Google AI Mode is the tab that replaces a page of blue links with a written answer. It has been rolling out to Australian users through 2026, and most of the advice written about it so far comes from American data.
So we tested it here. On 22 August 2026 we ran 40 real Australian buying searches through Google AI Mode, set to an Australian location, and recorded every source it used. Things like “best electrician perth”, “emergency plumber adelaide” and “how much does it cost to build a house in australia”.
AI Mode returned a written answer on all 40 searches. Every single one.
That is the part worth sitting with. On the normal Google results page, the same kind of searches almost never trigger an AI Overview. In AI Mode, the answer is the whole page, every time.
Key findings
- AI Mode answered 40 out of 40 searches (100%). On the classic results page, the same core queries showed an AI Overview only 30% of the time.
- Each answer cited 8.2 websites on average, ranging from zero to 18.
- Answers averaged 343 words, so a customer can finish reading without clicking anything.
- 83% of the sources were ordinary business websites, not directories.
- Only 40% of the sites AI Mode cited were also in Google’s own top 10 organic results for the same search.
- Reddit was the single most cited domain, appearing in 13 answers.
That last finding is the one that matters most for planning. Six times out of ten, Google’s AI Mode reached for a site that was not on Google’s own first page.
How we ran the test
We picked 40 searches an actual customer would type when they are close to hiring someone. Twenty covered “best [trade] in [city]” style searches across solar, legal, building, trades, dental, finance, physio and removals. Twenty more covered a second batch of trades and services. Six were national research questions like “how much does invisalign cost australia”.
Each search was sent to Google AI Mode through the DataForSEO SERP API with the location set to Australia, the language set to English and the device set to desktop. We recorded the answer text and every source link inside it.
We also ran the same 20 core searches through the normal Google results page so we could compare the two directly. Google’s own internal preview links were removed before counting, so the numbers below only count real websites.
AI Mode always answers. AI Overviews usually do not
Earlier this month we published a study of AI Overviews across 65 Australian local service searches and found them on only 4.6% of them. This new test used a slightly different mix, including some national “how much does it cost” questions that are far more likely to trigger an overview, and still only 30% of the classic pages had one.
The contrast with AI Mode is stark.
| What appeared | Classic Google results page | Google AI Mode |
|---|---|---|
| A written AI answer | 6 of 20 (30%) | 40 of 40 (100%) |
| Local map pack | 14 of 20 (70%) | Not shown |
| People Also Ask | 18 of 20 (90%) | Not shown |
| Normal organic list | 18 of 20 (90%) | Not shown |
The practical read is simple. Whether AI writes the answer for your customer is no longer about your industry or your keyword. It is about which tab they are on. If they are in AI Mode, they get an answer. Always.
What AI Mode actually cites
Across the 40 answers we recorded 327 citations. Here is what they were.
| Type of source | Share of citations |
|---|---|
| Ordinary business websites | 83% |
| Directories and review sites | 6% |
| Forums | 5% |
| Social media | 4% |
| Government and education | 3% |
| News and media | Under 1% |
This is better news than most AI search coverage suggests. Four out of five citations went to a business’s own website. Only two of the 40 answers cited no business website at all.
Compare that to the classic results page, where 77% of the top 10 was business websites and directories took a bigger share. AI Mode leans slightly more on business sites than normal search does, not less.
The most cited domains
| Domain | Answers it appeared in | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| reddit.com | 13 | Forum |
| facebook.com | 5 | Social |
| hipages.com.au | 4 | Directory |
| youtube.com | 4 | Social |
| lawconnect.com | 3 | Legal platform |
| wordofmouth.com.au | 3 | Review site |
| productreview.com.au | 3 | Review site |
No individual business website was cited in more than three of the 40 answers. The long tail is very long, which means there is room. AI Mode is not picking the same five brands over and over.
