In October 2025, Google introduced AI Mode in Australia, having previously launched this in the US and some other countries, including the UK. Ai Mode is an addition to the search results options that users can select and provides a new, more conversational way of doing search that draws on generative AI to answer longer and more complex queries in one place.
Rather than simply returning a ranked list of web pages, AI Mode aims to synthesise information and provide direct, narrative-style answers, while still linking to source material where relevant.
Googles blog describes AI Mode as ‘built on advanced Gemini models, with the capability to break user questions into subtopics and query the web in parallel, so that more in-depth and relevant content can be surfaced’.
The interface is multimodal: users may type, speak, or upload images and ask follow-up questions naturally. In cases where confidence is low, AI Mode still offers traditional web links.
But the rollout has prompted concern among Australian news publishers. Over the past year, Google’s earlier “AI Overviews” – which show AI-generated summaries above standard link-based results – have already been linked to declining traffic for many sites.
New data from SimilarWeb shows that combined readership across Australia’s major news sites is lower than a year ago and many smaller publishers report double-digit declines in search-driven traffic.
One key problem is the so-called “zero-click” effect: when users see an AI-generated response that already contains the answer, they are less likely to click through to the underlying sources.
Because AI Mode often suppresses or hides standard blue links entirely, it may further reduce referral traffic and make it harder for publishers to measure how many users they receive from Google.
This change has raised alarm over the future of journalism and the open web. Some publishers and industry groups argue that AI summaries effectively appropriate their content without compensation or attribution. In Australia, the Digital Publishers Alliance has signalled it may pursue legal action, claiming unfair use of journalistic content.
Google insists that AI Mode and Overviews still support traffic to websites, claiming that the clicks which do happen are “higher quality” and that overall organic volume has remained “relatively stable.” But many publishers disagree, saying that in their experience traffic is falling, especially for evergreen content such as ‘how-to’ articles and reference pieces.
As AI Mode becomes more prominent, publishers face a stark choice: adapt to a landscape where AI intermediates the user experience, or risk losing audience, influence, and revenue. If Google’s platform becomes the default point of access to knowledge, newsrooms may struggle to maintain visibility in a future dominated by AI-based ‘answer engines’.
You can read more about AI Mode in Australia and how Google’s AI Overviews are affecting Australian news websites.
If you want to know more about how the launch of AI Mode in Australia may impact the amount of traffic your business’s website receives, please get in touch.