Google’s AI Mode marks a major shift in how users interact with search and how brands need to show up in results. This new experience is more conversational, multimodal, and task-oriented, acting more like a digital assistant than a list of blue links. Powered by a custom version of Gemini 2.5, AI Mode builds on the foundation of AI Overviews with deeper reasoning capabilities. One of the standout features under the hood? Something called query fan-out, a retrieval technique designed to unpack complex questions and find the most relevant, diverse, and authoritative information to answer them.
What Is Query Fan-Out?
Contenido
- 1 What Is Query Fan-Out?
- 2 How AI Mode Uses Query Fan-Out to Answer Smarter
- 3 Why This Matters for SEO
- 4 How to Optimize for AI Mode
- 4.1 1. Be a Known Authority in Your Niche
- 4.2 2. Create Comprehensive Content Hubs
- 4.3 3. Write for Sub-Queries
- 4.4 4. Use Language That’s Easy to Quote
- 4.5 5. Apply Contextual Vocabulary
- 4.6 6. Incorporate Structured Elements
- 4.7 7. Leverage First-Party and Unique Data
- 4.8 Example: How Would Samsung Optimize for the Query “What’s the best phone for photography under $900?“
- 5 Monitor Your Visibility in AI Surfaces
At its core, query fan-out is Google’s way of making sure it fully understands and responds to the user’s intent even when the query is vague, layered, or open-ended.
Instead of running a single search, Google’s AI breaks the query into multiple sub-queries, each tackling a different angle of the original question. These sub-queries then run in parallel across various data sources, including live web results, Google’s Knowledge Graph, Google Shopping, and more. The AI then synthesizes everything into a single, comprehensive answer, often with citations.
Example:
Original query: “What’s the best phone for photography under $900?”
Behind the scenes, Google breaks that into detailed query variations:
| Query | Type | Intent | Reasoning |
| Top camera phones under 900 dollars 2025 | reformulation | Find the highest-rated phones specifically for their camera capabilities within a budget. | Directly rephrases the original query using synonyms and specifies the current year. |
| Best budget smartphone for video recording 2025 | related | Discover phones that excel in video capabilities while remaining affordable. | Photography often includes video; ‘budget’ aligns with ‘under $900’. |
| Phones with the best low-light camera performance under $900 | implicit | Identify phones that perform well in challenging photography conditions within the budget. | A common pain point in phone photography is low-light; users implicitly seek good performance here. |
| Pixel 8a vs Galaxy A55 camera comparison | comparative | Understand the specific differences in camera quality between popular mid-range phones. | Users often compare specific models once they’ve narrowed down options. These models are likely to fall within the budget. |
| Google Pixel 8a camera review | entity_expanded | Get detailed insights into the camera performance of a specific, highly-regarded budget photography phone. | The Pixel series is known for its computational photography, making it a strong candidate for ‘best photography phone’ in this price range. |
| Best phone for portrait photography under $900 | personalized | Find a phone optimized for a specific type of photography that aligns with their personal interest. | Find a phone optimized for a specific type of photography that aligns with their interest. |
| Affordable phones with professional camera features 2025 | reformulation | Seek phones that offer advanced camera functionalities without a flagship price tag. | Rephrasing ‘best photography’ as ‘professional camera features’ and ‘under $900’ as ‘affordable’. |
| Smartphone camera sensor size comparison mid-range | implicit | Understand technical specifications that contribute to better image quality in budget phones. | Users implicitly want to know why a phone’s camera is good, and sensor size is a key factor. |
| Best phone for content creation under $900 | related | Find a versatile phone that supports both photography and other media creation needs within budget. | Photography is a core component of content creation; this broadens the scope slightly but remains relevant. |
This fan-out approach allows Google to reconstruct a fuller answer by pulling in product reviews, specs, user opinions, and price comparisons, all in one AI-generated overview.
