Google AI Mode: what it is, how to turn it on, what it says on deals

AI Mode is the Google search that answers with AI-generated text and links to sources instead of a list of results. In Switzerland it has been available in German, French and Italian since 8 October 2025, according to the Swiss press; AI Overviews, the summary at the top of some searches, have existed in Switzerland since 26 March 2025. For supermarket deals, both are sources to check: they are valid for only a few days and differ by chain and canton, and Google itself warns that AI answers can contain mistakes.

Updated November 2026. Sources: Google (AI Mode, AI Overviews, AI features for websites, blog post of 15 October 2026, ads in AI answers); Netzwoche (26 March 2025, 8 October 2025), blue News, viewed on 9 November 2026.

What is Google AI Mode?

It is a way of searching where you type a question, even a long one, and get an AI-generated answer with links to read more. Google describes it on its help page as its most powerful AI search experience: you can ask questions, get answers and carry on with follow-up questions.

AI Overviews are something else: a summary at the top of some ordinary searches, with links to read further. According to Google they appear only when they add value compared with the classic results, so they are often missing. From the Overviews you can move to AI Mode by tapping “Show more” and typing in the bar to ask another question.

Is it available in Switzerland and in English?

Sources: Netzwoche, 26 March 2025 and 8 October 2025 (viewed on 9 November 2026). Conditions may have changed since: Google only writes that the features are offered in many countries and languages, without listing them on the pages we read.

AI Mode does have conditions of its own. For personalisation, meaning picking up earlier searches, Google asks for a minimum age of 18 and search history switched on; without it, AI Mode works but does not remember past searches. An account may not see the tab straight away: blue News writes that it can appear after a few days, because Google does not update all its servers at once. In our test of 9 November 2026, in Italian from Switzerland, the tab was there and answering.

How do you turn on AI Mode?

There is no switch to turn on: you open it from search. According to Google’s page there are three ways.

1. Go to google.com/ai.
2. Type the question in the Google bar on google.com and tap “AI Mode”.
3. In the Google app, tap “AI Mode” on the home screen.

Netzwoche writes that in October 2025 it appeared as an extra tab next to the results, in the iOS and Android apps too. Google presents it as a young AI product that does not always answer well, and asks you to check important information in more than one place.

How does it build an answer about your groceries?

With a technique Google calls “query fan-out”: it splits the question into subtopics, searches several data sources in parallel and merges the results into one answer. In its documentation for websites, Google explains that AI Overviews and AI Mode can run several related searches and that the links shown can be more numerous and varied than in a classic search. A page can appear only if it is indexed, and it can show a snippet.

For a question such as “cheese deals this week in Zurich” that means more searches, more pages read and a summary: the final summary in particular can mix up periods and shops. On 15 October 2026 Google announced more links inside answers and, in testing, a section with official sites at the top: useful for getting back to the source, but it says nothing about how long a deal is valid.

Can you switch off AI search?

Partly, and without tricks. For AI Overviews, Google’s page says that Search features cannot be turned off. After searching, you can choose the “Web” filter to see only text links, without features such as AI Overviews. AI Mode, on the other hand, you use only if you tap the tab: if you do not open it, it does not answer. The Google pages we read have no option to remove it entirely.

Are the answers about deals reliable?

Not enough to trust without checking. Google says so itself: on the AI Overviews page it writes that AI responses can contain mistakes, and if AI Mode is not sure about the quality of an answer, it can show web links instead of text. An example from our test of 9 November 2026: asked in Italian about apps to compare grocery prices in Switzerland, AI Mode listed among the alternatives a site that compares supermarket prices in another country.

Supermarket deals are a hard case because they change every week, by chain and canton, and their conditions are in the small print (see ChatGPT and this week’s deals, which applies here too). If you want the current deals side by side, with unit prices and canton, open the offers view instead of asking an assistant to summarise them.

On advertising: Google Ads Help lists ads inside AI Overviews and AI Mode only in English and in a list of countries that does not include Switzerland; the list may be incomplete, and on 28 October 2026 Google announced an expansion without naming Switzerland. Ads above or below the AI Overview are planned wherever the Overview exists, with the label “Sponsored”. More in ads in AI assistants.

How to check an answer about prices in 5 steps

1. Check the date. Look for the validity period written in the source, not the day of the week.
2. Open the source. Click the link given and read the shop’s page or the flyer; a link at the bottom of the answer does not prove the page says that.
3. Check the canton. Some deals are valid only in one region; make sure the site is Swiss and the prices are in francs.
4. Look at the unit price. Compare the price per kilo or per litre, not just the pack (how to do it).
5. Check the validity. Look for “while stocks last” and the start and end dates: the deal may have expired or not yet started.

For assistants that search and act for you, the guide to AI agents for groceries explains what changes.

What to do with Rappn

Rappn is a free Swiss app (iOS and Android) that compares the current promotions of seven Swiss retailers in all 26 cantons, in 4 languages. The promotions are updated daily as the chains publish them. You can search products and unit prices, follow products with price alerts, share lists, keep loyalty cards in a wallet and scan receipts to get a monthly spending overview by category. Rappn has no commercial agreements with any retailer; the method is in how Rappn compares offers.