{"id":1219,"slug":"ai-mode-canada-launch-aug-21-2025-english-only","title":"AI Mode launched in Canada on August 21, 2025, English only; appears as a tab, not a forced replacement of results","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","smb-owner","candid-team"],"topics":["ai-search-citations","ai-mode"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** **AI Mode** launched in Canada on **August 21, 2025** in **English**, announced by Robby Stein (VP of Product, Google Search): \"Today, we're beginning to roll out AI Mode in Google Search for users in Canada.\" It appears as a **tab**, not as a forced replacement of results.\n\n**Source:** Google Canada blog / Robby Stein announcement, August 21, 2025.\n\n**Confidence:** Verified.\n\n**Why this matters for Candid:** AI Mode is opt-in/tab — DO NOT claim it has replaced the blue links. The framing for clients is \"additional surface, not replacement surface.\"","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"ai-overviews-canada-full-rollout-oct-28-2024","title":"AI Overviews full rollout in Canada began the week of October 28, 2024; English, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish supported — French NOT supported at launch","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-businesses-found-on-web-google-smb-june-2026","title":"Research brief: How businesses got found on the web — a then→now timeline (Google-focused, SMB lens, June 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-06-18T00:10:55.850Z","updated_at":"2026-06-18T00:10:55.850Z"}