AI search: when to use it, and when to search the old way
AI search reads the web for you and writes an answer, with links. Here’s when it beats an ordinary search, when it doesn’t, and how to check what it says.
Video transcript
More and more searches now come with an AI-written answer at the top. Here’s when that helps, when to search the old way, and how to check what it tells you.
AI search reads several web pages for you and writes one answer, with links to where each part came from. Your job is the last step: checking.
You’ll find it in Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode, in Perplexity, and in ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot when they search the web.
Use it for questions that need a summary from several places. For official information, local services, shopping and breaking news, an ordinary search is often better.
And check what it tells you. AI search can misread a page, lean on a poor source or mix up details, and it sounds just as sure when it does.
So open the links, see who’s behind them, and check they’re up to date. For health, money or legal questions, go straight to an official source.
Read the full guide below for a better way to ask AI search a question, and when to skip it altogether.
In 30 seconds
- AI search reads several pages and writes one answer, with links to the pages it used.
- For official information, local services, shopping and breaking news, an ordinary search is often better.
- When an answer matters, open the links and check they say what the AI claims.
Type a question into Google and an AI-written answer may appear before any links. Tools such as Perplexity answer every question that way. It’s quick and often helpful. It can also be confidently wrong, so it pays to know when to use it, and how to check it.
What AI search does
An ordinary search gives you a list of links and leaves the reading to you. AI search does the reading: it searches the web, picks out what looks relevant from several pages and writes one answer, with Jargon busterCitation: A link or reference that shows where a piece of information came from, so you can check it yourself. showing where each part came from.
- Your questionAsked in plain words
- It searchesIt finds pages that look relevant
- It summarisesIt writes one answer from several pages
- You checkYou open the links behind anything that matters
AI search you may already have
- Google AI OverviewsAn AI summary above Google’s usual results for some searches, with links to the pages it drew on.
- Google AI ModeA separate tab in Google Search for longer questions, where you can keep asking follow-ups.
- PerplexityBuilt around search: its replies come with numbered links to the sources it used.
- ChatGPT and CopilotChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot can both search the web when needed, and link to their sources.
When to use it, and when not to
| Try AI search | Search the old way |
|---|---|
| Questions that need a summary from several places, such as how heat pumps compare with boilers | Official information: gov.uk for tax and benefits, the NHS website for health |
| Getting to grips with a topic you know little about | Finding a particular website, form or login page |
| Comparing options, such as two ways to get to a city break | Local services, opening times and phone numbers |
| Follow-up questions that build on the last answer | Shopping and prices, and news that’s still unfolding |
Why the right-hand column? Official pages are the source itself, so there’s no need for a summary that could slip. Local details and prices change quickly. And with fast-moving news, early reports are often wrong, and a summary can lag behind.
Check the answers that matter
AI answers can be wrong. They can misread a page, lean on a poor source or mix up details, and they sound just as sure when they do. These confident mistakes are called Jargon busterHallucination: When AI states something false as if it were true, because it predicts plausible words rather than checking facts..
They can even repeat jokes as facts. Soon after Google launched AI Overviews in 2024, some suggested using glue to keep cheese on pizza, an idea lifted from a joke on a forum. Google acknowledged the odd answers and made changes.
It’s tempting to stop at the summary, because it looks finished. When an answer matters, open the links and read what the sources actually say.
How to check an AI answer
- Open the linksCheck each page exists and actually says what the answer claims.
- See who’s behind themAn official body, an expert or a trusted news site? Or a forum post and an advert?
- Check the datesRules, prices and opening times change, so make sure the sources are current.
- Go to the source for big decisionsFor health, money, legal or official matters, use the NHS website, gov.uk or a professional.
Ask better questions
AI search works best with a full question, the way you’d ask a knowledgeable friend. Add the details that change the answer, such as where you live, your budget or the time of year. Ask for reliable sources, and follow up to narrow things down.
[Your question, such as: is a heat pump cheaper to run than a gas boiler?] I live in [the UK, and roughly where], and [a detail that matters, such as a three-bedroom 1930s semi]. Use recent, reliable sources, such as official or expert sites, and link each claim to its source. Tell me where the sources disagree, and what you couldn’t find.
To see why AI gets things wrong, and how to catch it, read why AI makes things up. For bigger questions that need many sources, see deep research tools.
Check yourself
3 quick questions nothing is savedTools in this guide
Spotted a mistake? Tell us and an editor will check it.
