Google Searches Plunge As AI Alters Online Discovery

Google search has long been a fixture of American online life, but a new report reveals a striking change: U.S. users are searching far less than they did just a year ago. According to a Datos/SparkToro study released on January 28, 2026, Google desktop searches per U.S. user fell nearly 20% year over year from 2024 to 2025. That’s not just a blip—it’s a seismic shift in how Americans find information online, one that’s rippling through publishers, advertisers, and tech giants alike.

What’s behind this dramatic drop? The answer, it seems, lies in the rise of AI-powered answers and instant results. As detailed in the Q4 State of Search report, users are increasingly getting what they need from a single search, with artificial intelligence providing direct, succinct answers that eliminate the need for multiple follow-up queries. As the report puts it, “AI-powered answers and instant results are the main drivers of the drop, as users increasingly get needed information without multiple follow-up searches.”

It’s not that Americans have abandoned Google. In fact, the data suggests Google isn’t losing users—it’s losing repeat searches. Traditional search still accounts for about 10% of all U.S. desktop activity, a figure that remained nearly flat throughout 2025. But the way people search is evolving, and the ripple effects are being felt across the digital landscape.

To put the U.S. numbers in perspective, Europe saw only a 2% to 3% drop in searches per user over the same period. This sharp contrast highlights how quickly American search habits are shifting compared to their European counterparts. While the overall volume of searches may look steady at a glance, the underlying behavior is changing in significant ways—especially for those who rely on Google for traffic, clicks, and ad revenue.

One of the most notable changes is the rise of so-called “zero-click” searches. These are searches where users get their answers directly on the results page, without clicking through to another website. By the end of 2025, zero-click searches had stabilized at around the low-20% range, no longer accelerating but still representing a substantial chunk of activity. The implication for online publishers? Fewer opportunities to capture eyeballs and engagement.

AI tools themselves still make up a small slice of desktop activity—just 0.77% in the U.S., according to the report. Even Google’s own AI Mode, which offers enhanced search capabilities, represented only about 0.06% of U.S. desktop events as of December 2025. But don’t let those small numbers fool you: the influence of AI is being felt not in how many people use dedicated AI tools, but in how AI is layered into the very fabric of search itself.

“The big highlight here is the decline in # of Google searches/searcher from 2024–2025. It’s a nearly 20% decline in the US, though only 2–3% in the EU/UK,” said Rand Fishkin, co-founder and CEO of SparkToro, in the report. He continued, “Other studies have shown that Google is sending less traffic than in years past, especially to the long-tail of the web, and I suspect that AI answers have dramatically altered the way many users engage with Google, answering their questions before they ever need to click on an organic result or perform a second/third/fourth search.”

Another subtle but important shift is in the way people phrase their queries. The report found that mid-length queries—those of six to nine words—are growing fastest in the U.S. This suggests users are becoming more comfortable expressing complex needs directly in search, perhaps trusting that Google’s AI-powered engine can parse and answer nuanced questions. Very long queries, those of 15 words or more, remain rare but show higher volatility, signaling some experimentation as users test the boundaries of what search can do.

As for what happens after a search? The landscape is becoming more concentrated, not less. The same handful of platforms—YouTube, Reddit, Amazon, Wikipedia, and Facebook—still dominate as post-search destinations. ChatGPT, the AI chatbot from OpenAI, climbed to No. 7 among U.S. search destinations by late 2025, one of the few meaningful movers in a largely static field. Quora, meanwhile, dropped out of the top 15, underscoring how tough it’s become for new or independent publishers to break into the discovery ecosystem.

This concentration isn’t just about search—it’s about where traffic from AI tools flows, too. The report notes that traffic from AI tools is increasingly concentrated among established giants, rather than being distributed to new or independent publishers. In the U.S., ChatGPT remains the dominant AI tool, reaching roughly one-quarter to one-third of desktop AI users. Google’s Gemini, a newer entry, has emerged as a clear second, overtaking DeepSeek in 2025. Other AI tools, such as Claude, Perplexity, and Copilot, continue to serve niche audiences but have yet to achieve breakout adoption.

For publishers and marketers, these trends present a daunting challenge. With fewer searches per user, fewer clicks, and more concentrated post-search traffic, the opportunities for discovery and audience growth are shrinking. The report’s findings suggest a “tougher discovery era,” where breaking through the noise requires not just great content, but also a deep understanding of how AI is reshaping the pathways to information.

Yet, despite all the hype around AI, it’s clear that these tools are not pulling users away from search entirely. Instead, AI is being woven into existing search behaviors, subtly but powerfully changing how people find and consume information. For now, the traditional search experience remains a core part of U.S. desktop activity, but the way it functions—and the opportunities it offers—are evolving quickly.

Looking ahead, the big question is whether this trend will accelerate, stabilize, or even reverse. Will AI-driven instant answers become so good that searching itself becomes less relevant? Or will new forms of discovery emerge to fill the gap left by declining repeat searches? For now, one thing is certain: the search landscape in the U.S. is in flux, and everyone from tech titans to independent publishers will need to adapt if they want to stay in the game.