75 AI SEO Statistics for 2026

In 2026, the search landscape is moving from a library to a conversation. With Google’s AI Overviews and “zero-click” searches part of the evolution, as well as marketing teams adopting AI into their workflows. To help you understand this complex landscape, here are 75 AI SEO statistics for 2026.

• AI search adoption and behaviour
• AI Overviews and zero click impact
• Consumer use of AI for research and shopping
• AI adoption in SEO and marketing teams
• AI content in search results and trust
• AI tools and workflow efficiency
• Brand visibility in AI answers and LLM referrals
• Business performance and ROI from AI

1. AI search adoption and behaviour

Traditional search engines still dominate overall query volume, but AI assisted search is now clearly part of how people look for information.

1. Google accounts for circa 89.6% of global search engine use as of April 2025.
2. ChatGPT controls around 80.1% of AI search traffic across AI first search tools in 2025.
3. Google processes roughly 5 trillion searches per year, or about 14 billion searches per day, as of 2024.
4. 39% of americans verify AI-generated information using Google
5. Around 80% of search users now rely on AI written summaries for at least 40% of their searches.
6. Roughly 60% of searches now end on the results page without a click to another site.
7. About 41% of UK internet users aged 16 and over used a generative AI tool in the previous year.
8. The highest usage among UK internet users is the age bracket 16 to 24, where about 78% used a generative AI tool in the previous year.
9. Nearly 48% of UK adults now use AI assisted tools to find information, up about 22 percentage points year on year.
10. Around 98% of internet users use a search engine at least once a month.

---

2. AI Overviews and zero click impact

Google’s AI Overviews and similar features are compressing more of the answer into the results page, with measurable effects on organic clicks.

11. AI Overviews can reduce organic click-through rate (CTR) from 2.94% to 0.84%.
12. AI Overviews appear in roughly 47% of Google search results, based on analysis of over 100,000 queries.
13. Informational searches are most affected, with AI Overviews showing for about 58% of informational queries.
14. Other studies suggest AI Overviews surfaced in about 6.5% of searches in early 2025 but quickly expanded to around 20% of queries in some datasets.
15. When an AI Overview appears, click through rate for the first organic result drops by an average of 34.5%.
16. Across all positions, another dataset observed an average organic click through rate drop of 15.49% whenever an AI Overview was shown.
17. When AI Overviews appeared alongside a featured snippet and knowledge panel, one study measured a 37.04% fall in total organic clicks.
18. AI enhanced search has reduced organic traffic to websites by around 15% to 25%.
19. AI chatbots and zero click search could cut organic search traffic volumes by around 25% by 2026.
20. For news queries, zero click rates rose from 56% to 69% in a year after AI Overviews launched.
21. In the same period, monthly visits from Google to leading news sites fell from more than 2.3 billion to under 1.7 billion.

---

3. Consumer use of AI for research and shopping

Many consumers are comfortable using AI for research and purchase support, but Google still remains dominant.

22. 21.3% of ChatGPT users use it for “seeking information”.
23. 42% of brits have used AI to find gift ideas for a partner.
24. Between 30% and 45% of US consumers now use generative AI when researching and comparing products.
25. 13% of shoppers planned to start their holiday shopping on ChatGPT, compared with 30% starting on Google Search.
26. 42% of shoppers expected to use AI or chatbots during the 2024 peak season, up sharply year on year.
27. 8.5% of ChatGPT users use it for how-to advice.
28. 23% of UK internet users aged 16+ used a ChatGPT in the previous year.
29. 12% of users regard “trust a lot more” gen AI search results versus traditional search results.
30. Google’s reach in UK search has slipped from 86% to 83% as users grow wary of AI-powered search results.
31. 71% of shoppers are unaware they have interacted with generative AI while shopping online.

---

4. AI adoption in SEO and marketing teams

For many SEO and marketing teams, AI is no longer optional infrastructure but part of day to day operations.

