Google is launching its own AI Modea search mode powered by artificial intelligence capable of directly answering users’ questions, integrating information from different sources and transforming the classic search into an interactive conversation.
It’s not just a technological update: this evolution could rewrite the rules of the webSEO, journalism and the very way we access knowledge online.
How Google’s AI Mode works and why it will change everything
The new AI Mode was born as an extension of AI Overviewsthe concise answers that already appear above the search results. With this function, Google goes from a simple “search engine” to intelligent assistant: the user can ask complex questions, receive already elaborated answers and continue the conversation for clarification or further information, even with images and voice.
There is behind the scenes GeminiGoogle’s family of language models, which processes data and builds responses in real time. The classic list of blue links, which for years was the gateway to the web, is being replaced by texts generated by AI. And if on the one hand this makes searching more convenient, on the other it risks “hiding” the original sites, reducing traffic to millions of pages.
What changes for us users: between convenience and loss of freedom
The experience becomes more fluid and immediate. You no longer have to open ten tabs to get an idea on a topic: just ask a question, and the AI summarizes the answers. But this efficiency comes at a price.
Decrease in traffic and crisis of the advertising model
Many international newspapers are recording traffic jams when their contents are summarized by AI, which “answers for them”. Fewer visits mean less advertising revenue and fewer resources to produce quality information. In Italy, FIEG and several publishers have asked theAgcom to open an investigation into Google, claiming that the “AI Overviews” and “IA Mode” functions violate the Digital Services Act by taking away visibility and revenues from the publications.
SEO and survival strategies
Classic SEO optimization – based on keywords and links – is no longer enough. Now we need to understand how to “please” the AI: provide original, precise, authoritative and easily reusable content in your summaries.
Those who know how to produce verifiable and localized information (for example in Italian, with clear sources) will be rewarded by generative models as a source of trust.
European rules and the battle for transparency
In Europe, Google’s news arrives in a context already full of regulations: Digital Services Act, AI Act and directive Copyright. THE’AI Actwhich came into force in 2024, imposes obligations of transparency: AI-generated content must be labeled as such, and models must make training data information public.
The DSA, however, forces platforms to be responsible for the way they disseminate information and manage content. Italy, through Agcomis required to enforce these rules, even against giants like Google. Italian publishers hope that this regulatory framework will protect them, forcing Google to clearly cite sources or compensate economically the use of their contents. But the challenge is complex: technology advances faster than rules.
A future without “web”? Hypotheses about the world to come
Many experts fear that AI Mode is only the first step towards a web mediated by artificial intelligence. In this scenario, the user will no longer “navigate” between pages, but will communicate with a system that decides what to show him.
The web could become a kind of “invisible database” from which AI draws answers, leaving behind the idea of an open and pluralist internet. But that doesn’t mean fate is sealed.
They could be born Independent and decentralized AIbased on open-source and transparent models, which respect copyright and valorise sources. Europe is already pushing in this direction, with the creation ofEuropean AI Office and of Center for Algorithmic Transparencycreated precisely to monitor the great generative models.
The case in Italy: a balance to be defended
In Italy the issue is even more delicate. The national information system is already experiencing a structural crisis and the loss of online traffic risks hit local newspapers and independent newspapers squarely. Large international platforms could centralize power even more, leaving small companies off AI’s radar.
Yet, a European laboratory could be born right here: a balance between innovation and protection of pluralismBetween automation and human responsibility. The future of the web, and perhaps of digital democracy, will depend on how we manage this transformation.
The web is changing, but we can still save its spirit
Google’s AI Mode opens up extraordinary possibilities but also profound risks. The promise of “intelligent responses” could turn into a less free and more controlled webwhere AIs decide what is relevant and what is not.
It’s up to us – users, journalists, content creators and institutions – to ask transparency, pluralism and responsibility. Because if AI is the new intermediary of knowledge, the right to free and verifiable information must remain human.
