Consumers are increasingly bypassing traditional search engines for AI chatbots, using tools like ChatGPT to handle everyday queries, first drafts and product recommendations. ChatGPT now draws an estimated 800 million weekly active users, and LLMs account for roughly 6% of desktop searches—double last year—according to third-party trackers. Google says overall and commercial queries continue to rise and is pushing AI features such as AI Overviews and a conversational AI Mode to keep users inside Search. Yet testimony in a U.S. antitrust case indicated Google searches on Apple’s Safari fell for the first time in two decades, hinting at shifting habits. Academics see a hybrid future in which LLMs handle synthesis and ideation while search remains central for transactions and verification—especially as AI answers still require fact-checking. Marketers are retooling strategies for AI-led discovery, emphasizing authoritative sources and official sites as referrals from LLMs appear to convert better. The stakes are high for publishers, retailers and ad giants as AI reshapes how people find information and shop online.
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