Google AI Overviews Now Appear in 43% of Searches
Similarweb estimates that AI Overviews now appear in 43% of Google searches, making generative answers part of the default discovery experience.
Generative search is no longer a separate experiment hidden behind a special tab. New Similarweb data suggests it is rapidly becoming part of the default Google search experience.
What happened
Similarweb estimates that the share of Google searches displaying AI Overviews increased from approximately 15% to 43% over the past year.
Visits to Google’s AI Mode reportedly grew from 126 million in June 2025 to 279 million in May 2026.
AI Overviews place a generated answer above or among conventional search results. AI Mode offers a more conversational interface that allows users to ask follow-up questions and continue exploring a topic.
Why it matters
Traditional search sends users toward a list of websites. A generated answer may resolve the question directly, reducing the need to click through.
That changes the economics of online discovery. Publishers, retailers and startups have spent years designing content around search rankings and referral traffic. If Google answers more questions itself, those businesses may receive fewer visits even when their information contributes to the response.
For users, the format can make complex searches faster. But it also concentrates more responsibility in Google’s systems to represent sources accurately and avoid confident errors.
The bigger picture
The competition in search is moving beyond whether consumers adopt standalone AI assistants. Google can distribute generative answers through a product billions of people already use.
The 43% estimate suggests the transition is happening inside existing search behaviour. The next signal to watch is not only usage of AI Mode, but how AI Overviews affect outbound clicks and the wider web economy.