It seems that the links/citations you see in Google AI Mode can be very different when you search on desktop versus mobile. In fact, it seems like the sources can differ even if you try the same query on a different desktop browser or even on the same browser when you refresh the query.
This was spotted by Jes Scholz who posted some examples on X:
She wrote, "Did you know Google actually has two Google AI Modes? One in Chrome and another in the Google App. The surface a user selects drastically affects which sources get cited." This is why "When optimising for AI visibility, check both faces of Google" she explained.
I tried it and she is right but it also seems to happen even when you refresh the query on the same or different browser:
Here is the same query done on Safari (shows 13 sources):
Then on Chrome (14 sources):
Then Chrome again - same exact browser, just refreshed the query (7 sources):
Just shows you how dynamic these results are...
Forum discussion at X.
