What is Google AI Mode?
AI Mode is Google's conversational AI search experience. Instead of a list of links, you get a written answer to your question, with links to the sources it cites, and you can ask follow-up questions. It is separate from AI Overviews, the summaries that appear above the normal results for some searches. AI Mode availability differs by country.
For a business, the question is simple: when a buyer asks AI Mode about your category, does the answer cite your website? This tracker shows you, for any keyword or question.
How to check if Google AI Mode cites your website
Enter a keyword or a full question, add your domain, and pick the country your customers search from. The tracker gets the live AI Mode answer and shows you:
- the full answer AI Mode gives
- every source it cites
- whether your domain is cited, and as which source number
The domain is optional. Leave it out if you only want to see the answer and its sources, for example to see which sites AI Mode cites on a topic before you write about it.
What to look for in the answer
The answer tells you more than whether you are cited. Read it the way a buyer would:
- Is your brand named? Search the answer for your brand name. An AI answer can mention a brand without citing its website, or cite a page without naming the brand.
- Which sites are cited? Note the types of sources: competitors, review sites, forums, news, directories or guides. They show you where AI Mode finds answers on your topic.
- How does it describe your category? The answer shows how AI Mode explains the problem you solve and which options it suggests. If it leaves out something you do well, that is a content gap.
- Is it accurate? If the answer gets facts about your business wrong, check that your own site states them clearly and that other sites repeat them correctly.
How to improve your chances of being cited
There is no switch that makes AI Mode cite you. These steps make your pages easier to find, trust and quote:
- Answer real questions directly. Build pages around the questions buyers ask, with a clear answer near the top and detail below.
- Add facts others do not have. Original data, first-hand experience, prices, specifications and examples give an AI answer something specific to cite.
- Keep pages easy to crawl. Make sure Google can crawl and index the page, and that the main text is on the page, not behind a login.
- Get mentioned where AI Mode looks. If the same review sites, publications or forums keep showing up as sources, earn a place on them through PR, reviews and outreach.
- Keep your brand facts consistent. Your name, what you do and who you serve should read the same on your site, your profiles and the directories you are listed in.
This is the core of our AI search optimization work. Our AI citation services focus on earning mentions on the sources AI answers rely on.
AI Mode, AI Overviews and other AI assistants
AI Mode and AI Overviews can cite different sources for the same search, so it is worth checking both. Use the AI Overviews tracker to see whether a keyword triggers an AI Overview and which sources it cites. To see how ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity answer a buyer question, use the AI visibility checker.
Tips for tracking AI Mode
A single check tells you little on its own. These habits make your tracking more useful:
- Test several phrasings. AI Mode is built for conversation, so try the full question a buyer would ask as well as the short keyword.
- Use buyer questions. Questions such as "best accounting software for freelancers" or "how to choose a payroll provider" show whether you appear when people are close to a decision.
- Check on a schedule. AI answers can change from day to day. Check your key questions regularly and keep a simple log of whether you were cited and as which source number.
- Check each market. If you sell in several countries, run the same question for each country where AI Mode is available.