Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Google is bringing “AI mode” to all users in the U.S. starting today, a move CEO Sundar Pichai called a “total reimagining of search.”
AI mode integrates an AI chatbot tool into search. Google showcased the offering, now free for all users, at its I/O conference Tuesday.
The tool allows users to converse within Google Search the way they would with AI chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. AI mode will appear as a tab alongside news, images, and others, the company said.
The addition builds on Google’s existing AI Overview offering, which the company announced at last year’s I/O event. AI Overview usage has climbed to 1.5 billion monthly users, Pichai said.
‘VIP Pass for Google AI’ Also Announced
Google also announced a subscription service called Google AI Ultra, which the company called a “VIP pass for Google AI.”
AI Ultra, currently available to U.S. users for $249.99 per month, includes access to the new Gemini 2.5 Pro Deep Think mode for research and the AI filmmaking tool Flow, among other features. The company also expanded its $19.99 Google AI Pro plan to include “a full suite of AI products with higher rate limits and special features compared to the free version.”
Google’s Gemini has seen a larger increase in usage between September and March than its primary competitors, Meta AI, and ChatGPT, according to research from Morgan Stanley. In March, about 40% of Morgan Stanley survey respondents said they used Gemini on a monthly basis, compared with ChatGPT’s 41% and Meta AI’s 39%.
Shares of Alphabet slid about 1.5% in Tuesday trading. The stock is down about 13% in 2025 so far.
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