Google Transforms Search with AI: A Challenge for Publishers

Google and the Rise of AI Overviews: A New Era of Search

Google, once seen as the gateway to the web, now appears to be evolving into a model where it becomes the final destination for searches through the integration of artificial intelligence. A recent study by Similarweb, titled The Evolution of AI Search, published on July 27, 2026, sheds light on this transformation. The study identifies three major trends: the increasing use of AI Overviews in search results, the growing popularity of AI Mode, and the lengthening of user queries, which increasingly resemble prompts.

The Impact of AI Overviews on Queries

According to Similarweb, Google is not merely adding artificial intelligence features to its search engine as a passing trend. The Mountain View firm seems to be orchestrating a transition for its users toward a more conversational search experience, using AI Overviews as the main lever. Initially designed as an addition to the search engine results page (SERP), these AI-generated summaries have become a central element of the search journey. The numbers are telling: in the United States, between January 2025 and May 2026, the proportion of queries triggering an AI Overview rose from 15% to 43%. During the same period, the number of active AI Mode users doubled, increasing from 126 to 279 million. Notably, after the launch of the conversational interface in the U.S. market, the share of queries including an AI Overview surged from 13% to 40%, before experiencing a slight decline and then rising again. This trend suggests that Google is using these AI results to enrich traditional search while drawing users toward a more interactive interface.

The Evolution of Queries on Google

Despite predictions of a threat to Google from the emergence of conversational agents like ChatGPT, the company has managed to integrate these new user habits through its AI Overviews and AI Mode. By May 2026, 95% of ChatGPT users continued to use Google concurrently. Similarweb emphasizes that generative AI diversifies methods of accessing information without replacing traditional search. Users are exploring multiple AI platforms rather than limiting themselves to a single assistant. AI Mode, for instance, is used for quick searches with short prompts, while tools like Claude and ChatGPT dominate longer, more complex interactions. On average, users send three prompts per session to AI Mode, compared to five or more to ChatGPT and Claude.

In traditional search, the formulation of queries is also evolving. Users tend to write their queries as prompts, influenced by how chatbots operate. Between May 2025 and May 2026, the share of queries longer than five words increased from 13.6% to 16.1%, while those of four or five words remained stable. In contrast, queries of three words or fewer slightly decreased. Historically, users formulated short queries, but current language models can handle long and complex prompts, which was not possible with traditional search, explains Ethan Smith, CEO of Graphite.

Challenges for Publishers in the Face of AI

The omnipresence of AI-generated summaries in search results, along with the changes they bring to user search habits, poses a direct threat to publishers. Although AI Overviews and AI Mode have just been introduced in France, their impact in the United States is already documented. Since their launch in May 2024, studies show that the presence of an AI Overview significantly reduces the number of clicks, as many users are satisfied with the provided answer without further exploration. In April 2025, Ahrefs reported that the click-through rate (CTR) on the first page of results dropped by nearly 35% when an AI Overview was displayed. This trend could transform the online search landscape, with major implications for traditional content publishers.