Study: 37% of Consumers Now Start Searches with AI, Not Google
▼ Summary
– Over a third of consumers (37%) now start searches with AI tools, valuing them for being faster, clearer, and less cluttered than traditional search engines.
– Consumers are frustrated with traditional search due to excessive ads, too many links, and difficulty getting straight answers, driving them toward AI for simplicity.
– While 60% of respondents believe AI provides better answers, 85% still double-check its information, indicating trust is not yet complete.
– AI is reshaping brand discovery, with 47% of consumers saying it influences which brands they trust by providing curated lists and summaries.
– AI significantly influences purchase decisions, with nearly half of consumers using it for decisions, price comparisons, and product reviews, and most expecting its role to grow in 2026.
A significant shift is underway in how people find information online. More than one-third of consumers now begin their searches with AI tools rather than traditional search engines like Google, according to new research. This change is fueled by a growing frustration with conventional search results and a rising expectation that AI will become a primary information source. The data suggests we are entering a hybrid era where AI provides the initial answer, and users then turn to search engines for verification, making brand consistency across both channels critically important.
The study reveals that 37% of consumers initiate their information quests with AI. Users consistently describe these tools as faster, clearer, and less cluttered than sifting through pages of ads and blue links. This move highlights a genuine fatigue with traditional search, where the top frustrations include clicking through too many links, encountering excessive advertisements, and struggling to find a straightforward answer. People are increasingly seeking speed and simplicity, turning to AI to cut through the digital noise.
Trust in AI-generated answers is growing, with six in ten respondents stating that AI delivers better and clearer information than standard search. Interestingly, while 80% feel confident that AI provides unbiased information, a significant 85% still double-check the answers they receive elsewhere. This verification behavior underscores the emerging hybrid journey. For certain types of inquiries, however, traditional search remains the go-to resource. Consumers still prefer search engines for finding product reviews, current news, visual content, and health-related information.
This shift is fundamentally altering how brands are discovered. When consumers ask an AI for recommendations, they receive a short, curated list, often with explanations that favor some companies and omit others entirely. Nearly half of all consumers report that AI influences which brands they trust, meaning first impressions are increasingly formed within AI-generated summaries. If a brand’s online presence is not structured in a way that AI can easily understand and summarize, it risks being excluded from consideration entirely.
The influence of AI now extends deep into the purchasing process. The survey found that 47% of consumers have used AI to assist with a purchase decision. More than half have leveraged it to find the best prices or compare products, while 48% have used AI to generate summaries of reviews. Adoption is led by younger demographics but spans categories from everyday goods to major financial decisions. It is important to note that while AI guides these decisions, the final transaction typically still occurs on a retailer’s or brand’s own website, not within the AI tool itself.
Looking ahead, consumer expectations point to an even greater role for AI. A majority expect to use these tools more frequently this year, and 59% believe AI will become their main method for finding information. Nearly half anticipate AI will handle complete tasks from start to finish. Alongside these high expectations, users have clear demands for improvement, wanting better fact-checking with citations, increased accuracy and transparency, and more personalized, context-aware responses. This evolving landscape means that for businesses, visibility, trust, and clarity in how AI interprets their brand are becoming paramount.
(Source: Search Engine Land)
