Google is significantly expanding the educational potential of its AI Mode in Search with a suite of new features designed to transform how people learn and explore information online.
Announced on July 29, 2025, the educational enhancements to AI Mode leverage Google's custom version of Gemini 2.5, their most advanced AI model. The timing aligns with the back-to-school season, targeting students, parents, educators, and anyone looking to explore complex questions and discover high-quality information from across the web.
Users can now access AI Mode through a dedicated button on the Google homepage on desktop. The update brings image analysis capabilities previously available only on mobile to desktop browsers. In the coming weeks, Google will add PDF upload support, allowing users to ask detailed questions about documents and incorporate that context into their searches. For example, students could upload lecture slides and ask follow-up questions to deepen their understanding beyond primary course materials.
AI Mode features more advanced reasoning and multimodality than standard Search, enabling users to explore topics in greater depth through helpful web links and follow-up questions. Google is also bringing deep research capabilities to AI Mode with Deep Search, allowing users to dive deeper into complex topics. The feature is now rolling out to everyone in the U.S.
The technology is particularly helpful for questions requiring further exploration, comparisons, and reasoning. Users can ask nuanced, multi-part questions that might have previously taken multiple searches—like exploring new concepts or comparing detailed options—and receive AI-powered responses with links to learn more. The system also supports follow-up questions for deeper exploration.
For Google AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers, the company is bringing Gemini 2.5 Pro to AI Mode, giving access to their most intelligent AI model directly in Search. This model excels at advanced reasoning, math, and coding questions, helping with complex queries while providing links to additional resources. Subscribers can select the 2.5 Pro model from a drop-down menu in the AI Mode tab, while the default model remains optimized for fast, all-around assistance on most questions.
For even more thorough responses, Google is introducing Deep Search with the Gemini 2.5 Pro model. This advanced research tool can save users hours by issuing hundreds of searches, reasoning across disparate information pieces, and crafting comprehensive, fully-cited reports in minutes. Deep Search is particularly useful for in-depth research related to jobs, hobbies, or academic studies.
These educational enhancements to AI Mode represent Google's commitment to making advanced AI capabilities accessible for learning purposes, creating a more interactive and personalized search experience that goes beyond traditional information retrieval.