Lex Fridman had a really great interview with Google's CEO, Sundar Pichai. In that interview, Sundar explained that the "current plan is AI mode" will remain in a separate tab but over time, Google will "keep migrating it to the main page." Meaning, Google will move AI Mode features into AI Overviews and the main search experience.

I don't get why Google's executives didn't tell me that when I asked at I/O a couple of weeks ago, instead I got a weird response. Liz Reid, the head of Google Search, said AI Mode is the future of Google Search but kinda stopped there.

Lex got Sundar to explain how - over time AI Mode features and responses will be incorporated directly into the main search experience. Some of it will be in AI Overviews and some in other ways.

This comes up at the one hour and 9 minute mark into the video but this whole conversation starts at an hour and two minutes into the video.

He also talks about links and clicks to publishers, but honestly nothing is new there from his previous statements in The Verge interview and the Bloomberg interview. He also talked a bit about ads in AI Mode.

The agentic experiences is something interesting as well, when Sundar said just like some people like to shop in a physical store and also some like to shop online, you will see some people also shopping through AI agents. All three will continue to exist.

Here is the video embed from when the part on Google Search and AI Mode start, it goes from about 1 hour and 2 minutes through 1 hour and 16 minutes - so not a super long listen to. I listened to the full 2+ hours.

I asked Gemini to summarize this core section and I reviewed it and it is pretty accurate:

• Google Search's Evolution with AI: Sundar Pichai discusses the significant shift in Google Search by adding "AI mode" and integrating AI into search results. He emphasizes that this evolution is driven by increasingly capable AI technology that can provide more context and summary.
• Core Design Principles Remain: Despite the changes, Google's core principle of providing access to links and enabling users to explore the web remains. AI acts as a layer for context and dialogue, but the user still learns about what's available online.
• "Query Fan-Out" and Language Accessibility: Lex Fridman highlights "query fan-out," where AI conducts multiple searches to assemble knowledge for users. He also emphasizes the immense benefit of AI mode for non-English speakers, as Gemini's translation capabilities make English websites accessible in the reasoning process, effectively expanding their "web." Positive Metrics for AI Integration: Sundar Pichai states that AI overviews have improved the product, driven strong growth, and early metrics for AI mode (now in the hands of millions) are very encouraging.
• Ads in AI Mode: Lex Fridman questions the future of ads in AI mode. Sundar Pichai explains that the initial focus is on the organic experience. He reiterates that ads are seen as commercial information and Google applies the same quality metrics to them. He believes AI will help determine the best way to integrate ads in a "classy, non-annoying" manner, potentially through contextual explanations. He also notes the growing trend of subscription offerings across Google services as part of a broader optimization strategy.
• Future of AI Mode and Traditional Search: Sundar Pichai clarifies that AI mode will remain a separate tab for bleeding-edge experiences, but successful features will migrate to the main search page and AI overviews. He reiterates that a core design principle is that AI mode will still take users to the human-created web.
• Impact on User Behavior and Curiosity: Lex Fridman observes that AI integration encourages users to ask more and longer questions, fueling curiosity. Sundar Pichai agrees that this leads to higher-quality referrals and better user satisfaction. Journalism and AI: The conversation touches upon the nervousness of journalists regarding AI's impact. Sundar Pichai expresses Google's commitment to news and journalism, viewing it as crucial for differentiation. Both acknowledge the value of high-quality journalism alongside crowdsourced information.
• Human-Created Web vs. Agentic Web: The discussion concludes with the idea of two layers of the internet: one for humans and one for AI agents. Sundar Pichai believes both will coexist, with websites becoming richer and better designed for humans, while a separate "agentic web" will also progress, driven by business value and incentives.

The full transcript can be read over here.

Here is Glenn Gabe's takeaways, a bit different from mine:

So @lexfridman had Sundar Pichai on his podcast. There's a segment on AIOs and AI Mode that everyone should listen to -> Sundar Pichai continues to explain that sources and links to the open web are important and Google will continue to link out. It's a "core design principle"… pic.twitter.com/PLrb28xEXt

— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) June 6, 2025

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