Google Adds Image Search To AI Mode, Expands To More Users

Google has upgraded its AI Mode in Search with new image search features while making it available to millions more people in the US.

You can now upload pictures and ask questions about what you see. The feature combines Google Lens with Gemini’s reasoning abilities.

What Is AI Mode In Google Search?

AI Mode is Google’s newest feature in Search Labs. It lets you ask complex questions and get AI-generated results pages with web links and follow-up options.

Google reports that AI Mode queries are typically twice as long as regular search queries.

People use it for:

• Open-ended questions
• Comparing products
• Finding how-to instructions
• Planning trips

Examples

Here are examples of how AI Mode handles several of the most popular query types.

Open-ended questions:

Image Credit: Google

Planning trips:

Image Credit: Google

Comparing products:

Image Credit: Google

Multimodal Search Comes to AI Mode

AI Mode now has multimodal search capabilities, which lets users:

• Take photos or upload images
• Ask questions about the pictures
• Get detailed answers that understand the whole image
• Click web links to learn more about things in the image

For example, if you upload a picture of a bookshelf, AI Mode can identify specific books and suggest similar ones you might like, with links to buy them.

The system understands individual objects and how they relate to each other, even down to details like materials and colors.

How AI Mode’s Multimodal Search Works

Google’s new system works in several steps:

• Gemini looks at the whole image and how objects relate to each other
• Google Lens identifies specific objects in the picture
• The system runs multiple searches about both the entire image and individual items
• It gathers more information than a regular search would
• Finally, it creates a detailed, relevant response

What This Means

This AI Mode expansion shows Google’s investment in AI-driven search beyond traditional keywords.

For SEO and marketing pros, this means:

• Visual content becomes more important as Google gets better at understanding images
• Ecommerce visibility may depend on how products appear in these new search results
• Longer queries are becoming common, with AI Mode searches twice as long as regular ones
• People’s questions are getting more complex, especially for comparing products or exploring topics

Availability & Access

AI Mode is still part of Google’s Search Labs program. To use it, you need:

• To be in the US and at least 18 years old
• The latest Google app or Chrome browser
• Have your search history turned on

You can access AI Mode through google.com/aimode, the Google.com homepage (tapping AI Mode below the search bar), or the Google app.