Google’s AI Mode has landed in Australia, and the SEO world is buzzing. But there’s an important asterisk over the launch: it’s optional.
If you want a sense check over how much impact AI Mode has had over search, ask one of your parents if they like it. I guarantee they didn’t even realise it was there.
Users have to actively choose it. And that changes everything about its adoption curve, its impact on your business, and how you should respond.
Yes, AI Mode matters and it’s an important nudge towards what you need to keep preparing your content and site for. But it’s nowhere near as important as your LinkedIn feed suggests right now.
Here’s a reality check on the adoption rates and how to prepare your overall strategy for all AI search engines.
Content Overview
Where AI Mode Actually Sits Today
Yes it’s new, yes it’s exciting. But for anyone without a job based in digital marketing, let’s ground this in numbers.
AI Overviews (the AI-generated summaries at the top of traditional search) appeared in 13.14% of all desktop searches by March 2025 (Semrush, 2025) .
AI Mode usage sat at just over 1% of Google search sessions by early July 2025 in the US, a 4x increase from its May rollout, yes, but still a fraction of overall search behaviour. (Semrush, 2025)
Even powerful AI features take time to permeate user behaviour. And when those features are optional rather than forced, adoption becomes gated by something far stickier than algorithms: human habit.
“AI Overviews felt more disruptive precisely because they’re forced, they appear at the top of SERPs without the ability to turn them off.
AI Mode for the time being is likely being adopted by people that work on computers all day, and probably are already heavy users of other AI tools like ChatGPT.
AI Mode is not going to bring in a wave of new users who were previously performing simple google searches.” – Cam Dobie, SEO Specialist
The Risks of Overhyping AI Mode Too Soon
Google’s AI Mode has shown real risks early: hallucinations that provide incorrect advice, errors that could erode user trust and most importantly wildly inconsistent rankings.
A recent SE Ranking study analysing 10,000 keywords exposed extreme volatility in AI Mode results: just 9.2% average URL overlap across three repeat searches for the same query. That means if you search the same thing three times, you’ll see completely different sources cited in a different order. From an SEO perspective, this unpredictability makes chasing AI Mode “rankings” chaotic.
Overemphasising “being included in AI answers” could misfire if Google changes how it selects and displays sources (which it will). Volatility in AI citations may turn “AI share” into a vanity metric if it’s not tied to conversions or deeper engagement.
The AI Optimisation Playbook
Even though all the above is true, undoubtedly you still need to prepare your content to be the recommendation on both traditional search and AI search engines as AI is the future of search.
These are some fundamental points about GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation).
Parallel Optimisation: Don’t Abandon Classic SEO
The fundamentals still matter, arguably more than ever. Google’s AI Search Guidelines confirm that content must be original, useful, and written for people, not algorithms. E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) remains essential, with structured data and author credibility helping content get cited in AI Overviews.
Fast page speed, logical internal linking, mobile responsiveness, and crawlability aren’t going away. They’re the baseline that makes you eligible to appear in AI search surfaces. But eligibility ≠ visibility.
AI-Extractable Content Design
Structure your content so AI systems can easily extract and cite it: short, clear answers in heading blocks, proper schema markup, evidence-based claims with transparent sourcing. Think “quotable chunks” rather than walls of text.
This doesn’t mean dumbing down your content. It means frontloading value, then going deep for readers who need detail. Lead with the answer, then provide the nuance.
Authority and Trust Building
Citations from credible domains, press mentions, high-quality backlinks, third-party reviews, and author pages with proven expertise all help tip the trust scales in your favour. In an AI Overview, Google might pull from two or three sources to form an answer. You want to be one of them.
Build this through:
– Comprehensive author bios linked to LinkedIn profiles
– Transparent sourcing and proper citations in your content
– Case studies and real examples that demonstrate experience
– Clear contact information and business verification
Flexibility Guardrails: Don’t Re-architect Everything
This is critical. Don’t rearchitect your entire content stack all at once based on AI Mode speculation. Pilot, test, iterate. The volatility we’re seeing suggests the rules aren’t settled yet.
New versions of AI tools are much more impactful than Google core updates ever are.
Update your highest-impact pages first. Add structured data where it makes sense. Improve E-E-A-T signals on cornerstone content. But keep your core strategy grounded in what’s working today, not what might work tomorrow and certainly not what you’re saying when playing around in AI Mode.
Ready to future-proof your SEO strategy without betting the farm on unproven features?
Talk to a Distl specialist today for a full AI visibility audit.
Jack Headford
Account Manager & Operations Lead