32. A 2023 survey of enterprise SEO professionals found 86.07% had integrated AI technologies or tools into their SEO strategy.
33. In the same survey, only 4.09% of SEO specialists said generative AI could not improve SEO in any way.
34. 64.48% of SEO experts now rate AI tool accuracy as their top priority when choosing technology.
35. 82% of enterprise SEOs plan to invest more in AI.
36. Among marketers using generative AI, 56% apply it to search engine optimisation activities.
37. 75.7% of marketers now use AI tools in their work.
38. 69% of marketers use ChatGPT specifically.
39. 61% of marketers say generative AI will transform their role, but worry about accuracy.
40. 26% of US marketers use AI or machine learning to optimise content.
41. 52% of marketers say AI has helped them improve speed and efficiency.
42. 34% of marketers use AI to help generate content.
43. 63% of marketers use AI to create outlines, while 60% use it for idea generation and keyword research.
44. 46% of businesses use AI for personalised advertising, while 42% use it for long form written content such as website copy.
45. A third of businesses are concerned about misinformation from AI.

---

5. AI content in search results and trust

AI generated content is now a visible part of search results, but user confidence in AI output is mixed.

46. The share of AI generated content in Google’s top 20 search results rose from about 2.27% in 2019 to a peak of 19.56% in July 2025.
47. The same analysis estimated that around 17.31% of pages ranking in the top 20 results used AI to help generate the page as of September 2025.
48. An audit of Google reviews found that likely AI written reviews rose from 12.21% in 2023 to 19% in 2024.
49. 46% of Americans say they do not have much trust or any trust at all in the information provided by AI summaries in search results.
50. In the UK, only 18% of users believe AI search results are reliable, rising slightly to 21% among 16 to 24 year olds.
51. Conversational AI tools are estimated to currently account for about 3% of searches, compared with around 97% on traditional search engines.
52. Research on Amazon’s herbal remedy books concluded that about 82% of titles assessed were likely written by AI.

---

6. AI tools and workflow efficiency

AI is widely used as an efficiency layer in marketing, particularly for analysis and content drafting.

53. 71% of marketers say generative AI will allow them to focus on more strategic work.
54. 65% of marketers have seen increased productivity after adopting AI tools.
55. 68% of businesses report increased content marketing ROI with AI.
56. 51% of marketers now optimise content with help from AI tools.
57. 86% of marketers review and edit AI generated content before publishing.
58. 70% of businesses believe ChatGPT helps them create content faster.
59. AI is set to save professionals 12 hours per week by 2029.
60. One third of high performing organisations spend more than 20 percent of their digital budgets on AI.
61. Generative AI could increase marketing productivity by between 5% and 15% of total marketing spend, worth about 463 billion US dollars per year.

---

7. Brand visibility in AI answers and LLM referrals

Brand visibility is now split between classic blue links and a growing layer of AI surfaces and answer engines.

62. 76.4% of ChatGPT’s most-cited pages were updated in the last 30 days.
63. Websites that get more traffic in traditional organic search also get mentioned more in AI Search.
64. Brands earning the most web mentions earn up to 10X more mentions in AI Overviews.
65. An analysis of AI shopping helpers found that AI systems gave conflicting brand recommendations in 61.9% of e commerce queries.
66. ChatGPT, Google’s AI Overviews and Google’s AI mode agreed on the same brand recommendation for only 17% of shopping queries.
67. Google AI Overviews lead the pack for brand mentions, appearing as the primary recommender in 36.8% of shopping related prompts.
68. Referrals to news sites dropped by up to 40% since Google added AI search.
69. 99.5% of URLs cited in AI Overviews now overlap with pages in the top 10 organic results, linking brand visibility in AI panels closely to traditional rankings.
70. Focussing on AI visibility optimisations could increases referrals from AI tools, with one brand experiencing 20x growth.

---

8. Business performance and ROI from AI

AI is associated with higher productivity and returns, although methodologies differ.

71. 66% of senior leaders say AI has already driven significant productivity improvements across their organisation.
72. Businesses investing in AI can see revenue increases of between 3% and 15% and sales ROI uplifts of 10% to 20%.
73. Whilst traffic from AI tools is noticeably lower, conversion can be higher, with one report citing AI search visitors are 16% more likely to convert compared to non-AI traffic sources.
74. AI influenced global online sales during the 2024 holiday season reached 229 billion US dollars.
75. In the same period, the study observed a 42% year on year increase in the use of AI chatbots by shoppers.

