AI-driven search features are quickly becoming the norm, regardless of user preferences. A recent study highlights that Google’s AI-generated search responses, termed AI Overviews, have surged from appearing in 15% of searches to 43% within a year, marking a significant change in online information consumption.
An investigation by Similarweb, a market analysis firm, indicates that AI integration in search has evolved from a supplementary layer to a core component of the search experience. Google is now directing users to AI Overviews, allowing them to continue their inquiries using Google’s interactive AI Mode.
In this same timeframe, visits to AI Mode rose from 126 million in June 2025 to 279 million by May 2026.
The findings reflect a significant transformation in user search behavior, moving away from the traditional format of simple blue links to an approach where Google acts as both the source and the destination of information, drawing directly from its indexed sites. Consequently, users now spend more time on Google’s platform instead of using it solely to navigate to other websites. Similarweb’s data shows an increase in the average duration of searches, indicating a trend toward more extended, dialog-style inquiries.
This shift has garnered criticism from publishers, who are experiencing declines in referral traffic as more users engage with AI-generated content without clicking through to the original sources. Similarweb previously noted the adverse impact of this trend on news organizations, leading tech infrastructure company Cloudflare to introduce measures that allow publishers to block AI crawlers from their sites unless these companies pay for access to their content.
Though AI-generated responses may not frequently drive traffic, the number of those responses that include citations has increased significantly, rising over five times in the past year. However, as of May 2026, only 6.8% of desktop queries using ChatGPT in the U.S. included citations, although certain sectors such as travel, retail, and sports see higher citation rates.
However, there is some optimism for publishers. After a search update on May 7, U.S. desktop referrals saw a notable recovery, with the rate of visits to websites more than doubling from 25% in March 2026 to nearly 60% by the end of May 2026. This suggests that users are increasingly taking advantage of visible blue links in AI-enhanced search results when available.
Even with these positive developments, the overarching trend in AI-driven search persists, indicating that Google is evolving from a mere portal to the broader web into a destination in its own right.
