{"id":194087,"date":"2025-12-15T09:33:50","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T14:33:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/?p=194087"},"modified":"2026-01-15T05:34:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T10:34:11","slug":"ai-overviews-vs-ai-mode","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/ai-overviews-vs-ai-mode\/","title":{"rendered":"Are AI Mode and AI Overviews Just Different Versions of the Same Answer? (730K Responses Studied)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"intro-txt\">Google\u2019s AI Mode generates responses that are 4x longer than AI Overviews (on average). When we first noticed this, the natural assumption was that AI Mode simply expands on the same information, taking AI Overview\u2019s concise answer and adding more detail from the same sources.<\/div>\n<p>But after analyzing 730,000 response pairs, we found something unexpected: AI Mode and AI Overviews reach very similar conclusions (86% semantic similarity) while citing different sources (only 13.7% citation overlap).<\/p>\n<p>This matters because it suggests these aren\u2019t just a \u201cshort version\u201d and \u201clong version\u201d of the same answer. They\u2019re two distinct systems that happen to converge on similar conclusions through different paths.<\/p>\n<p>For marketers and SEO professionals, this raises critical questions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>If your brand is cited in AI Overviews, will it appear in AI Mode&nbsp;too?<\/li>\n<li>Do you need separate optimization strategies for&nbsp;each?<\/li>\n<li>What does it mean when two AI systems agree on <em>what<\/em> to say but not <em>where<\/em> they found&nbsp;it?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We analyzed citation patterns, content similarity, and entity mentions across hundreds of thousands of queries to find out. Here\u2019s what we discovered.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Key findings\" data-section=\"one\">\n<h2>Key findings<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Citation overlap<\/strong>: Only 13.7% of citations overlap between AI Overviews and AI Mode, indicating they cite different sources in practice.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Word-level overlap<\/strong>: There is very low (16%) word-level overlap between AI Overviews and AI Mode. They start with the same first sentence only 2.51% of the&nbsp;time.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Semantic similarity<\/strong>: 9 out of 10 times, AI Mode and AI Overview agreed on what to say; they just said it differently and cited different sources.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Entity overlap<\/strong>: AI Mode responses include 2.5x more people and brand entities than AI Overviews. But, if your brand gets mentioned in AI Overviews, there\u2019s a 61% chance it\u2019ll also appear in AI Mode\u2019s longer response.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Brand gaps<\/strong>: 32.8% of responses had no person or brand mentioned at&nbsp;all.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Citation gaps<\/strong>: For 3% of responses, AI Mode doesn\u2019t cite any sources. AI Overviews don\u2019t cite any sources 11% of the&nbsp;time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1610\" height=\"1618\" class=\"wp-image-194092\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ai-overviews-vs-ai-mode-response-similarity-indica.png\" alt=\"AI Overviews vs AI Mode response similarity indicating 16% word similarity, 13.7% citation similarity and 86% semantic similarity between the two.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ai-overviews-vs-ai-mode-response-similarity-indica.png 1610w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ai-overviews-vs-ai-mode-response-similarity-indica-423x425.png 423w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ai-overviews-vs-ai-mode-response-similarity-indica-768x772.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ai-overviews-vs-ai-mode-response-similarity-indica-1528x1536.png 1528w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ai-overviews-vs-ai-mode-response-similarity-indica-120x120.png 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1610px) 100vw, 1610px\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Methodology\" data-section=\"two\">\n<h2>Methodology<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>We analyzed September 2025 US data from Ahrefs\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/brand-radar\">Brand Radar<\/a>, examining 540,000 query pairs for citation and URL analysis, and 730,000 query pairs for content similarity analysis. For each query, we captured both an AI Mode response and an AI Overview response.<\/p>\n<p>We measured citation overlap by identifying how many URLs appeared in both AI Mode and AI Overview responses for the same query. We also tracked domain preferences to see which websites each platform cited most frequently.<\/p>\n<p>For content similarity, we used two metrics: Jaccard similarity to measure word-level overlap (calculated as unique words in common divided by all unique words), and cosine similarity to measure semantic overlap on a scale from 0 (completely different) to 1 (identical meaning).<\/p>\n<p>We also analyzed entity overlap by counting how many people, organizations, and brands were mentioned in both responses.