The biggest shift in search since “just Google it” – Google AI Mode.
On 29th July 2025, Google quietly changed the internet. No big reveal. No drumroll. Just a flip of the switch and suddenly, the most powerful search engine in the world stopped being a search engine. It became an answer engine.
Welcome to AI Mode Google’s new generative experience, built on Gemini 2.5. It’s chatty. It’s smart. It’s fast. And crucially, it doesn’t want your clicks, it wants your questions. You can explore it here.
If you work in niche B2B, this changes everything.
From blue links to built-in answers
Here’s what’s actually happening:
- Complex queries now trigger full answers, not a list of pages.
- Most research stays in the search box no clicks needed.
- Ads? Not yet. Which means organic content is doing all the heavy lifting.
For B2B marketers in compliance tech, manufacturing, IT services or professional services, where buying decisions span months, not minutes. This is more than a UX update. This is the start of intent-led, interface-contained decision-making.
Your buyer may never visit your site. But they still need to trust your story. Mad. As marketers, we need to influence what we cannot see. Easy!
What does it mean for niche B2B campaigns?
Advertising’s changing shape
The “top of page” is no longer prime real estate. Ads won’t be placed – they’ll be parsed. Expect them to be part of the answer: generative, contextual, woven in like product recommendations in a chatbot.
Your content becomes your campaign
AI Mode pulls from high-authority, well-structured content. That means your product page, PDF download or case study might now be the first and only thing a buyer sees. That’s both terrifying and brilliant.
Attribution just got fuzzier
Zero-click doesn’t mean zero influence. You’ll need to measure success in new ways: think assisted conversions, AI citations, and signals from CRMs that go beyond the usual traffic sources.
Shorter journeys, sharper intent
AI Mode condenses the funnel. One smart summary can shortcut a 5-click journey into one swipe. Your CTA needs to do more with less, nudging straight from curiosity to contact form.
How do we show up in this AI-first future?
Structure content to be cited, not just crawled
Think bullet points, schema markup, natural language and credible sources. The clearer the format, the easier it is for Gemini to “quote” you.
Design for discovery beyond your domain
Your next lead might not find you they might read you in someone else’s answer. GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) matters now. If you’re not in the summary, you’re not in the shortlist.
Watch for new ad formats
Google’s not going to skip ads forever. When they do arrive, they’ll look nothing like the ones you know. Be ready with creative that works in answers, not just in sidebars.
Reframe performance metrics
Don’t chase clicks. Chase citations. Think in terms of “AI visibility” and “trusted source” positioning, not just MQLs.
Mark Gillam explains more about GEO here and optimising for ChatGPt here, which guides what steps to take.
What does this means for niche marketers like you?
If you work in a business where success is measured in avoided downtime, cleared audits or unseen excellence, this is your moment to be quietly visible.
You don’t need to shout. But you do need to be findable. Structured. Trusted. Referred to by the robots.
We’re already helping clients shift their strategies from safety tech to SaaS, from engineering to insurance. If you’re ready to be the source (not just another search result), and we’re learning as we go. Thankfully, quickly!
In this new world of AI-shaped search, your best ad might not be an ad at all. It might just be the answer.
