What is Google AI Mode, and what could it mean for B2B marketing?

On 29th July 2025, Google began rolling out its most significant search change in a decade: AI Mode. It’s a conversational, generative layer that sits within Google Search, answering your questions directly using Gemini 2.5. Think structured overviews, not blue links. Chat-style clarity, not scroll-and-compare. 

This isn’t just a UX update. It’s the start of a whole new era for how buyers discover, evaluate and engage with content—and how we, as B2B marketers, show up in that world. 

What’s actually changing? 

• Fewer steps, richer answers. Multi-part questions return full summaries, backed by credible sources. 

• More zero-click searches. Research gets completed within the interface—no click needed. 

• No (visible) ads—yet. Traditional ad placements are noticeably absent in AI Mode. That alone changes everything. 

What could this mean for B2B advertising? 

AI Mode isn’t just disrupting content. It’s set to reshape advertising as well. 

1. Ads will no longer be “positioned”—they’ll be embedded 

The classic top-of-page and sidebar formats don’t fit the AI Mode interface. Expect to see conversational, context-aware ads woven into the generated responses. Not just links—possibly recommendations, comparisons, or dynamic suggestions based on intent. 

2. Generative ads are coming

With Google’s Gemini engine powering both organic and sponsored results, we’ll likely see generative ad formats soon. There have already been attempts at this in GDN but think AI-summarised product info or use-case breakdowns—built from your content, assets and landing pages as well as AI knowledge. 

3. Attribution will get harder

If buyers complete more of their journey within AI Mode, marketers will need smarter tools to measure influence—not just clicks. Expect assisted conversion models, AI-citation tracking, and greater demand for CRM-integrated attribution. 

4. The ad-to-content handoff will shrink

Buyers may go from a conversational AI summary straight to a contact form or product details—not a long journey through multiple pages. Ads will need to meet buyers at their decision point, not just awareness. 

How to stay ahead (and show up) 

All this means embracing a new way of thinking about both content and performance. Here’s your updated to-do list, combining insights from our GEO and ChatGPT visibility guides: 

Structure your content to be cited 

• Use clear headings, natural language, bullet points, and schema markup. 

• Prioritise authority: link sources, author profiles, company credentials. 

Read our GEO strategy guide 

Prepare your site for ChatGPT and AI crawlers 

• Check crawlability and sitemap hygiene. 

• Optimise metadata and indexability. 

• Establish trust signals (e.g. directory listings, backlinks, mentions). 

👉 How to appear in ChatGPT results – our practical guide 

Reframe how you measure success 

• Look beyond traffic: track citations, assisted conversions and AIsourced leads. 

• Build content clusters around buyer questions, not just search keywords. 

Watch ad formats like a hawk 

• Be first in line when Google opens new inventory in AI Mode. 

• Start thinking about how your offering would appear as an AI-generated recommendation—not just a clickable ad. 

AI Mode is Google eating its own lunch—and serving us a brand-new menu. For B2B marketers, it’s a wake-up call to rethink content, prepare for new ad realities, and get serious about GEO and AI visibility. 

We’re already helping clients future-proof their strategies—and we’re ready to help you too. 

Mark Gillam

Analyst & Planner

Mark leads our performance marketing team spanning campaign planning, creative, activation and reporting. What he doesn’t know about MarTech is not worth knowing. You’ll find him working in the family pizza restaurant on the weekend too.