Google Tightens Grip on Search as AI Rivals Close In

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Google is accelerating changes to its core search product as AI-native rivals such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Perplexity begin to chip away at how users find information online.

On Tuesday, the company announced a broad set of upgrades that pull generative AI deeper into Google Search itself, recasting it from a directory of links into an ongoing conversation. 

The changes are powered by Gemini 3, which Google is now rolling out globally as the default model behind AI Overviews, the AI-generated summaries that appear directly on search results pages.

The message is unmistakable: Google wants users to ask harder questions and keep asking them inside Search, rather than shifting to standalone AI tools built specifically for conversational discovery.

“People come to Search for an incredibly wide range of questions,” Google said, noting that while quick queries like sports scores or weather still need fast, simple answers, more complex tasks demand deeper exploration. With Gemini 3 baked directly into Search, Google aims to handle both, instantly and conversationally, without forcing users to switch platforms.

The most notable shift is how seamlessly Google is turning traditional search into an ongoing dialogue. Users can now ask long, multi-part questions, follow up directly from AI Overviews, and transition into what Google calls “AI Mode”, a conversational interface that maintains context across queries.

In internal testing, Google says users preferred this fluid experience, where a quick AI snapshot can naturally evolve into a deeper back-and-forth. Crucially, these conversations still surface prominent links, reinforcing Google’s long-standing claim that AI answers should complement, not replace, the open web.

The feature is now available globally on mobile, allowing users to jump into AI Mode conversations straight from AI Overviews. Beyond conversational fluency, Google is also leaning into an advantage few competitors can easily replicate: access to a user’s digital life.

Robby Stein, Vice-President of Product for Google Search, said the company is bringing “Personal Intelligence” to AI Mode. Users who opt in can allow Search to draw context from apps like Gmail and Google Photos, enabling responses that reflect personal itineraries, preferences, and past behavior, not just generic web knowledge.

“The most helpful search experience doesn’t just know the world’s information, it brings together that global knowledge with insights that are uniquely relevant to your world,” Stein said in a LinkedIn post.

According to Stein, this means users no longer need to repeatedly explain context, such as travel plans or interests, because AI Mode factors them in automatically. In his own experience, he said the feature helped surface unexpected recommendations, from family activities for an upcoming trip to discovering a new pair of shoes.

The timing of these updates is significant. AI-native search alternatives like Perplexity are positioning themselves as faster, cleaner answer engines, while OpenAI continues to blur the line between chatbots and discovery tools. Both threaten Google’s decades-long dominance over how the internet is navigated.

By embedding advanced conversational AI directly into Search and personalizing it using its ecosystem, Google is signaling that it doesn’t intend to be disrupted out of its most valuable product.