on your behalf with Google Pay.
This is rolling out in the coming months to product listings in the US.
Part of Google Search’s AI Mode, this feature allows users to:
Track the price of a product listing and set size, color, and budget.
Receive a notification when the price matches their criteria.
Tap “Buy for me”, prompting Google’s AI to add the item to the merchant’s cart and complete the purchase securely using Google Pay—all without leaving Google Search.
How It Works
Search for an item in AI Mode and pick “track price”.
Set your preferences—size, color, price range.
Get alerted when the price drops to your target.
Review details and tap “Buy for me”.
Google chains the purchase: adds item to merchant cart, processes payment via Google Pay, and omits checkout pages entirely.
Strategic Implications
Disintermediation of checkout UX: The traditional flow—search → product page → cart → checkout—is collapsing. AI agents now handle discovery, comparison, and payment seamlessly
Fintech ecosystem shift: Google is entering the payments arena head-on, placing itself as both facilitator and merchant of transaction experience via Google Pay
Competitive escalation: Other players (Amazon’s “Buy for Me,” Perplexity with PayPal, Visa, Mastercard) are racing to build similar AI-triggered payment paths
Advanced AI Media Tools
Veo 3: The latest iteration of Google’s text-to-video model, Veo 3 can generate realistic videos complete with synchronized audio, including dialogue and ambient sounds, marking a significant leap in AI-generated media.
Flow: An AI tool that combines capabilities from Veo, Imagen, and Gemini to assist professionals in creating detailed audiovisual content based on simple textual descriptions.
Android XR Smart Glasses
Android XR: Google showcased its latest smart glasses, integrating augmented reality overlays and audio input through Gemini AI. Features include real-time navigation assistance and object recognition, enhancing user interaction with the environment.
AI Integration in Workspace and Development Tools
Gemini in Workspace: The Gemini AI model is now integrated into Google Workspace, enhancing tools like Gmail and Docs with AI-driven features to improve productivity and user experience.
Developer Tools: Google introduced enhancements to Android Studio, including Gemini-powered code assistance and support for Kotlin Multiplatform, facilitating cross-platform app development.
What all of these changes mean for Marketers, Business Owners, and SEO Professionals?
Shift Toward AI Overviews
Less Click-Through Traffic, More Impressions: AI Overviews summarize answers directly on the search page. Users may not need to click through to websites, reducing organic traffic — especially for top of funnel queries.
More Importance on Structured Data: Well-structured content (using schema markup) increases the chances of being cited or linked in AI Overviews.
🗣️ Conversational and Contextual Queries
Focus on Natural Language: Google’s AI Mode supports multi-turn conversations, meaning search optimization needs to consider how people speak, not just type.
Long-Tail Keywords Matter More: Conversational queries tend to be longer and more specific. Content should reflect real-world phrasing and questions.
📊 Featured in the AI Answers = New Top Spot
Being Referenced Is the New Ranking #1: SEO success may now mean being the source Google’s AI cites in its summaries, not just ranking #1 in blue links.
Content Authority & E-A-T: Expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-A-T) become more important, as AI models prioritize high-quality, verifiable sources.
To sum up
What SEO professionals should keep in mind right now:
The 5 Key Takeaways to keep:
- Write to be understood by AI
Structure your content using natural language and answer user intent directly. - Prioritise topical authority over rankings
It’s not just about Page 1 anymore. To get recommended by AI, your content needs to show depth, consistency, and subject matter expertise. - Think like your audience
With Google’s push toward hyper-personalisation, understanding your users’ journey, context, and behaviours is key. Optimise your pages with keyword-rich but also natural H1,H2. - Strengthen your trust signals
AI pulls from multiple sources. Your brand mentions, citations, reviews, and transparency all affect how trustworthy you appear. Add genuine customer reviews on your product pages. - Pay attention to technical issues
Optimise your page speed and make sure everything works great on mobile as well.
Anna Moragli
SEO Strategist and Founder, CEO of Search Magic
SEO Strategist and Consultant, specializing in E-commerce stores, and helping SMB’s increase organic growth and revenue.