{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "DefinedTerm",
  "schema_version": "1.1",
  "content_item_id": "dictionary-search-mode.en",
  "translation_group_id": "dictionary-search-mode",
  "locale": "en",
  "type": "glossary",
  "section": "dictionary",
  "slug": "search-mode",
  "title": "Search mode",
  "description": "A search mode is the selected way of processing a query: classic results, an AI answer, a web-enabled chat, or another explicitly named mode.",
  "direct_answer": "A search mode is the selected way of processing a query: classic results, an AI answer, a web-enabled chat, or another explicitly named mode. A mention, link, citation, and recommendation are separate fields. One answer can contain all four, but none substitutes for another. A nearby source is not necessarily the cause of the wording. It is especially important to separate the displayed mode from assumptions about the internal pipeline.",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Working definition",
      "paragraphs": [
        "For a study, treat the mode as the interface state recorded with a saved answer. Describe what the user could select or see, and avoid inferring hidden routing from that label."
      ]
    },
    {
      "heading": "Boundary with nearby concepts",
      "paragraphs": [
        "Keep four observations separate: a named entity, an exposed link, an attributed passage, and a recommendation. Their co-occurrence describes one answer, not a single combined ranking signal."
      ]
    },
    {
      "heading": "Observation fields",
      "paragraphs": [
        "Log the selected mode alongside the query, surface, locale, region, timestamp, complete answer, exact fragment, entity, link, and event type. This makes a mode comparison auditable without claiming knowledge of the backend."
      ]
    },
    {
      "heading": "How to test",
      "paragraphs": [
        "Pre-register the mode labels and apply them to a control sample before interpreting outcomes. Preserve ambiguous cases and reviewer disagreements; they show where the interface does not support a confident classification."
      ]
    },
    {
      "heading": "What can be claimed",
      "paragraphs": [
        "You can claim that a result was observed in a named mode at a given time. Rates and trends additionally require a fixed query set, denominator, surface, and mode version; they do not reveal the implementation behind the mode."
      ]
    },
    {
      "heading": "Limitations",
      "paragraphs": [
        "The label can hide experiments, personalization, regional routing, and changes to the retrieval stack. A mode comparison therefore describes the tested interface states only; it is not evidence that one internal pipeline consistently outperforms another."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "published_at": "2026-09-11",
  "modified_at": "2026-09-11",
  "data_through": "2026-09-11",
  "next_review_at": "2026-10-11",
  "author": "GeoAeoAle Editorial",
  "origin": "editorial",
  "publisher": "GeoAeoAle Editorial",
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "canonical_url": "https://geoaeoale.com/en/dictionary/search-mode/",
  "claims": [
    {
      "claim_id": "search-mode-claim",
      "text": "A search mode is the selected way of processing a query: classic results, an AI answer, a web-enabled chat, or another explicitly named mode.",
      "status": "inference",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "source_ids": [
        "google-ai-search"
      ],
      "publication_status": "public",
      "confidentiality": "public"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "source_id": "google-ai-search",
      "canonical_url": "https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features",
      "title": "Top ways to ensure your content performs well in Google's AI experiences",
      "publisher": "Google Search Central",
      "source_type": "official",
      "locale": "en",
      "published_at": null,
      "checked_at": "2026-09-11",
      "sha256": "c6b267ed42c26ee63151c87d27de45d8882a5b7dc77c3d3dece510b21d63c300",
      "license": "Source terms apply",
      "visibility": "public"
    }
  ],
  "related_slugs": [
    "ai-visibility",
    "answer-engine",
    "retrieval"
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "A mode can change with experiments, region, account state, and time. A comparison describes the selected interface states, but does not prove differences between hidden pipelines or a durable effect across search."
  ],
  "corrections": []
}