How we measure Google AI Mode
We send each question to Google AI Mode through a data provider, with a country setting and a language setting, and collect the answer. Google says AI Mode divides a question into subtopics and searches for each one across several data sources. We have only tested the country setting for the Netherlands, the United States and Germany. For other countries, the proposal says that we could not confirm that AI Mode uses your country.
Does Google AI Mode show sources?
Yes, but few in our test. All 12 AI Mode answers in our test of 4 November 2026 listed sources, from 2 to 6 per answer. ChatGPT listed at least 12 per answer in the same test, and Gemini at least 16. That test is small, and a listed source does not prove that AI Mode used it in the text.
What can go wrong with Google AI Mode
AI Mode may answer with links and no AI text at all. Google says this can happen when it lacks confidence in an AI response, and we have not yet seen how our route reports that case. Google also says AI Mode does not always get it right, and it offers personalization that a scan does not see. AI Mode and AI Overviews can show different answers and links, so a count on one does not carry over to the other.
If Google AI Mode gives no answer, we retry and use a backup route. Failed answers stay out of the count, and a system with too few answers is labelled Not measured.
Which scan includes Google AI Mode
Google AI Mode is in both the free scan and the paid scan. The free scan asks each question once, and the paid scan asks each question five times.
How to read the result
You see a count: named in X of Y answers. Each cell opens the full answer from Google AI Mode, with your name marked and any sources that came with it.
What we do not promise
Nobody controls what an AI system says. We show what it says now and what you can change. Read our method