How AI Mode Uses Query Fan-Out to Answer Smarter
Here’s how the process works:
- Intent Deconstruction. Google identifies multiple dimensions of the user’s query, such as purpose, budget, comparison points, or features.
- Sub-Query Generation. It builds a set of related sub-questions designed to probe deeper into the topic.
- Parallel Retrieval. Each sub-query pulls content from a mix of sources: articles, forums, product listings, structured data, and more.
- Answer Synthesis. Gemini 2.5 then stitches everything together into a unified answer that aims to be useful, up-to-date, and user-specific.
Why This Matters for SEO
In traditional SEO, ranking meant optimizing for a keyword and landing a spot in the top 10. But in AI Mode, search is more fluid, contextual, and layered, and visibility depends less on single queries and more on how your content supports a wider network of related questions.
Main key shifts:
- Queries have become conversations.
- Ranking can happen at the paragraph, section, or even sentence level.
- Your site needs to be a resource, not just a page with keywords.
How to Optimize for AI Mode
If you want your content to be chosen and cited by AI Mode, you need to meet the system halfway. Here’s how:
1. Be a Known Authority in Your Niche
Establish topical expertise and depth. Google will favor sources it sees as reliable and well-rounded.
2. Create Comprehensive Content Hubs
Cover your topics holistically. Build clusters of pages or sections that address every angle of a theme, including comparisons, how-tos, pros/cons, FAQs, etc.
3. Write for Sub-Queries
Think beyond the primary keyword. Anticipate related questions that might be spun out from the main topic. Incorporate them clearly in your content.
4. Use Language That’s Easy to Quote
LLMs like clean, direct answers. Use clear, structured writing that AI can lift and cite. Tools like lists, tables, and short answers are ideal.
5. Apply Contextual Vocabulary
Mirror the language and specificity that your audience uses. “Best protein sources for athletes” might fan out differently than “best protein for busy moms.”
6. Incorporate Structured Elements
Use semantic headers (H2s, H3s), FAQ sections, bullet points, and schema markup to guide retrieval and enhance visibility.
7. Leverage First-Party and Unique Data
Original insights, survey results, or firsthand analysis are gold, especially in a sea of generic content.
Example: How Would Samsung Optimize for the Query “What’s the best phone for photography under $900?“
To optimize for a query like “best phones for photography under $900”, I would focus on building dedicated, high-priority content assets that align with different user intents. This includes developing detailed, updated buyer’s guides, such as enhancing Samsung’s existing mobile buying guide, specifically targeting photography use cases like low light performance, video stabilization, or portrait quality.
I’d also create direct comparison pages (e.g., Galaxy vs Pixel for camera performance) and educational content that demystifies camera specs like OIS, sensor size, and aperture, helping users make informed decisions.
This strategy allows us to address the full spectrum of intent:
- Broad “best phones” searches
- Feature–specific queries
- Comparative research
- Visual decision-making with photos and videos
The key for SEO teams is to fill content gaps with targeted, evergreen assets, optimized for both AI-driven answers and user conversion. By aligning content with AI Mode’s query fan-out structure, we can attract high-conversion traffic and guide users closer to purchase.
Monitor Your Visibility in AI Surfaces
The next step is to monitor where and how your content is appearing across AI-powered platforms, including:
- Google AI Overviews / AI Mode
- Perplexity.ai citations
- ChatGPT Browse or Copilot
- Reddit, Quora, and forums (which often feed fan-out content)
These insights can help you spot content that’s working and where to double down.
Final Thoughts
Google’s AI Mode it’s a fundamental rethinking of how people find and interact with information. And some industries are already feeling the shift. In travel, for example, OTAs are losing traffic as Google now shows AI-powered modules for flights and hotels right in the search experience. What used to be a click-out is now an instant answer, and that changes the game for anyone relying on organic traffic
Success now means:
- Being comprehensive yet concise
- Structuring content for machines and humans
- Building trust signals that tell AI you’re worth citing
