Google’s AI Mode: Is AI changing what we see online?
Author
Date 23 October 2025
Researchers from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (ADM+S) are examining how Google’s integration of AI into search is changing the way Australians find, trust, and interact with information online.
From 8th October 2025, Google’s new feature AI Mode is available for Australians. This comes nearly a year after Google rolled out the AI Overviews, AI generated search summaries that appeared on top of the classic Google search results page.
AI Mode takes the AI integration further and allows users to ask complex, conversational questions, from planning a walking tour to troubleshooting household tasks and receive multimodal (text, images, videos) AI-generated summaries instead of traditional search results.
The feature builds on Google’s existing search infrastructure while adding a full-screen, interactive experience.
In the latest episode of the Automated Societies podcast Google’s new AI Mode: Is AI changing what we see online, ADM+S researchers Dr Dr Ashwin Nagappa, Dr Oleg Zendel, and Ms Sara Al Lawati spoke about what these changes mean for users, information ecosystems, and independent publishers.
“AI Mode isn’t replacing search, it’s extending it,” said Oleg Zendel. “It adds a conversational layer on top of regular results, letting users ask follow-ups while still keeping traditional links in play.”
The researchers also discussed the potential impact on smaller publishers. For example, an independent site reviewing air purifiers, Housefresh, temporarily lost 95% of its traffic when Google’s algorithms began favouring AI-generated summaries and larger platforms.
Dr Nagappa highlighted the broader implications:
“AI tools summarising content could disrupt established revenue models that support information or content producers. If independent creators lose visibility, this reduces incentives to produce high-quality content, creating a feedback loop that may affect the diversity and quality of future AI outputs.”
The team is studying how Australians interact with AI-integrated search systems. Sara Al Lawati spoke about her research using eye-tracking and controlled platforms to understand search behaviour, query patterns, and engagement with AI-generated content.
“As AI summarizes and interprets content directly, it could reshape how audiences reach and trust their work. However, this has yet to be researched on a wider scale.
“I think it’s important for us as researchers to understand the impact it has on small and independent publishers before it becomes an issue that discourages them from producing content.”
The researchers emphasised the need for thoughtful policy, design, and public awareness measures to ensure search remains open, fair, and accountable. Suggestions include providing users with access to multiple perspectives, clear links to original sources, and education on AI biases and verification techniques.
Listen to the podcast Google’s new AI Mode: Is AI changing what we see online
Read more about the Australian Search Experience 2.0 Project
Read the four part series on Search Experience on ADM+S Medium