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sidenote\"><div class=\"sidenote-title\">Sidenote.<\/div> This analysis compares single generations of AI Mode and AI Overview responses. Our<a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/ai-overview-change\/#citations\"> previous research<\/a> showed that 45% of AI Overview citations change between generations. This means the citation pools available to each system may overlap more than our single-snapshot comparison suggests. However, the low overlap we observed (13.7%) indicates that even when multiple sources could support an answer, AI Mode and AI Overviews often select different ones in practice.<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"1. Cited URLs overlapped just 14% of the time\" data-section=\"three\">\n<h2><a id=\"post-194087-_4szdm452nda\"><\/a>1. Cited URLs overlapped just 14% of the&nbsp;time<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>AI Mode and AI Overviews cited the same URLs only 13.7% of the time. When we looked at just the top 3 citations from each, the overlap was slightly higher at 16.3%. This means that 87% of the time, these two systems are pulling from completely different sources to answer the same&nbsp;query.<\/p>\n<p>The domain preferences also differed between the two systems:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1390\" height=\"2048\" class=\"wp-image-194088\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ai-overviews-vs-ai-mode-citation-overlap-according.png\" alt=\"AI Overviews vs AI Mode citation overlap according to Ahrefs' data study\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ai-overviews-vs-ai-mode-citation-overlap-according.png 1390w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ai-overviews-vs-ai-mode-citation-overlap-according-288x425.png 288w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ai-overviews-vs-ai-mode-citation-overlap-according-768x1132.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ai-overviews-vs-ai-mode-citation-overlap-according-1043x1536.png 1043w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1390px) 100vw, 1390px\"><\/p>\n<p>The most notable differences:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>YouTube held the top position in AI Overviews, being cited more than encyclopedic sources<\/li>\n<li>Wikipedia appeared in 10% more AI Mode citations than for AI Overviews<\/li>\n<li>While Reddit was cited a similar amount, Quora appeared 3.5x more in AI Mode citations<\/li>\n<li>Health websites were cited almost twice as much in AI Mode as in AI Overviews<\/li>\n<li>Facebook was also cited twice as much in AI Mode as in AI Overviews<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>AI Mode appears to lean more heavily on encyclopedic and detailed medical sources as it builds longer responses, while AI Overviews show a stronger preference for video content and community-driven platforms like Reddit.<\/p>\n<p>However, both systems also showed similar preferences for content types:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1484\" height=\"2048\" class=\"wp-image-194089\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ai-overviews-vs-ai-mode-differences-in-content-typ.jpg\" alt=\"AI Overviews vs AI Mode differences in content types cited indicating a strong preference for articles, though AI Overviews also cites videos and core pages more than AI Mode.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ai-overviews-vs-ai-mode-differences-in-content-typ.jpg 1484w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ai-overviews-vs-ai-mode-differences-in-content-typ-308x425.jpg 308w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ai-overviews-vs-ai-mode-differences-in-content-typ-768x1060.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ai-overviews-vs-ai-mode-differences-in-content-typ-1113x1536.jpg 1113w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1484px) 100vw, 1484px\"><\/p>\n<p>AI Overviews cited videos and core pages (like homepages or main category pages) nearly twice as often as AI Mode, while both systems overwhelmingly preferred article-format content.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommendation\"><div class=\"recommendation-title\">Try this yourself<\/div><div class=\"recommendation-content\">\n<p>You can see what sources AI Overviews and AI Mode cite the most in Ahrefs\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/brand-radar\">Brand Radar<\/a>. Run a blank search and check the <strong>Cited domains<\/strong> report.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1429\" height=\"802\" class=\"wp-image-194090\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ahrefs-brand-radar-overview-dashboard-when-perfor.png\" alt=\"Ahrefs' Brand Radar Overview dashboard when performing a blank search.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ahrefs-brand-radar-overview-dashboard-when-perfor.png 1429w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ahrefs-brand-radar-overview-dashboard-when-perfor-680x382.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ahrefs-brand-radar-overview-dashboard-when-perfor-768x431.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1429px) 100vw, 1429px\"><\/p>\n<p>Filter by AI Overview and AI Mode separately to see their preferred sources.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"649\" height=\"459\" class=\"wp-image-194091\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/selecting-various-ai-indexes-including-ai-overvie.png\" alt=\"Selecting various AI indexes, including AI Overviews and AI Mode in Ahrefs' Brand Radar.