---

Sources

Theme	Statistic	Figure	Year	Geography	Source
AI search adoption and behaviour	Google share of global search engine use	89.6% share	2025	Global	Source
AI search adoption and behaviour	ChatGPT share of AI search traffic	80.1% share	2025	Global	Source
AI search adoption and behaviour	Annual and daily Google search volume	~5 trillion per year, ~14 billion per day	2024	Global	Source
AI search adoption and behaviour	Percent of americans verifying AI-generated information using Google	39%	2025	US	Source
AI search adoption and behaviour	Users relying on AI summaries for at least 40% of searches	80%	2025	Global	Source
AI search adoption and behaviour	Share of searches ending without click to another site	~60%	2025	Global	Source
AI search adoption and behaviour	UK internet users 16+ using generative AI in past year	41%	2024	UK	Source
AI search adoption and behaviour	UK 16–24s using generative AI in past year	78%	2024	UK	Source
AI search adoption and behaviour	UK adults using AI assisted tools to find information	48% (up 22 points year on year)	2024	UK	Source
AI search adoption and behaviour	Internet users using search engines monthly	98%	2024	Global	Source
AI Overviews and zero click impact	Reduction in click-through rate	2.94% to 0.84%	2024	US	Source
AI Overviews and zero click impact	Google queries showing AI Overviews	~47% of results	2024	Global	Source
AI Overviews and zero click impact	Informational queries showing AI Overviews	58%	2024	Global	Source
AI Overviews and zero click impact	Share of searches with AI Overviews in some datasets	6.5% to ~20%	2024–2025	Global	Source
AI Overviews and zero click impact	CTR drop for position 1 when AI Overview present	34.5% drop	2024	Global	Source
AI Overviews and zero click impact	Average organic CTR drop with AI Overviews	15.49% drop	2024	US	Source
AI Overviews and zero click impact	CTR drop when AI Overview plus snippet and panel	37.04% drop	2024	US	Source
AI Overviews and zero click impact	Estimated organic traffic reduction from AI search	15–25% lower traffic	2024	Global	Source
AI Overviews and zero click impact	Projected organic traffic decline by 2026	~25% decline	2026 forecast	Global	Source
AI Overviews and zero click impact	Zero click share for news queries	56% to 69%	2024–2025	Global news sample	Source
AI Overviews and zero click impact	Google referrals to news sites mid 2024 vs May 2025	>2.3bn to <1.7bn visits	2024–2025	Global news sample	Source
Consumer AI use for research and shopping	ChatGPT users using it for seeking information	21.3%	2025	Global	Source
Consumer AI use for research and shopping	Brits using AI for gift ideas	42%	2024	UK	Source
Consumer AI use for research and shopping	US consumers using generative AI for research and product comparison	30–45%	2024	US	Source
Consumer AI use for research and shopping	Shoppers starting holiday shopping on ChatGPT vs Google	13% vs 30%	2024	US	Source
Consumer AI use for research and shopping	Shoppers expecting to use AI or chatbots in peak season	42%	2024	Global	Source
Consumer AI use for research and shopping	Users using ChatGPT for how-to advice	8.5%	2025	Global	Source
Consumer AI use for research and shopping	UK internet users 16+ using ChatGPT	23%	2024	UK	Source
Consumer AI use for research and shopping	Users trusting AI search “a lot more” than traditional search	12%	2025	US	Source
Consumer AI use for research and shopping	Google reach and daily use in UK search	83% reach, 69% daily use	2024	UK	Source
Consumer AI use for research and shopping	Shoppers unaware they interacted with generative AI	71%	2024	US	Source
AI adoption in SEO and marketing teams	Enterprise SEOs using AI in strategy	86.07%	2023	Global (enterprise SEO)	Source
AI adoption in SEO and marketing teams	SEOs saying AI cannot enhance SEO	4.09%	2023	Global	Source
AI adoption in SEO and marketing teams	SEOs prioritising AI tool accuracy	64.48%	2023	Global	Source
AI adoption in SEO and marketing teams	Enterprise SEOs planning to invest more in AI	82%	2023	Global	Source
AI adoption in SEO and marketing teams	Marketers using generative AI for SEO	56%	2024	Global	Source
AI adoption in SEO and marketing teams	Marketers using AI tools at work	75.7%	2024	Global	Source
AI adoption in SEO and marketing teams	Marketers using ChatGPT	69%	2024	Global	Source
AI adoption in SEO and marketing teams	Marketers who say Gen AI will transform their role	61%	2024	Global	Source
