The news: Google is rolling out a Search feature that lets users ask follow-up questions directly within AI Overviews, furthering its goal of making results feel less like a traditional link list and more like an engaging, AI-driven experience. Those interactions shift users into AI Mode, Google’s conversational search experience.

Google also made Gemini 3 the default AI engine behind AI Overviews globally.

Why it matters: AI Overviews already reduce clicks by answering queries up front, but this change goes deeper by keeping users inside Google for longer research journeys. Effects could include:

• Fewer “escape hatches” to the open web. Follow-up questions inside AI Mode reduce the likelihood that users ever see or click a publisher link, limiting opportunities for site visits and conversion.
• Longer in-Google research journeys. Multistep discovery can happen entirely inside AI Mode, replacing search sequences that once drove multiple page views across sites.

Why it matters: Zero-click queries may turn into zero-click sessions, changing how users find and consume content and raising the stakes for brands.

• Users could feel fully informed by the AI interaction because answers are synthesized from multiple publishers, eliminating the interest in further research on branded sites.
• Becoming a trusted source for AI responses through generative engine optimization (GEO) could matter more for brands than driving visits.

Nearly two-thirds (64.6%) of US marketers are exploring strategies or already strategizing for visibility in AI Overviews, per NP Digital, highlighting the importance of visibility within AI answer summaries.

Recommendations for brands: As discovery increasingly happens inside AI, clicks are still possible in moments tied to decisions, intent, and differentiation.

• Focus on transactional moments where users are more likely to click out for pricing, purchases, or bookings.
• Invest in exclusive or experiential content that can’t be fully replicated inside AI summaries.
• Build strong brand affinity so users seek out companies directly, even if discovery happens through AI.