AI Can’t Touch Google Search Yet, Says New Study
I came across some fresh data that got me thinking about how we all use the internet today. It dives into how Americans are searching on Google and whether AI tools are really taking over. Let’s break it down in a simple way.
The study looked at desktop web users in the U.S. and found that, on average, each person does about 126 unique Google searches a month. That’s just on desktops, not counting mobile apps like Google Maps. Half of these users, though, only search about 53 times a month. So, some people are searching a lot, while others barely touch Google.
Now, let’s talk about the big picture. The data shows Google handled around 14 billion searches a day in 2024. Compare that to something like ChatGPT, which gets about 37.5 million searches a day. That’s a huge gap—Google is getting almost 373 times more searches than ChatGPT. Clearly, AI platforms aren’t stealing Google’s thunder just yet.
What about growth? Google searches actually went up by 21.64% from 2023 to 2024. That’s pretty impressive for something as established as Google. Rand Fishkin even said, ‘In a single year, 21.64% growth for a mature product like Google is remarkable.’
Different parts of Google search grew too. For example, Google Images searches jumped by 16.04%, while Google News dropped by 12.07%. Google Maps searches on the web grew by 6.04%, but the study notes this number is likely higher since many people use the mobile app instead.
I also found it interesting to see how people use Google’s different features. The default Google.com search is the most popular, with about 110 searches per person each month. Google Images comes in next, but it’s still only about one-eighth as big as the main search. Other features like Google News, Shopping, and Video are much smaller, though their content often shows up in regular search results anyway.
One thing that stood out is how AI platforms stack up. The study tracked user percentages for major AI tools from January to November 2024. ChatGPT leads with around 20% of users by the end of the period, growing steadily. Gemini is in second place, reaching about 5%, while others like Copilot, Claude, and Perplexity hover around 1-3%. AI is growing, but it’s still a small player compared to Google.
The data also shows not everyone uses Google the same way. About one-third of users search only 1-20 times a month, another third do 21-100 searches, and the last third are heavy users, doing 101 to over 1,000 searches. I’d probably fall into that last group, especially on busy days when I’m looking up everything.
What does this all mean? Well, despite all the talk about AI taking over, Google is still king for now. The study suggests AI tools might be popular with early adopters, but most people aren’t switching yet. I’ll be curious to see if AI starts catching up in 2025 or if Google keeps its lead.