AI adoption in SEO and marketing teams	US marketers using AI or ML to optimise content	26%	2023	US	Source
AI adoption in SEO and marketing teams	Marketers saying AI improved speed or efficiency	52%	2023	US	Source
AI adoption in SEO and marketing teams	Marketers using AI to help create content	34%	2024	Global	Source
AI adoption in SEO and marketing teams	Marketers using AI for outlines, ideas, keywords	63% outlines, 60% ideas / keywords	2024	Global	Source
AI adoption in SEO and marketing teams	Businesses using AI for ads and website copy	46% ads, 42% website copy	2023	Global	Source
AI adoption in SEO and marketing teams	A third of businesses are concerned about misinformation from AI	33.3%	2023	US	Source
AI content in SERPs and trust	AI content share in top 20 Google results (peak)	19.56%	2025	Global sample	Source
AI content in SERPs and trust	AI content share in top 20 results at September 2025	17.31%	2025	Global sample	Source
AI content in SERPs and trust	Share of Google reviews likely written by AI	12.21% to 19%	2023–2024	Global sample	Source
AI content in SERPs and trust	US adults who do not trust AI summaries in search results	46%	2025	US	Source
AI content in SERPs and trust	UK users confident AI search results are reliable	18% (21% age 16–24)	2024	UK	Source
AI content in SERPs and trust	Share of searches on conversational AI vs traditional	~3% vs 97%	2025	Global	Source
AI content in SERPs and trust	Amazon herbal remedy books likely AI written	82%	2023	Global sample	Source
AI tools and workflow	Marketers saying Gen AI will help them focus on more strategic work	71%	2023	Global	Source
AI tools and workflow	Marketers reporting increased productivity from AI	65%	2025	Global	Source
AI tools and workflow	Businesses seeing increased content marketing ROI with AI	68%	2024	Global	Source
AI tools and workflow	Marketers optimising content with AI	51%	20254	Global	Source
AI tools and workflow	Marketers reviewing and editing AI content before publishing	86%	2023	Global	Source
AI tools and workflow	Businesses believing ChatGPT speeds content creation	70%	2023	Global	Source
AI tools and workflow	Hours saved per week by 2029	12	2024	Global	Source
AI tools and workflow	High performing organisations who spend more than 20 percent of their digital budgets on AI.	One third	2025	Global	Source
AI tools and workflow	Potential productivity increase in marketing from genAI	5–15% of spend (approx 463bn USD)	2023	Global	Source
Brand visibility and AI answers	Percent of ChatGPT’s most-cited pages that had been updated in the last 30 days	76%	2025	Global	Source
Brand visibility and AI answers	Websites that get more traffic in traditional organic search also get mentioned more in AI Search	–	2025	Global	Source
Brand visibility and AI answers	Brands earning the most web mentions earn up to 10X more mentions in AI Overviews.	10x	2025	Global	Source
Brand visibility and AI answers	Shopping queries with conflicting AI brand suggestions	61.9%	2024	US and UK retail sample	Source
Brand visibility and AI answers	Shopping queries where AI systems agree on brand	17%	2024	US and UK retail sample	Source
Brand visibility and AI answers	Share of queries where AI Overviews lead in mentions	36.8%	2024	US and UK retail sample	Source
Brand visibility and AI answers	Fall in referrals to news sites since Google added AI search.	40%	2024–2025	Global news sample	Source
Brand visibility and AI answers	Net traffic effect on publishers from AI and Google changes	Overall decline in visits	2024–2025	Global news sample	Source
Brand visibility and AI answers	AI Overviews sources overlapping with top 10 results	99.5% overlap	2024	Global sample	Source
Brand visibility and AI answers	Growth of AI referrals after LLM visibility work	20× increase	2025	UK	Source
Business performance and ROI	Percent of senior leaders that say AI has driven productivity improvements	66%	2022–2023	Global	Source
Business performance and ROI	Typical revenue and ROI uplift from AI	3–15% revenue, 10–20% ROI	2023	Global	Source
Business performance and ROI	AI conversion rate likelihood vs non-AI traffic sources	16% more likely	2025	Global	Source
Business performance and ROI	AI influenced online sales in 2024 holiday season	229bn USD	2024	Global	Source
Business performance and ROI	Increase in shopper use of AI chatbots year on year	+42%	2024	Global	Source

Download the data

Download the resource here.