Google, planning and generative search: what’s changing

Google is changing how we use the search engine.

For a long time, a search had a fairly specific goal: find an answer. A website. A product. A restaurant. A data point.

But AI-powered search is broadening that behaviour. We can now also use Google to plan, compare, generate ideas and make decisions.

AI Mode is accelerating this change. According to Google, planning-related queries in AI Mode grew 80% faster than general AI Mode queries during the six months analysed. What’s more, brainstorming-related searches grew 30% faster since launch.

This data shows something important for SEO: Google is no longer used only to find information. Increasingly, it’s also used to decide what to do with that information. If you’re starting from scratch, begin with what SEO is and why it remains the foundation of everything.

1. Google is moving from answering to helping plan

Imagine you want to take a trip. A traditional search might be:

«What to see in Rome»

You’d then run other searches:

• «best restaurants Rome»
• «hotel central Rome»
• «what to do in Rome in 3 days»
• «Colosseum tickets»
• «how to get from the airport to central Rome»

The user has to stitch all that information together.

With a generative search experience, the query can be much more complete:

«I’m going to Rome for three days in October. I want to visit the main sights, avoid long journeys and book a special restaurant for one night. How would you organise the trip?»

The intent has changed.

It’s no longer simply: «give me information.» Now it’s: «help me organise something.»

And this difference is very important for SEO. You can see how it’s evolving in how search intent changes with AI Mode.

2. Planning searches are growing

Google has analysed how AI Mode is used in the United States and has detected especially strong growth in planning-related queries.

According to its data, these queries grew 80% faster than general AI Mode queries over the six months before the analysis.

It doesn’t mean all searches are now planning queries. It means there’s a growing behaviour around this type of question.

The user can use the search engine to build a plan. For example:

• Organise a trip.
• Prepare a purchase.
• Design a renovation.
• Choose a product.
• Plan a route.
• Prepare a project.
• Compare different alternatives.

Search stops being only a gateway to information. It becomes a tool for solving problems.

3. Searches to generate ideas are also growing

Google has also detected growth in brainstorming-related queries.

These searches grew 30% faster than general AI Mode queries since launch, according to Google’s data.

It’s a different behaviour to a traditional search. Instead of knowing exactly what you want to find, you roughly know what problem you have. For example:

• «Ideas for a marketing campaign.»
• «Ideas for a different kind of trip.»
• «Ideas for renovating a small living room.»
• «Gift ideas for someone who…»
• «Ideas for improving my website.»

In fact, Google notes that searches starting with expressions like «where to», «where should I» and «ideas for» are growing within AI Mode.

This introduces a new dimension of search intent. The user doesn’t always know exactly what they want. Sometimes they use Google to discover what options exist.

4. Search intent becomes more open

In SEO we usually talk about four main types of intent:

• Informational.
• Navigational.
• Transactional.
• Commercial.

They’re still useful. But generative experiences add situations that are harder to classify. For example:

«I have £5,000 and I want to improve my home before selling it. Where should I invest?»

Is it informational? Is it commercial? Is it transactional?

In reality, it contains several intents at the same time. The user wants information. They want to compare options. They want to establish priorities. And they probably want to make a decision.

That’s why search intent can increasingly be understood as a process, not just as a category.

5. AI Mode allows several searches to be combined

One of the important technologies behind these experiences is query fan-out.

Google explains that AI Mode and AI Overviews can use several related searches across different subtopics and sources to build an answer. This is especially interesting when the user poses a complex question. For example:

«I want to open a small coffee shop in London. What should I consider before choosing the premises and what initial budget should I calculate?»

To answer properly, different areas may be relevant:

• Location.
• Competition.
• Rent.
• Equipment.
• Licences.
• Demand.
• Budget.
• Marketing.

The query is one. But the problem contains many questions. The system can use related searches to gather information about those different aspects.

For SEO professionals, this has an important consequence: content can be relevant for a specific part of a complex query.

6. It’s no longer just about answering a question

This change directly affects how we should create content.

Imagine an article titled: «What is an SEO strategy».

It can work for a basic informational intent. But a user may need much more. They might ask:

• How is it created?
• What objectives should it have?
• What actions should I prioritise?
• How do I calculate the resources needed?
• How do I measure the results?
• How long might it take?
• What mistakes should I avoid?

A page that answers only the definition can solve a small part of the problem. A more complete page can help the user move from knowledge to action. A good SEO content plan in 5 steps helps you structure this type of journey.

7. SEO content should help make decisions

This is one of the most interesting changes. Content can remain informational and, at the same time, help make decisions. For example, an article about hosting could include:

The difference is important. The first approach explains. The second also helps decide.

8. Comparisons become more important

Google explains that AI Mode is especially useful for queries that require exploration, reasoning and complex comparisons.

This means comparison pages can have an increasingly important role. But comparing doesn’t just mean creating a table of features. A good comparison should explain:

• Who each option is for.
• What advantages it has.
• What limitations it presents.
• In what situations it wouldn’t be recommended.
• What factors should be considered.

Context is what turns a comparison into genuinely useful content.

9. Planning doesn’t mean Google will replace websites

This point is important. The arrival of generative answers doesn’t mean Google has stopped sending users to websites.

Google states that its AI experiences show relevant links so users can find information and explore additional content. It also explains that AI Mode can show a wider variety of links related to an answer.

