Google’s AI-generated search feature, AI Overviews, now appears in 43% of searches, up from 15% a year ago, according to a new report from market intelligence firm Similarweb. The findings point to a broader shift in how users interact with search, as Google increasingly routes users from AI Overviews into its more conversational AI Mode, which saw visits rise from 126 million in June 2025 to 279 million by May 2026.
Similarweb’s data also shows average search query length increasing, suggesting users are shifting from short keyword searches to longer, conversational queries suited to AI-driven results. The report frames this as part of a broader transformation of Google from a tool for discovering external websites into a destination where users increasingly stay to get answers directly.
The trend has drawn criticism from publishers, who have seen declining referral traffic as AI-generated citations often don’t lead to clicks. In response, infrastructure company Cloudflare has introduced tools allowing publishers to block AI crawlers unless companies pay for content access through its marketplace.
Despite growth in AI citations, only 6.8% of U.S. ChatGPT desktop queries included citations as of May 2026. However, referral traffic to publisher websites from ChatGPT improved significantly following a May update, with click-through rates to actual webpages more than doubling between March and May 2026.
