What Businesses in the U.S. and Canada Need to Know About Google’s AI-Powered “Query Fan-Out”
As AI becomes more deeply integrated into how people search online, Google is quietly transforming the way it processes and responds to queries. In a recent interview, Robby Stein, VP of Product for Search at Google, revealed key insights into a powerful AI feature called Query Fan-Out—and it’s something every business owner, marketer, and content creator in the U.S. and Canada should pay attention to.
At RSC Digital Marketing, we specialize in helping North American businesses navigate these shifts with smarter strategies in SEO, Google Ads, content marketing, and more. Let’s break down what this new development means—and how you can stay ahead of the curve.
What Is Query Fan-Out?
In Google’s AI Mode (and related tools like Deep Search and AI Overviews), a single customer query often triggers dozens of background searches. This is known as Query Fan-Out—and it allows Google’s AI to not just answer what the user typed, but what they meant.
Google’s Robby Stein puts it like this:
“If you’re asking a question like things to do in Nashville with a group, it may think of a bunch of questions like great restaurants, great bars, things to do if you have kids, and it’ll start Googling basically.”
In short, Google’s AI interprets intent, expands the scope of the query, runs multiple related searches in the background, and then packages the most helpful information into a single, AI-generated response—complete with links.
What Makes This Different?
Traditionally, SEO was all about ranking for specific keywords. But with AI Mode, Google’s search engine is now functioning more like a research assistant—synthesizing answers based on a range of related topics. The user might only type one question, but Google may run 20+ related searches behind the scenes.
This is a major shift for marketers and business owners who rely on Google to drive visibility.
Google Search: The Engine Behind AI Mode
Stein described AI Mode as using Google Search as a backend tool—meaning the core infrastructure still relies on Google's massive index, but now filtered and presented by AI.
This system powers:
AI Mode (currently rolling out across markets)
Deep Search (used when more in-depth reasoning is needed)
AI Overviews (within traditional search results)
How Big Is This Change?
According to Google, AI-powered search tools now serve over 1.5 billion users per month—and that includes users in both the U.S. and Canada.
Some key stats:
Google’s Shopping Graph updates 2 billion times per hour
There are 50 billion products indexed with real-time pricing and availability
AI Mode pulls data from Google Finance, flights, movie listings, local reviews, and more
In Stein’s words:
“We’ve integrated most of the real-time information systems that are within Google… So it can make Google Finance calls, for instance… flight data… movie information…”
For North American businesses, this means that Google is pulling live, structured data into AI responses—so the information your customers see may come from a blend of websites, product feeds, databases, and real-time APIs.
What Is Deep Search?
Deep Search is a specialized mode that kicks in when Google determines that a query requires deeper reasoning. It may take a few minutes to process, and can issue hundreds of background queries before delivering a final response.
Stein gave an example of researching home safes:
“It spent, I don’t know, like a few minutes looking up information and it gave me this incredible response... specific safes, ratings, and links to dig deeper.”
For business categories with complex, high-consideration products—like financial services, home security, travel, or B2B solutions—this kind of AI-driven research will become more common.
Why This Matters for U.S. and Canadian Businesses
This change affects how people discover, research, and choose products and services. Whether you're a restaurant in Toronto, an eCommerce brand in New York, or a law firm in Calgary, your content needs to go beyond keywords and focus on topic relevance and completeness.
Key implications:
Keywords still matter—but not alone. Google is now looking at clusters of related topics.
Being “top of page” isn’t always visible. AI Overviews may present your content differently.
Attribution is getting harder. With AI synthesizing multiple sources, it’s not always clear where traffic is coming from.
From Keywords to Concepts
Google’s AI-powered search increasingly reflects the ideas in a recent Google patent on “thematic search.” This approach:
Breaks down a query into inferred themes
Issues sub-queries around those themes
Groups content by topic, not keyword
Summarizes results using a language model
Links to source pages within each theme
This shows a clear shift away from ranking based on keyword precision, and toward contextual understanding. AI is organizing your content not by how well it matches a query—but by how well it answers a need.
Looking Ahead: A New Challenge for Local and National Brands
As Google’s AI starts generating its own searches, the idea of a "query" becomes less rigid. For businesses in the U.S. and Canada, this creates new challenges in SEO, digital ad strategy, and content development.
Here's what it means for your business:
Attribution will get blurrier. Customers may discover you through AI responses, not direct clicks.
Ranking for one keyword isn’t enough. You need to be relevant to the broader intent and context of a query.
Content must be structured, useful, and comprehensive. AI picks sources that offer depth, not fluff.
Think less about “How do I rank #1?” and more about “How do I become part of the answer?”
How RSC Digital Marketing Can Help
At RSC Digital Marketing, we help businesses across the U.S. and Canada stay competitive in an AI-driven search environment. Whether you're investing in SEO, Google Ads, content marketing, or social media, we make sure your digital presence is optimized not just for today’s search—but for tomorrow’s AI-driven discovery.