What’s more, generative features use search systems to retrieve up-to-date information from websites. Google’s own documentation explains that retrieval-augmented generation, or RAG, uses relevant pages from Google’s index to ground the answers. That’s why original content remains important.

10. What this means for content SEO

If the user uses Google to plan, content can take on a broader role. It’s no longer enough to answer «what is this?». We can also answer:

• How does it work?
• What options exist?
• What’s the difference between them?
• What should I consider?
• What mistakes should I avoid?
• How can I get started?
• What should I do next?

This doesn’t mean all articles have to be huge. It means they should be complete for the intent they want to satisfy.

11. A good strategy is to cover the complete journey

A simple way to adapt a content strategy is to think about the user’s journey.

This structure can also help you build a more logical content architecture. If you want to dig deeper, review our complete on-page SEO guide.

12. SEO is starting to look more like problem-solving

For years, much of SEO work has consisted of identifying searches with potential and creating relevant pages. That’s still valid. But now we can add another question: what problem is the person trying to solve?

This question changes how you research keywords. Instead of analysing only:

«which keywords have searches»

we can also analyse:

• What questions arise around the topic.
• What problems users have.
• What decisions they need to make.
• What alternatives they compare.
• What information they need before acting.

This lets you create content much closer to the user’s reality. If you want to reinforce that foundation, begin with what a keyword is and how to choose keywords with criteria.

13. Don’t create a page for every AI Mode query

There’s an important warning here.

The growth of complex queries doesn’t mean we should create a page for every imaginable variation.

Google recommends focusing on what users really need and advises against creating separate content for every possible query variant or for every search derived by AI systems when the main goal is to manipulate results.

This is especially important with AI Mode. Imagine you have a page about:

«Local SEO guide»

You don’t need to automatically create:

• Local SEO for restaurants.
• Local SEO for clinics.
• Local SEO for lawyers.
• Local SEO for shops.
• Local SEO for dentists.
• Local SEO for hairdressers.

…if all the pages were practically the same. It only makes sense to create separate content when there’s a real and differentiated need. You can see an applied example in local SEO on Google Maps.

14. Original content is gaining importance

The easier it is to generate generic content with artificial intelligence, the less interesting it is to publish exactly the same as everyone else.

Google recommends creating valuable, unique and non-generic content for generative search experiences. This principle connects directly with the criteria of E-E-A-T: experience, authority and trust in Google.

This can include:

• Your own experiences.
• Original data.
• Real cases.
• Specific examples.
• Your own analysis.
• Screenshots or demonstrations.
• Comparisons made with clear criteria.

AI can help structure information. But the differential value has to be in the content.

15. The way we measure SEO is also changing

If Google offers new search experiences, we also need new ways to analyse visibility.

In June 2026, Google announced new generative AI performance reports in Search Console. Since 31 August 2026, these statistics have been available for all websites worldwide.

The reports let you analyse impressions from generative features such as AI Overviews and AI Mode. This adds a new layer of analysis.

It’s no longer only about knowing what position a URL appears in. It’s also worth understanding how content appears within the new search experiences.

If you want to dig deeper into this point, you can read my article on Search Console and visibility in generative AI.

16. What should an SEO do now?

You don’t need to change an entire ranking strategy overnight. Google still states that fundamental SEO practices remain relevant for AI Mode and other generative features. There are no specific additional requirements to appear in them.

But it’s worth reviewing your content approach. Here are some practical actions:

• Analyse problems, not just keywords.
• Identify related questions.
• Create useful comparisons.
• Include specific examples.
• Explain what to do next.
• Develop original content.
• Connect articles through internal links.
• Also measure visibility in generative experiences.

The goal isn’t to write for an AI. The goal is to create a page that’s useful for a person trying to solve something.

17. The big opportunity lies in hard questions

Simple searches will still exist. But complex queries can open new opportunities for sites that have genuinely useful content.

Google describes AI Mode as an experience especially oriented towards queries that require exploration, reasoning or complex comparisons. This can favour content that brings:

• Depth.
• Context.
• Experience.
• Data.
• Comparisons.
• Examples.
• Original information.

In other words, hard questions can become an opportunity to show that a website really knows what it’s talking about. This is also one of the goals pursued by AI optimisation (GEO).

Conclusion: Google no longer just answers, it also helps plan

Generative search is broadening Google’s role. The user can search for information. But they can also ask for ideas, compare alternatives, organise a project or build a plan.

The data Google has published shows that planning and brainstorming-related queries are growing especially fast within AI Mode.

For SEO, this is an important evolution. Keywords are still useful. Search intent too. But now we need to pay more attention to the complete problem the user is trying to solve.

Good content shouldn’t be limited to answering a question. It should help the user understand their options, make decisions and move forward.

That may be one of the big SEO changes in the era of generative search. Google is moving from being only a search engine for answers to also becoming a tool to explore, plan and decide. And the sites that best understand that change will have more opportunities to add value within this new search experience.

If you want to keep following this series, you can also read is traditional SEO still working with AI, how multimodal search on Google works and the complete on-page SEO guide.

Written by

Alex Figueiras

Freelance SEO consultant in Valencia · WordPress + Elementor + Rank Math

I help local businesses and SMEs rank on Google with technical audits, on-page SEO and content that converts. More than 40 projects audited and cases measured in sectors such as renovations, training and ecommerce.

• About me
• LinkedIn
• Contact