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/selecting-various-ai-indexes-including-ai-overvie.png 649w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/selecting-various-ai-indexes-including-ai-overvie-601x425.png 601w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 649px) 100vw, 649px\"><\/p>\n<p>You can also filter for your target topics or specific brands if you want to analyze a more specific segment of the data. Check out our <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/brand-radar-use-cases\/#:~:text=The%20filters%20let,them%20into%20action.\">guide to the best filter combinations<\/a> to&nbsp;try.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"2. Only 16% of unique words overlapped between responses\">\n<h2><a id=\"post-194087-_cjlaqlbb6agj\"><\/a>2. Only 16% of unique words overlapped between responses<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>AI Mode and AI Overview responses had a Jaccard similarity score of just 0.16, meaning only 16% of the unique words overlapped between the two responses for the same&nbsp;query.<\/p>\n<p>They started with the exact same first sentence only 2.51% of the time, and produced identical responses in just 0.51% of&nbsp;cases.<\/p>\n<p>This tells us that AI Mode isn\u2019t simply taking AI Overview\u2019s answer and adding more detail to it. Instead, both systems appear to research the query independently and formulate entirely new responses with minimal word or citation overlap.<\/p>\n<p>Even when they agree on the answer (which they do 86% of the time semantically, as we\u2019ll see next), they\u2019re expressing it in fundamentally different ways.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"3. Responses were semantically similar 90% of the time\" data-section=\"five\">\n<h2><a id=\"post-194087-_b97c5e8t3qzm\"><\/a>3. Responses were semantically similar 90% of the&nbsp;time<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Here\u2019s where things get interesting: despite low word overlap (16%) and minimal citation overlap (13.7%), AI Mode and AI Overview responses achieved a semantic similarity score of 86% on average.<\/p>\n<p>We measured this using cosine similarity. On a scale where 1.0 means \u201cidentical meaning\u201d and zero means \u201ccompletely unrelated,\u201d nearly 90% of response pairs (89.7%) scored above 0.8, indicating strong semantic alignment.<\/p>\n<p>Put simply: 9 out of 10 times, AI Mode and AI Overview agreed on what to say. They just said it differently and cited different sources.<\/p>\n<p>There are many possible reasons why this can happen. However, Google\u2019s documentation confirms that both <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/docs\/appearance\/ai-features#:~:text=Both%20AI%20Overviews,often%20don%27t%20trigger.\">AI Mode and AI Overviews use \u201cquery fan-out\u201d<\/a> to help display a wider and more diverse set of helpful links.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1310\" height=\"790\" class=\"wp-image-194093\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/an-excerpt-from-google-documentation-on-how-ai-fea.jpg\" alt=\"An excerpt from Google documentation on how AI features work in search confirming both AI Overviews and AI Mode may use the &quot;query fan out&quot; technique.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/an-excerpt-from-google-documentation-on-how-ai-fea.jpg 1310w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/an-excerpt-from-google-documentation-on-how-ai-fea-680x410.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/an-excerpt-from-google-documentation-on-how-ai-fea-768x463.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1310px) 100vw, 1310px\"><\/p>\n<p>Query fan-out is a process that runs multiple related searches to find supporting content while responses are being generated. Since AI Mode and AI Overviews use different models and techniques, they can easily cite different sources even when reaching similar conclusions.<\/p>\n<p>This explains why they agree on <em>what<\/em> to say while disagreeing on <em>where<\/em> they found&nbsp;it.<\/p>\n<p>Think of it like two experts answering the same question.<\/p>\n<p>They might use completely different words and reference different studies, but if they\u2019re both knowledgeable about the topic, their answers will convey the same core information. That\u2019s what\u2019s happening here; the systems are drawing from a consistent understanding of each topic, even as they express it differently.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"4. AI Mode responses are 4x longer with 3x more entities\" data-section=\"six\">\n<h2>4. AI Mode responses are 4x longer with 3x more entities<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>AI Mode responses are roughly 4x longer than AI Overviews and mention significantly more people and brands (3.3 entities on average compared to AI Overviews\u2019 1.3).<\/p>\n<p>For example, looking at the keyword \u201ccloud storage alternatives\u201d, the AI Overview mentions seven brands only once each, and toward the end of the response:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1155\" height=\"1095\" class=\"wp-image-194094\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/screenshot-of-the-ai-overview-response-for-cloud.jpg\" alt=\"Screenshot of the AI Overview response for &quot;cloud storage alternatives&quot; mentioning seven brands at the end of the response.