It’s just a small tab on your computer or smartphone search page, but the company claims it will significantly improve search, offering a different experience from both traditional internet browsing and new chat-based AI tools.

In August this year, Google reported that the median text-based Gemini query used about 0.00024 kWh, which is eight times more than the often-cited energy usage of a normal Google search. However, as this figure is based on 2009 data, some researchers believe it could be much lower due to advancements in computing efficiency.

“The per-prompt energy impact is equivalent to watching TV for less than nine seconds,” Google said in a blog post.

“At the same time, our AI systems are becoming more efficient through research innovations and software and hardware efficiency improvements. 

“For example, over a recent 12-month period, the energy and total carbon footprint of the median Gemini Apps text prompt dropped by 33x and 44x, respectively, all while delivering higher quality responses.”

It’s unclear how much AI Mode uses compared to a normal search or a Gemini prompt.

On the web, many online publishers have observed a drop in traffic with the introduction of Google’s AI Overviews, raising concerns of a future where searches no longer drive clicks to websites that depend on them.

Google asserts that people are “visiting a greater diversity of websites” through AI overviews and suggests that those who click are more likely to spend more time on the sites they visit.