Google Rolls Out AI Mode in Ireland
Google has officially rolled out its new AI Mode to markets across the world, including Ireland and several other European countries. The feature has been available in places like the United States and the United Kingdom for some months, but this wider launch marks a major step forward for Google in bringing its AI-powered search experience to a global audience.
For Irish users and brands, this is an exciting moment. After extensive beta testing, we are finally seeing Google’s generative AI technology integrated directly into the search experience. While it’s still early days, the potential impact on search behaviour and brand visibility is significant.
What is AI Mode?
AI Mode is one of Google’s responses to the growing influence of generative AI tools and large language models (LLMs). Instead of returning a list of links, Google’s AI Mode mirrors the experience of an LLM, where users can chat with the AI assistant on a topic at length.
This feature gives searchers a more interactive and conversational experience. Rather than clicking through multiple websites to gather information, users can stay within Google’s ecosystem and delve deeper into a topic through guided prompts.
In practice, this feels similar to experiences offered by other LLM-based tools such as ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity. The key difference is that Google has built its AI Mode directly into Search, allowing it to leverage its vast index of web content while maintaining the familiar search interface.
Why Google is Introducing it
The introduction of AI Mode represents Google’s effort to evolve beyond the traditional “ten blue links” search model and to remain competitive in a market that has shifted rapidly towards conversational AI.
Over the past two years, generative AI platforms have redefined how people find and consume information online. Users increasingly expect concise, intelligent answers rather than lists of blue links that they need to click through to and do all the work. Google’s AI Mode is designed to deliver exactly that while keeping users within its ecosystem.
Google has been testing this technology for several years under different names and experimental programmes. The global rollout, which now includes Ireland, shows that the company is confident in the technology’s performance and ready to scale it.
For marketers, this marks an important turning point. Search is no longer only about ranking on results pages, but also about being visible in AI-generated answers.
What It Could Mean for Irish Brands
For Irish brands, this is an opportunity to get ahead of the curve. The introduction of AI Mode could bring major changes to how users discover information and interact with businesses online.
Instead of focusing solely on traditional SEO rankings, brands will now need to consider how their content appears within AI-generated summaries. This means understanding how Google’s AI Mode interprets information about your brand, products or services, and how well your existing content aligns with the intent behind conversational searches.
There is also a broader implication for organic traffic. If users rely more on AI summaries and less on direct website clicks, the way organic visibility is measured may evolve. Over time, we could see the emergence of new types of search traffic and engagement patterns, which could become important performance indicators for marketers.
However, this is not necessarily a threat. It could in fact diversify how audiences find and engage with your brand. Those who adapt early and optimise content for AI Mode may benefit from higher visibility in this new search experience.
What You Should Be Doing Now
The best way forward for Irish brands is to experiment directly with AI Mode. Test how your brand appears in AI-generated answers, especially for branded searches and important topic clusters related to your business.
Ask yourself:
How does Google’s AI Mode describe your brand or service?
Are your competitors appearing in those summaries?
What kind of content/media does AI Mode seem to favour?
If you find it difficult to interpret your brand’s visibility or want expert guidance, our SEO team at Core can help. We can carry out an audit, assess your brand presence across relevant search queries and advise on how to optimise your content to improve performance within this new environment.
Even though this is still a developing product, AI Mode represents the future of search. The sooner brands begin to understand and adapt to it, the better positioned they will be as this technology continues to evolve.
The AI Landscape
Google’s AI Mode is a major innovation and its arrival in Ireland is an exciting moment for the local digital landscape. While it may take time to fully understand its impact, it opens up a new chapter in how people search for information and how brands can be discovered.
For now, the focus should be on testing, learning and staying flexible.