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/screenshot-of-the-ai-overview-response-for-cloud.jpg 1155w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/screenshot-of-the-ai-overview-response-for-cloud-448x425.jpg 448w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/screenshot-of-the-ai-overview-response-for-cloud-768x728.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1155px) 100vw, 1155px\"><\/p>\n<p>Whereas the AI Mode response includes 23 brand mentions, repeating some brand mentions throughout the reply. Also, every component of the response contains a brand, including the very first sentence:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1194\" height=\"2048\" class=\"wp-image-194095\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/screenshot-of-the-ai-mode-response-for-cloud-stor.jpg\" alt=\"Screenshot of the AI Mode response for &quot;cloud storage alternatives&quot; with over 23 brand mentions starting from the very first sentence.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/screenshot-of-the-ai-mode-response-for-cloud-stor.jpg 1194w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/screenshot-of-the-ai-mode-response-for-cloud-stor-248x425.jpg 248w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/screenshot-of-the-ai-mode-response-for-cloud-stor-768x1317.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/screenshot-of-the-ai-mode-response-for-cloud-stor-896x1536.jpg 896w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1194px) 100vw, 1194px\"><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s easy to think that since AI Mode answers are 4x longer, that\u2019s naturally why they also include more brands in absolute terms. But it\u2019s often the case that AI Overviews is more selective with whether it mentions brands, limiting the amount of brand exposure available within the response itself.<\/p>\n<p>But here\u2019s what\u2019s perhaps most interesting: 61% of the time, AI Mode includes every entity that AI Overview mentioned, then adds more on&nbsp;top.<\/p>\n<p>For example, an AI Overview might mention Mayo Clinic as a health authority. AI Mode\u2019s response includes Mayo Clinic but also adds Cleveland Clinic and WebMD. The core authority appears in both, but AI Mode expands the expert pool.<\/p>\n<p>This means that if your brand is mentioned in AI Overviews, there\u2019s a good chance it\u2019ll also appear in AI Mode\u2019s longer response.<\/p>\n<p>But you\u2019ll be sharing space with additional competitors or sources that didn\u2019t make the AI Overview cut.<\/p>\n<p>This pattern suggests AI Mode is building on a similar foundation of related entities as AI Overviews rather than starting from scratch with an entirely different approach.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"5. 59% of AI Overviews contain no brands or entities\" data-section=\"seven\">\n<h2>5. 59% of AI Overviews contain no brands or entities<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Not every response includes citations or brand mentions. For instance, 59.41% of AI Overview and 34.66% of AI Mode responses contain no brands or entities.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1618\" class=\"wp-image-194096\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ai-overviews-vs-ai-mode-brand-gaps-per-ahrefs-da.png\" alt=\"AI Overviews vs AI Mode brand gaps (per Ahrefs' data study), indicating 59.41% of AI Overview responses and 34.66% of AI Mode responses contain no brands.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ai-overviews-vs-ai-mode-brand-gaps-per-ahrefs-da.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ai-overviews-vs-ai-mode-brand-gaps-per-ahrefs-da-420x425.png 420w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ai-overviews-vs-ai-mode-brand-gaps-per-ahrefs-da-768x777.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ai-overviews-vs-ai-mode-brand-gaps-per-ahrefs-da-1519x1536.png 1519w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ai-overviews-vs-ai-mode-brand-gaps-per-ahrefs-da-120x120.png 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/p>\n<p>About one-third (32.8%) of all AI responses in our dataset mentioned no brands or people at all. These are usually informational queries where no brand is searched for or expected in the response, such as \u201cNov 21 zodiac\u201d, \u201crevenue cycle\u201d, and \u201cmeditation before bed\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Some responses also showed no cited sources. When citations are missing entirely, it\u2019s typically for edge cases&nbsp;like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Simple calculations (\u201c4 divided by 1\/2\u201d)<\/li>\n<li>NSFW or sensitive content (\u201csexual abuse,\u201d \u201cmy wife hit&nbsp;me\u201d)<\/li>\n<li>Redirects to help centers<\/li>\n<li>Unsupported languages (\u201c678\u662f\u7f8e\u56fd\u54ea\u91cc\u7684\u533a\u53f7\u201d)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><a id=\"post-194087-_kqsb383c0yan\"><\/a>Why the difference in citation rates?<\/h3>\n<p>AI Mode is more reliable for attribution. Only 3% of responses lack citations compared to 11% for AI Overviews.