Google Turns Its Doodle Into a Billboard for AI Mode as Competition Heats Up

Alphabet gives prime homepage space to Gemini-powered chatbot tool, aiming to pull more users into its AI orbit

Google’s homepage is known for its restraint — a white background, a logo, and a blinking cursor. But on Tuesday, that blank canvas turned into a billboard.

In a rare move, the tech giant used its globally visited homepage to plug “AI Mode,” its new chatbot-style search feature. A pulsating Doodle replaced the usual static logo. Click it, and users were taken straight into AI Mode — Google’s latest answer to ChatGPT, Claude, and the rest of the AI crowd.

The message was clear: Google wants you using its AI — and fast.

A Doodle That Doesn’t Celebrate Darwin or Diwali

The Google Doodle is usually a tribute space. It’s been known to honor Japanese poets, Black pioneers, or obscure anniversaries of inventions no one remembered existed. Tuesday’s Doodle was different.

There were no dinosaurs or jazz musicians this time — just an animated prompt leading straight to AI Mode.

A Google spokesperson said this was “just a fun promo,” not part of the Doodle’s traditional purpose of “celebrating history and culture.” Still, it felt like a shift.

AI is no longer just a research project tucked away in Google Labs. It’s now front and center. Literally.

AI Mode Is Gemini’s Public Face

AI Mode isn’t new, technically. Google started rolling it out back in March. It sits alongside normal search results for some users, depending on the question and location. But the Doodle push marks its most public outing yet.

Here’s what it does, in Google’s own words: “Search whatever’s on your mind and get AI-powered responses.”

Under the hood, it’s powered by Gemini, Google’s flagship large language model. The same system that powers Bard — rebranded as Gemini earlier this year — now handles multi-step queries, voice input, image searches, and more.

It’s not unlike what OpenAI offers with ChatGPT Plus, or what Perplexity is trying with its research-verified AI answers. But Google’s pitch is different: this isn’t a separate app — it’s baked into Search.

So now, instead of typing five different things into Google to plan a trip or compare investment options, users can just ask AI Mode.

It’s supposed to feel like chatting with a smart assistant who already knows the context — minus the confusion.

Why the Push Now?

Because frankly, Google’s playing catch-up.

ChatGPT, launched by OpenAI in November 2022, took off like wildfire. Anthropic’s Claude and Perplexity followed suit. And suddenly, the one company that’s been quietly doing AI research for over a decade looked like it was behind.

Internally, that’s sparked urgency.

Sundar Pichai has been walking a tightrope: don’t break Search, but don’t miss the AI wave either. In May, at Google’s I/O developer conference, he introduced more than a dozen new AI features. Now, it seems, those tools are getting a marketing boost.

The homepage promo is part of that effort.

Some believe this is also a signal to investors that Google isn’t sitting back.

• It controls the default search experience for over 90% of the world.

• And yet, it’s been quietly losing user mindshare to slicker, newer AI startups.

• This campaign is about stopping that leak — or reversing it.

What Users See and Why It Matters

Clicking on the Doodle takes users directly into AI Mode, skipping the usual search results page. It opens a Gemini-powered interface where people can ask multi-layered questions and get responses that feel… well, more conversational.

It supports:

• Text input for complex, context-heavy questions

• Voice prompts for hands-free queries

• Image input (think: “what fruit is this?” or “translate this menu”)

One sentence:

It’s part chatbot, part search engine, and part experiment — all wrapped into one.

Some testers have praised its helpfulness. Others complain it’s too cautious or clunky. But one thing’s for sure: by putting it on the homepage, Google is betting big that more people will get curious enough to try it.

AI Mode vs. The Rivals: Is It Actually Better?

That depends.

Technically speaking, Gemini is no slouch. It can write poems, summarize PDFs, generate charts, and explain code. But its edge — and its burden — is Google Search.

Gemini isn’t just a chatbot. It has to plug into a $300 billion advertising engine. That means it can’t be too weird. Too surprising. Or too wrong.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT? It has no such baggage. Neither does Perplexity, which is pushing hard on sourcing and transparency. Claude is focused on safety and long memory.

Here’s a quick feature snapshot:

Some would argue Google’s integration gives it the upper hand. Others say it makes the whole thing harder to trust.

Depends how you feel about the company knowing literally everything.