AI Mode Has Landed in the UK and Jersey — And Search Will Never Be the Same

Google has officially launched AI Mode in the UK and Jersey. It’s live, it’s rolling out via Search Labs, and it marks the most significant change to search in over a decade.  

AI Mode is Google’s answer to ChatGPT, Perplexity, and the whole new wave of generative search tools that don’t just point to websites, they summarise, compare, and reason. Ask it a complex, multi-part question, and it doesn’t blink. It breaks it down, pulls in information from across the web, and gives you a joined-up response with links, context and the next steps.

If you’re a brand, that should ring alarm bells and spark serious opportunities.

What changes with AI Mode?

 Visibility is no longer just about “ranking.” If your content can’t be broken down, interpreted, or retrieved in this new AI layer, you’ll disappear.

The best content will still win — but only if it’s structured for AI to understand.

User intent is shifting. People are asking bigger questions, expecting joined-up answers, and relying on the engine to do the legwork.

How does this affect my business in Jersey?

For local Jersey businesses, AI Mode is both a challenge and an opportunity. Traditional SEO strategies focused on local keywords and Google Maps listings won’t be enough. If your services, content, or expertise are not formatted in a way that the AI layer can access and summarise, you may lose visibility, even locally. With Jersey’s competitive sectors like legal, finance, hospitality and property, showing up in AI Mode may become the new battleground for online presence. It’s no longer enough to simply appear — you need to show up as the most relevant and trusted answer in the AI summary.

This means the SEO playbook needs to evolve.

At The Idea Works, our SEO team have been preparing for this moment for the last few months. They have spent many hours preparing for retrieval-first content, chunkability, and LLM-friendly formats. That future just became the present, and our clients are already ahead.

What should you do next?

If you’re a marketing lead or business owner:

• Audit your current content. Would it show up in AI Mode? Would it make the summary, or sit in the footnotes?
• Reframe your strategy around proper, structured, explainable content, not just long-form blogs for the sake of word count.
• Understand that brand visibility in AI Mode isn’t a given. It’s earned. And the criteria just changed.

How can The Idea Works help you?

We’re offering consultancy, audits, and content roadmaps designed for this new landscape. If you’re unsure how AI Mode affects your business, let’s talk. Email Richard@theideaworks.com or SEO@theideaworks.com today