Google’s New AI Mode Officially Rolls Out Across the UK: What It Means for eCommerce Brands

It’s happening. Google’s hotly-anticipated AI Mode feature is finally available to users here in the UK, after first launching in the US back in May.

It’s hard to overstate the significance of this. It’s one of the biggest changes Google has made to its core product since it first launched all the way back in 1998, and it’s going to shake up the way shoppers find your products and interact with your brand. That much is for certain.

Although the traditional SERP we know and love remains the default experience, users can switch to AI Mode by clicking on the respective tab or icon, either on the SERP itself, on the Google homepage or in the Google app.

How is AI Mode going to impact my site?

How much of an effect AI Mode will have on eCommerce brands remains to be seen, but if data from the US is anything to go by, click-through rates (CTRs) could well drop off rapidly.

One recent study from Pew Research focused on the impact of AI Overviews, the AI-generated topic summaries that appear at the top of the SERPs (particularly for informational queries). It found that users who encountered an AI Overview would only click on a traditional search result link 8% of the time, while those who weren’t presented with an AI summary clicked on a SERP link 15% of the time.

That’s a near 50% reduction in CTR. And Pew’s study was only based on AI Overview data, not the full-fledged AI Mode we now have access to. Summarising the results of the study, Pew Research added: “Google users who encountered an AI summary also rarely clicked on a link in the summary itself. This occurred in just 1% of all visits to pages with such a summary.”

So, it stands to reason that AI Mode users will also be far less likely to click on cited links than users that stick with the traditional SERP experience. This is bad news because…

• A reduced CTR means your site will get less clicks relative to the amount of impressions it receives.
• Less clicks mean a lower potential for conversions.
• And a lower conversion rate means less revenue.

Google isn’t worried (shock)

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Google doesn’t share our concerns about CTR – and dismissed the Pew study as ‘flawed’ and ‘skewed’. Speaking to the Search Engine Roundtable, a Google spokesperson said: “People are gravitating to AI-powered experiences, and AI features in Search enable people to ask even more questions, creating new opportunities for people to connect with websites.

“This study uses a flawed methodology and skewed queryset that is not representative of Search traffic. We consistently direct billions of clicks to websites daily and have not observed significant drops in aggregate web traffic as is being suggested.”

What can you do to prepare for AI Mode?

Google might have downplayed the results of the Pew study, but indications from our own clients’ data – and from other marketers across the industry – are that Google’s AI Overviews have already had a marked impact on organic traffic and CTRs.

Now, with the arrival of AI Mode, we expect that trend to continue. How much of an effect AI Mode has on eCommerce brands will ultimately depend on how many Google users make the switch – but there are some steps you can take to ensure your brand continues to perform well as AI continues to take over search.

Our advice? Double down on your SEO efforts, continue to pump out high-quality content and make the best of the situation. Your CTR might decrease, but your competitors will all be in the same boat – and citations in AI Mode are still positive for brand awareness even if they don’t generate much traffic.

Want to make sure your site is ready for this bold new era of search?