Google’s AI disagrees with Google’s own first page
For the core searches we compared the domains AI Mode cited against the top 10 organic results Google showed for the exact same search. Two of the 20 searches returned no usable organic list, so this comparison covers the remaining 18.
| Where the answer came from | Sites cited | Also in Google’s top 10 |
|---|---|---|
| Google AI Mode | 162 | 64 (40%) |
| Perplexity | 322 | 95 (30%) |
| ChatGPT | 67 | 14 (21%) |
Ranking well still helps, and it helps AI Mode more than the others. Four in ten of its sources came from page one, and it used at least one page-one site on every search we could measure. ChatGPT, by contrast, built its whole answer without touching page one on 7 of 18 searches.
But four in ten still means six in ten came from somewhere else. You can hold position three and be absent from the answer your customer reads.
The answers are long enough to end the search
The average AI Mode answer ran 343 words. The shortest was 246 and the longest 489. For a question like “how much does invisalign cost australia”, that is a complete answer. There is no reason left to click.
For a question like “best electrician perth” it is different. The answer names businesses, and naming is the whole game. A customer still has to contact someone. The click may be gone, but the job is not.
This is the split worth planning around. For research questions, AI Mode takes the visit. For hiring questions, AI Mode takes the shortlist. Losing the visit is annoying. Losing the shortlist is the expensive one.
One more thing: the answers move
We ran each of the 20 core searches through AI Mode twice, seconds apart, with identical settings. The two answers shared only 24% of their sources on average, and no two were word for word the same.
We have written that up separately in why AI answers change every time you ask, because it changes how you should read any single AI result, including the ones in this study.
What to actually do about it
Nothing here calls for a rebuild. The businesses AI Mode cited were not doing anything exotic.
- Make sure AI can fetch your pages. In a separate crawl of 589 Australian sites we found 13% served a normal browser fine but returned an error to an AI crawler. Check yours before anything else.
- Put checkable facts in plain page text. AI Mode quotes specifics: years in business, licence numbers, suburbs served, what a price includes. Vague brand copy gives it nothing to lift.
- Do not ignore Reddit and review sites. They were 11% of citations combined. You cannot control them, but you can be present and reviewed on the ones that show up in your category.
- Keep doing normal SEO. Four in ten AI Mode citations came from page one. Rankings are still the single best predictor available, just no longer a guarantee.
If you want the same test run on your own searches, that is what our answer engine optimisation work starts with. It takes about a day and tells you whether AI names you, names your competitors, or names nobody.
Questions people ask about Google AI Mode
Is Google AI Mode available in Australia?
Yes. Every one of the 40 Australian searches we ran on 22 August 2026 returned an AI Mode answer, with the location set to Australia.
What is the difference between AI Mode and AI Overviews?
An AI Overview is a summary box that sometimes appears at the top of the normal results page. AI Mode is a separate tab where the AI answer replaces the results page entirely. In our test, AI Overviews appeared on 30% of classic pages, while AI Mode answered 100% of the time.
Does ranking on Google page one get me into AI Mode?
It helps but does not guarantee it. Only 40% of the sites AI Mode cited were also in Google’s top 10 for the same search, so six in ten citations went somewhere else. That is still the best hit rate of any AI surface we tested.
Which websites does Google AI Mode cite most in Australia?
Across 327 citations, 83% were ordinary business websites. Reddit was the most cited single domain, appearing in 13 of 40 answers, followed by Facebook, hipages and YouTube.
How many sources does an AI Mode answer use?
An average of 8.2 websites per answer in our test, ranging from zero to 18.
Should I block AI crawlers to protect my content?
For most service businesses, no. Blocking the crawlers that power AI search removes you from the answer your customer reads. There is a real argument for blocking training-only crawlers, which is a different setting. We cover the distinction in our study of AI crawler blocking across 589 Australian sites.
How often should I check my AI Mode visibility?
More often than you would check rankings. Two identical searches seconds apart shared only 24% of their sources, so a single check is a snapshot, not a score. Monthly tracking across a set of your real customer questions is more useful than any one result.
Method: 40 commercial and research searches run through the Google AI Mode SERP API on 22 August 2026, location Australia, language English, desktop. The same 20 core searches were also run through Google’s organic results, ChatGPT and Perplexity for comparison. Google’s own internal preview links were excluded from citation counts. Figures reflect that date and will move.
