> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.surnex.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Google AI Mode

> See what Google's AI Mode returns for a query, and which sources it draws on.

**AI → Google AI Mode** queries Google's conversational AI Mode and shows the response it generates.

## Running a lookup

Enter a query in the **Enter a keyword to search…** field and submit. The **AI Mode Response** appears when the lookup completes, along with the sources it drew on.

One query per lookup. Past lookups are listed so you can revisit a response without re-running it.

## Reading the response

The obvious question is whether your brand appears. The more useful one is *how the answer is framed*:

* **Which sources are cited.** These are the pages Google's AI treats as authoritative for the question. If they're consistently the same three publications, being covered by them matters more than editing your own site.
* **What the answer asserts.** AI Mode gives a definitive answer rather than a list of options. If it recommends competitors and doesn't mention you, that's the shape of the problem — you're not absent from search, you're absent from the answer.
* **How the question is interpreted.** AI Mode often answers a broader question than the one asked. That reframing tells you what content would actually be relevant.

## AI Mode vs. AI Overviews

Different surfaces, and worth not conflating:

|                    | [AI Overviews](/ai/google-ai-overviews)               | AI Mode                          |
| ------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------- |
| Where it appears   | Above normal search results                           | A separate conversational mode   |
| Coverage in Surnex | All tracked keywords, automatically                   | One query at a time, on demand   |
| Data source        | Captured during each [rank check](/tracking/overview) | Fetched when you run the lookup  |
| Best for           | Monitoring exposure across your keyword set           | Investigating one query in depth |

Use AI Overviews to see the scale of the problem, AI Mode to understand a specific answer.

## Empty response

**No AI Mode response found for this keyword.** AI Mode doesn't return an answer for every query — navigational and very specific queries often produce nothing. That's a result, not an error: no AI answer means the traditional results still own that query.

## Locale

Lookups use your [project's location and language](/projects/settings). AI answers vary by market, so check the locale before comparing results across regions.

## Usage

Each lookup calls an external service and draws on your plan's allowance. See [Usage and limits](/billing/usage).