Google has taken its biggest step yet, moving away from being a ‘search engine’ and positioning itself as an ‘answer engine’. With its new AI-powered Search experience, users are now able to ask more complex questions, get conversational answers, and even use Search to carry out tasks instead of just finding links.

This change is important for businesses because search is no longer just about ranking. It’s now about whether your brand, expertise and content are good enough to be selected, summarised and trusted by Google’s AI.

What has Google launched?

Google’s I/O 2026 Search update introduces a redesigned, AI-powered search box, Gemini 3.5 Flash as the default model in AI Mode, follow-up conversations from AI Overviews into AI Mode, and new agentic features that can help users plan, book and even build things directly in Search.

To simplify things, users can now search with more context, more natural language and more intent than ever before. Google says the new Search experience is designed to handle text, images, files, videos and Chrome tabs as inputs, while continuing to show a range of results and supporting links. It’s impressive, but it means big changes for businesses across the globe.

Why is this happening now?

Google says AI Mode has surpassed one billion monthly users and that queries have more than doubled every quarter since launch, while total queries reached an all-time high last quarter.

At the same time, Google has said AI Overviews are increasing usage for the queries where they appear, and that commercial queries are growing as people use Search to discover products and brands. That means that the opportunity to be shown to your audience is still there, but it’s shifting.

What does this mean for digital marketing?

For digital marketing teams, the way we work needs a reset. Ranking for a keyword matters less than becoming a credible source that AI is willing to reference, summarise or recommend.

The practical implications are straightforward:

Search Engine Optimisation becomes answer-led, not keyword-led.
Content needs a stronger structure, clearer hierarchy and more explicit expertise.
Brands need to optimise for visibility inside AI Overviews and AI Mode, not just the blue-link results page.

Now that Google has confirmed that ads are being expanded into AI Overviews and tested in AI Mode, we also need to look at this from a performance perspective. Paid media will increasingly sit inside AI-led discovery moments rather than just beside traditional search results, so the way you speak about your business needs to adapt.

What does this mean for PR?

This is going to change how influence works online. If AI search is pulling from trusted, well-cited sources, then media coverage, thought leadership, owned expertise, and a strong brand reputation will become even more valuable.

That means PR is no longer just about awareness or share of voice. It is now part of the infrastructure that helps a brand get cited, surfaced and trusted in AI search results. It’s clear that successful brands will need authority and clarity.

What should your business do next?

Businesses should treat AI search as an opportunity to be discovered on a larger, newer scale. Google’s future plans are clear: more conversational queries, more agentic actions, and more direct paths from question to decision.

That means you should:

Check content for clarity, depth and usefulness.
Strengthen E-E-A-T signals across your site and wider digital strategy.
Build PR campaigns that earn credible third-party coverage.
Align SEO, paid media and PR around the same brand narratives.
Review analytics and attribution assumptions as traffic patterns change.

Rather than aiming to attract clicks, businesses need to become the brand Google trusts enough to include when it answers the question.

The bigger picture

This is a new era in how people discover businesses online. Google is turning search into a more personalised, conversational and action-oriented experience, which means the winners will be brands that are useful, visible and genuinely authoritative.

For marketers, we know this will create both worry and opportunity. The worry is that generic content will get lost in the noise. The opportunity is that strong brands with sharp positioning, credible expertise and useful content will show up earlier, more often and in more valuable moments.

If you want to chat with our team of experts and discover how they can support your business through the changes in AI Search, drop us a message at digital@fishtankagency.com!

Google Search has changed: what AI Search means for marketing, PR and business