Google AI Search Sparks an ‘Expansionary Moment’
▼ Summary
– Google Search is experiencing an “expansionary moment” characterized by longer, more conversational queries and increased use of voice and images.
– AI features like AI Overviews and AI Mode are now core to Search, with Google making them seamless and shipping hundreds of related product updates.
– AI is driving increased overall usage of Google Search, with engagement growing once users try these new AI-powered experiences.
– Search behavior in AI Mode is changing, featuring queries three times longer than traditional searches and a significant portion leading to follow-up questions.
– The growth of the Gemini app has not cannibalized Google Search, with users moving fluidly between Search, AI Overviews, AI Mode, and Gemini.
Google Search is currently experiencing a significant transformation, fueled by the deep integration of artificial intelligence. This shift is creating what company leaders describe as an “expansionary moment,” characterized by users submitting longer, more complex queries and engaging in conversational, multi-session searches. The evolution from simple keyword searches to AI-driven conversations represents a fundamental change in how people find information online. This structural shift is actively reshaping user behavior, which in turn has profound implications for how content is discovered and how traffic flows across the entire web.
Recent financial data underscores the platform’s robust health. In the fourth quarter, Alphabet’s advertising revenue reached $82.284 billion, marking a 13.5% increase. The core Google Search and other segment was a standout performer, generating $63.073 billion, a jump of 16.7%. For the full 2025 fiscal year, total advertising revenue hit $294.691 billion, up 11.4%, with the Search segment again leading growth at $224.532 billion, a 13.4% increase.
AI is no longer a peripheral feature but the central engine of this expansion. CEO Sundar Pichai emphasized that AI Overviews and AI Mode are now core components of the Search product, with over 250 related launches in the last quarter alone. This includes upgrading AI Overviews with the more advanced Gemini 3 model and creating a seamless bridge between overviews and conversational search within AI Mode.
Contrary to concerns that AI might reduce overall search activity, Google executives presented data showing the opposite effect. Search usage in Q4 reached an all-time high, with AI features driving increased engagement. The company reports that once users begin interacting with these new AI experiences, they tend to use them more frequently, indicating additive rather than replacement behavior.
The data reveals a clear change in how people are searching. Queries within AI Mode are, on average, three times longer than traditional text searches. Sessions are becoming genuinely conversational, with a significant portion of AI Mode queries now prompting follow-up questions. Furthermore, the interaction is expanding beyond text; nearly one in six queries in AI Mode now utilizes voice or images. The distribution of visual search tools like Circle to Search, now on over 580 million Android devices, supports this multimodal trend.
A key point from the earnings call addressed the relationship between the standalone Gemini app and Google Search. Pichai stated there is no evidence that Gemini is cannibalizing Search traffic. Instead, the company observes users moving fluidly between the traditional Search interface, AI Overviews, AI Mode, and the Gemini app, suggesting a complementary ecosystem rather than a competitive one.
(Source: Search Engine Land)
