AI search platforms
Google’s AI shows up in two places: inside Google Search, as AI Overviews and AI Mode, and in the separate Gemini app. Google said in July 2026 that the Gemini app had 950 million monthly active users and that AI Mode had passed 1 billion. Both lean on Google’s search index, but they’re controlled differently. That difference matters for your website.
Short answer
Gemini and Google’s AI search features are grounded in Google Search. AI Overviews and AI Mode use pages Google has indexed and can show with a snippet. Google says no special optimization is needed. The Gemini app also grounds answers in the Search index, but site owners can opt out of that, and of training, with the Google-Extended robots.txt token.
Get Found · Get Leads · Grow
Get Found
Gemini, AI Overviews and AI Mode lean on Google Search, so we make sure your pages are indexable and helpful, add structured data and keep your Business Profile complete.
Get Leads
Answer-first sections that give people a reason to visit, then clear calls to action and conversion tracking in Analytics and Search Console.
Grow
We watch which of your searches show AI Overviews and where you are cited, and add content for the follow-up questions AI Mode asks.
How it works
Google calls this “grounding”: giving the model content from the Google Search index at the moment it answers, so the answer rests on real pages it can link to.
These live inside Google Search. Google says a page is eligible as a supporting link if it’s indexed and can be shown with a snippet, and that there are “no additional requirements.” In 2026, Google said it had brought the two together into one Search experience.
Google says these features may run several related searches across subtopics and data sources while building an answer. That’s why they can link to a wider set of pages than the classic top ten, including pages that answer one narrow piece of a question.
The standalone Gemini app also grounds answers in the Google Search index. Google’s crawler documentation says this grounding is covered by the Google-Extended control, along with training of future Gemini models.
What makes it different
ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity run their own crawlers. Google’s AI search features use the same Googlebot crawl and index as regular Search. If Google Search can’t index or snippet a page, AI Overviews and AI Mode won’t use it either.
Google-Extended does not affect inclusion or ranking in Google Search, Google says. It controls Gemini app grounding and training. AI Overviews and AI Mode are part of Search, so the controls there are Googlebot rules and snippet settings like nosnippet and max-snippet. Blocking Google-Extended won’t remove you from AI Overviews.
The independent assistants have no direct line to a business listing you control. Google’s AI sits next to Google Maps and Business Profile data. Its Gemini-powered Ask Maps feature, launched in the U.S. and India in March 2026, draws on Maps places and reviews.
Google says clicks from AI features are counted in Search Console’s overall “Web” search totals. You won’t see a separate AI line, but the clicks aren’t invisible. Few other assistants offer any first-party reporting at all.
Checklist
How MarketPros helps
Google doesn’t sell placement in AI Overviews, and we don’t promise it. We make sure your site and profile give Google’s systems clear, trustworthy material to work with.
Setup, cleanup, categories, services, photos and review response.
Local AEO and SEO →Tracking that connects Google visibility to calls, forms and booked jobs.
Analytics and tracking →FAQ
No. Google says there are no extra requirements beyond being indexed and eligible for a snippet, and no need for special AI files or schema. Normal SEO best practices apply.
No. Google says Google-Extended doesn’t affect inclusion in Google Search and isn’t a ranking signal. It controls Gemini app grounding and model training.
AI Mode is part of Google Search. Gemini is Google’s separate assistant app. Both use Google’s search index for grounding, but they are controlled by different settings and can show different links.
Google counts it in Search Console’s overall Web search data. There is no separate AI Overviews report, so watch overall trends and test the questions your customers ask.
Next step
Want to see where Google’s AI mentions your business, and where it mentions competitors instead? Text (404) 877-2184 to set up a Zoom discovery meeting, or request a free visibility review.
Sources
Last reviewed October 23, 2026 by Don Stormo, founder of MarketPros.AI.