<\/p>\n<p>A few possible reasons:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Length and format requirements:<\/strong> 4x longer responses need more grounding and supporting evidence<\/li>\n<li><strong>User expectations differ:<\/strong> AI Overviews appear in traditional search results, where users sometimes just need a quick fact. AI Mode is an interactive chat or research experience where users expect transparency about sources<\/li>\n<li><strong>Query filtering:<\/strong> AI Overviews likely surface for more edge cases that don\u2019t warrant citations, while AI Mode may filter these out or handle them differently<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"What these findings mean\" data-section=\"eight\">\n<h2><a id=\"post-194087-_4lviumad1udi\"><\/a>What these findings mean for marketers and SEO professionals<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>These distinctions between AI Mode and AI Overviews have direct implications for how you approach AI optimization.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Track visibility for AI Overviews and AI Mode separately:<\/strong> With only 13.7% source overlap, being cited in one doesn\u2019t guarantee visibility in the other. Monitor your visibility in both by using Ahrefs\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/brand-radar\">Brand Radar<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Focus on semantic authority, not exact wording:<\/strong> The 86% semantic similarity shows both systems look for the same themes, just expressed differently. Build topical authority and comprehensive coverage (rather than targeting specific phrases) so your brand is seen as relevant to the&nbsp;topic.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Consider the format differences:<\/strong> AI Mode\u2019s 97% citation rate and entity expansion (3.3 vs 1.3 entities) favor longer, well-sourced content, especially from encyclopedic sources. AI Overviews prefer video and community platforms like Reddit. The same content may not perform equally in&nbsp;both.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Prepare for more competition in AI Mode:<\/strong> If you\u2019re cited in an AI Overview, there\u2019s a 61% chance you\u2019ll appear in AI Mode too, but alongside additional competitors who didn\u2019t make the shorter cut.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Invest in encyclopedic content:<\/strong> Wikipedia appears in 28.9% of AI Mode citations versus 18.1% in AI Overviews. Consider how your content can serve as a comprehensive reference or be cited in existing encyclopedic resources.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The bottom line: treat AI Mode and AI Overviews as separate channels with overlapping goals but different execution. Optimize for both, but don\u2019t assume success in one translates to the&nbsp;other.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>But after analyzing 730,000 response pairs, we found something unexpected: AI Mode and AI Overviews reach very similar conclusions (86% semantic similarity) while citing different sources (only 13.7% citation overlap). This matters because it suggests these aren\u2019t just a \u201cshort<span class=\"ellipsis\">\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\">Read more \u203a<\/div>\n<p><!-- end of .read-more --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":195,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[469,414],"tags":[],"coauthors":[458,467],"class_list":["post-194087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ai-search","category-data-studies","odd"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Are AI Mode and AI Overviews Just Different Versions of the Same Answer? (730K Responses Studied)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This data study compares the similarities and differences between Google&#039;s AI Overview and AI Mode responses, and what it means for brands.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/ai-overviews-vs-ai-mode\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are AI Mode and AI Overviews Just Different Versions of the Same Answer? (730K Responses Studied)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This data study compares the similarities and differences between Google&#039;s AI Overview and AI Mode responses, and what it means for brands.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/ai-overviews-vs-ai-mode\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SEO Blog by Ahrefs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Ahrefs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-15T14:33:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-15T10:34:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ai-overviews-vs-ai-mode-response-similarity-indica.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1610\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1618\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Despina Gavoyannis, Xibeijia Guan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ahrefs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ahrefs\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/ai-overviews-vs-ai-mode\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/ai-overviews-vs-ai-mode\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Despina Gavoyannis\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/143d08bacfea1ed0736d76ad138ce704\"},\"headline\":\"Are AI Mode and AI Overviews Just Different Versions of the Same Answer? 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