Introduction: A New Era of Discovery
For nearly two decades, “Google it” has been the default response to any question. Search engines like Google and Bing defined how people found information, how brands were discovered, and how marketing budgets were allocated. But by late 2025 and into 2026, something fundamental began to shift — a silent but profound migration in how users search, learn, and decide.
The rise of AI chat interfaces like ChatGPT, Perplexity AI, Gemini, and Claude has reshaped user behavior. People are no longer typing strings of keywords into boxes — they are conversing with AI systems. The result is an emerging ecosystem known as Generative Search, where answers are synthesized, contextual and personalized - often eliminating the need to click links at all.
In this article, we’ll explore how this transformation is unfolding, supported by data and industry research, and what it means for brands, publishers, and marketers who have long relied on Google for visibility.
1. The Rise of AI Search: A Global Shift in Behavior
The past year has seen one of the fastest behavioral shifts in internet history. According to recent global usage data, 61% of internet users report having used an AI tool - up from 40% in 2024. Weekly AI usage has grown across every continent, signaling that generative interfaces are no longer a niche trend — they’re mainstream.
In the United States, this shift is even more pronounced. Surveys conducted in mid 2025 show that 60% of U.S. adults — and an astonishing 74% of under 30s now use AI systems like ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity to search for information. For younger generations, “Googling” has quietly evolved into “ChatGPTing.”
This transition represents more than a change in tools — it’s a change in intent. AI searches are conversational, context-driven, and often task-oriented. People aren’t looking for blue links anymore, they’re looking for answers, insights and actions.
2. The Numbers Tell the Story: AI Platforms Are Exploding
Data from Similarweb and independent analytics firms paints a clear picture: AI search platforms are growing exponentially while traditional web search growth stagnates.
Traffic Growth from September 2024 → September 2025
| Platform | YoY Growth | Monthly Visits (2025) |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | +90% | ≈ 5.9 Billion |
| Perplexity AI | +134% | ≈ 170 Million |
| Claude AI | +123% | ≈ 160 Million |
| Microsoft Copilot | +169% | ≈ 190 Million |
ChatGPT, in particular, reached ~388 million monthly active users by August 2025 — making it one of the fastest adopted digital products in history. Even more compelling: AI referrals (click-throughs from AI answers to source websites) are converting at an estimated 11.4%, compared to 5.3% for traditional organic search.
In other words, while the number of AI referrals is still smaller, the quality and intent of those clicks are far higher.
3. Complementary - For Now
While AI search is rising fast, it hasn’t yet replaced Google — it’s coexisting with it.
Research shows that 95% of ChatGPT users also visited Google in August 2025. But only 14% of Google users visited ChatGPT. This asymmetry shows how early the shift still is — users are exploring AI search for deeper, context-driven answers, while still relying on Google for navigation, quick lookups, and transactional intent.
However, the curve is unmistakable. Once users experience conversational discovery, the frictionless flow of question-to-answer is hard to abandon. Over time, AI tools will likely absorb a larger share of intent — especially research, education, and decision-support queries that used to belong to search engines.
4. The Zero-Click Era: How AI Overviews Changed Google Itself
Interestingly, Google’s own integration of AI Overviews accelerated the decline in organic traffic. According to Similarweb, after the rollout of AI Overviews, the share of “zero-click searches” — those that end without any site visits — jumped from 56% to 69%.
For publishers, the effect was immediate. News and content sites saw their organic traffic drop from over 2.3 billion visits in mid-2024 to under 1.7 billion by May 2025 — a 26% decline in just a year.
The reason? AI Overviews answer users’ questions directly on the results page, leaving little reason to click further. For users, it’s faster. For brands and publishers, it’s a warning: visibility without clicks is visibility without value.
5. AI Platforms Are Becoming New Traffic Sources
But it’s not all decline — it’s redistribution.
While Google referrals shrink, AI platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity are emerging as new referral channels. ChatGPT referrals to publishers grew 25× in one year, and non-Google AI platforms now send 35–36 million monthly visits to media and news outlets globally.
That’s small compared to Google’s scale — but it’s rising rapidly. For brands and publishers that appear in AI citations, summaries, and source links, this new ecosystem offers early-mover advantages. Being mentioned — or better yet, cited — in AI answers will become the new form of discoverability.
6. Regional Trends: The UK and Beyond
The United Kingdom mirrors this global movement. Data shows that the UK’s monthly audience using AI tools more than doubled (+112%) to 20.2 million users by mid-2025. Among them, 21% of people aged 15–24 use AI tools daily.
Similar growth patterns are visible in India, Southeast Asia, and Latin America — regions where mobile-first users are leapfrogging traditional web search for conversational AI assistants. The combination of low friction, multilingual capabilities, and instant results makes AI search particularly appealing in emerging markets.
7. What the Forecasts Say
According to Gartner, global search engine volume is expected to decline by around 25% by 2026 as users transition from keyword search to conversational discovery.
This doesn’t mean Google will disappear — far from it. Instead, the search landscape is fragmenting. Traditional search remains dominant for navigational and transactional queries, while AI search captures the exploratory and research-oriented use cases — the very ones where brand visibility and trust are built.
8. What This Means for Brands and Marketers
We are entering a post-SEO era — not in the sense that SEO disappears, but that it evolves. Visibility in 2026 will no longer be measured only by rankings on Google’s first page but by presence inside AI responses.
That means marketing teams must now think in terms of GEO - Generative Engine Optimization:
- Structuring content so that LLMs can understand and cite it.
- Maintaining up-to-date, high-authority sources that AI engines trust.
- Building brand entities that LLMs recognize and reference.
- Monitoring where, when, and how your brand is mentioned across AI platforms.
Brands that don’t adapt risk becoming invisible in the very conversations that drive consumer trust.
9. Introducing Bisibility AI: Measuring Your Brand in the Age of AI Search
At Bisibility AI, we help brands transition from Search Visibility to AI Visibility.
Our platform monitors how your brand appears across ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity — the new front doors of digital discovery. Bisibility AI tracks:
- Mentions, citations, and contextual appearances in AI answers.
- Brand sentiment and reputation shifts across AI engines.
- Comparative visibility metrics between traditional search and AI search.
- Actionable GEO insights to improve discoverability in generative systems.
In short, Bisibility AI ensures your brand is not just searchable — but findable, understandable, and trusted inside the world of AI-driven discovery.
Conclusion: The Future of Search Is Generative
The move from Google Search to AI Search isn’t just technological — it’s behavioral. It represents a redefinition of how humans interact with knowledge. For the first time since Google’s rise, users aren’t just finding information — they’re having a conversation with it.
For brands, this is both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge: old SEO tactics won’t be enough. The opportunity: AI search rewards clarity, credibility, and expertise — values that great brands already embody.
As we approach 2026, one truth stands out clearly: The future of visibility belongs to brands that understand how AI thinks.