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Abstract Understanding internal variability of the climate system is critical when isolating internal and anthropogenically forced signals. Here, we investigate the modes of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) variability using perturbation experiments with the Institut Pierre‐Simon Laplace's (IPSL) coupled model and compare them to Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) pre‐industrial control simulations. We identify two characteristic modes of variability—decadal‐to‐multidecadal (DMD_var) and centennial (CEN_var). The former is driven largely by temperature anomalies in the subpolar North Atlantic, while the latter is driven by salinity in the western subpolar North Atlantic. The amplitude of each mode scales linearly with the meanAMOCstrength in the IPSL experiments. TheDMD_varamplitude correlates well with theAMOCmean strength across CMIP6 models, while theCEN_varmode does not. These findings suggest that the strength ofDMD_vardepends robustly on the North Atlantic mean state, while theCEN_varmode may be model‐dependent.