How to Use Google AI Mode: Ask, Follow Up, Personalise and Delete History

AI Mode is Google's AI search experience: one long answer with links, built from lots of searches Google runs for you. Google's help centre calls the method query fan-out. It splits your question into subtopics, searches each one at the same time, and brings the results together. That's why it handles questions that used to take five separate searches. Here's how to use it well, from Google's own help pages, checked as of October 2026.

How to open AI Mode

1. On a computer or phone browser, go to www.google.com, type your question and tap AI Mode.
2. On the Google app, tap AI Mode on the home screen.
3. Type, speak or upload into the Ask anything bar near the bottom of the screen.
4. Read the answer, open the linked sources, and ask your next question in the same bar.

Google says you get the best experience with history and personalised recommendations switched on. Without that setting you can still use AI Mode, you just can't pick up where you left off in your previous searches.

Five ways to ask AI Mode a question

Input	How to do it	Good for
Text	Type in the Ask anything bar	Comparisons, plans, research questions
Voice	Tap the microphone in the Ask anything bar	Asking on the go
Image	Add a photo to your question	Identifying things, reading labels
File	Attach a file to your question	Questions about a document
Web page	Paste a URL into the bar and ask about it	Summarising or checking a page

On Chrome you can also add your open tabs to an AI Mode question, so it answers using the pages you're already reading.

How to pick a smarter model

AI Mode has a model menu in the Ask anything bar. Auto or Fast handles most questions. Gemini 4 Argon is Google's model for harder, multi-step tasks, and Google says it's better at following instructions in back-and-forth conversations.

• You need to be signed in to a personal Google Account you manage yourself.
• Argon in AI Mode is offered in supported countries and to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers aged 18 and over.
• It has daily usage limits. When you hit yours, you can wait for it to refresh or upgrade your Google AI plan.

Ask for an interactive chart or calculator

This is the feature most people never find. AI Mode can build interactive visuals: diagrams, charts, simulations and calculators with sliders and toggles you can move to see cause and effect. Google says you have to ask for it explicitly, with words like simulation, interactive visual, diagram, calculator or interactive model, and that it's available to signed-in users in English. You can then ask follow-up questions to edit it.

Try this in AI Mode

Build an interactive calculator that shows how a monthly ad budget changes cost per lead. Add sliders for budget and conversion rate.

Personal Intelligence: answers tailored to you

If you're 18 or over and have history and personalised recommendations on, AI Mode can use your previous searches to tailor answers. You can tell it to remember a detail or forget something. You can also connect Google apps, starting with Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Photos, so answers draw on your own content.

Read Google's small print before you connect anything. Its help page says that consenting means all Search services can access Workspace and Google Photos, and it lists them: Search (including AI Mode and Discover), Maps, Shopping, News, Flights, Hotels and Translate. You can disconnect at any time.

How to delete your AI Mode history fully

1. On your computer, go to AI Mode.
2. On the left, click AI Mode history.
3. Select a search to delete it, or click Delete all at the top.
4. Check My Activity too: deleted items may linger there and are auto-deleted in under 24 hours.
5. If a search started as an AI Overview and you tapped Dive deeper in AI Mode, delete it from your Search history as well.

That last step catches people out. Google explains that one of those searches can leave two entries: your original query in Search history, and the AI Mode follow-up. Deleting it from AI Mode history doesn't remove the Search history entry, so do both.

When AI Mode gets it wrong

Google's own help page says AI Mode doesn't always get it right and can misread web content or miss context. Sometimes it shows a set of links instead of an answer, when it isn't confident enough. My rule after 23 years in marketing is simple: use AI Mode to get oriented fast, then click through to the sources before you act on anything that costs you time or reputation. Google suggests the same: check important facts in more than one place, ask the question different ways, and use the thumbs up or down to send feedback.

Personal answers lean on what Google remembers about you, so read how Gemini saved info works to see where that lives now.

What AI Mode means for your business

If customers can get a full answer without visiting a website, the question for a business owner changes from ranking to being cited. I've written about how to show up in Google AI Mode answers and how to appear in Google AI Overviews, and if you need a long researched report rather than a search answer, Gemini Deep Research is the better tool.

My advice

Use AI Mode for the questions you'd normally open ten tabs for: comparing suppliers, planning a trip, understanding a new rule. Ask for an interactive calculator when numbers are involved. Think twice before connecting Gmail and Photos, because that consent covers every Search service. And when you clean up your history, delete from both places.

A few of these features depend on your Google plan, so check what Google AI Plus includes before you assume you have them.

Frequently asked questions

How do I turn on Google AI Mode?

Go to google.com, type a question and tap AI Mode, or tap AI Mode on the Google app home screen. There's nothing to install.

Does AI Mode use Gemini 4 Argon?

You can pick Gemini 4 Argon from the model menu where it's offered. Google says it has daily limits and points you to a Google AI plan for more.

What is query fan-out in AI Mode?

Google says AI Mode splits your question into subtopics, searches each one at the same time and combines the results into one answer.

Can AI Mode read a web page for me?

Yes. Paste the page URL into the Ask anything bar and ask your question about it.

How do I delete AI Mode history?

Open AI Mode history on the left, select a search or click Delete all, then check My Activity and your Search history too.

Who can use Personal Intelligence in AI Mode?

Google says you need to be 18 or older with history and personalised recommendations switched on.

Can AI Mode make charts?

Yes. Ask explicitly for an interactive visual, diagram, calculator or simulation. Google says this works for signed-in users in English.