A.5.1 How AUCTeX and the native mode work together
In a nutshell the split between AUCTeX Texinfo mode, and native
Texinfo mode is as follows:
Most of the editing (environment creation, commenting, font command
insertions) and/or processing commands (e.g. compiling or printing)
which are available in other AUCTeX modes are also handled by
AUCTeX in Texinfo mode.
Texinfo-related features (e.g. info node linkage or menu creation) rely
on the commands provided by the native Texinfo mode. AUCTeX provides
the key bindings to reach these functions, keeping the same keys as in
native Texinfo whenever possible, or similar ones otherwise.