Google AI Overviews now appear in 43% of searches, Similarweb reports

Google’s AI Overviews now appear in 43% of searches, up from 15% a year ago, according to market intelligence firm Similarweb. The rapid adoption underscores how AI-generated answers are becoming the default way users consume information online.

During the same period, visits to Google’s AI Mode increased from 126 million in June 2025 to 279 million by May 2026. The data reflects a broader shift from keyword-based queries to longer, conversational prompts designed for AI interaction.

Publishers are losing referral traffic as AI citations often do not lead users to click through to source websites. The number of AI responses that include citations has risen more than fivefold over the past year, but only 6.8% of U.S. ChatGPT desktop queries included citations as of May 2026.

In response, Cloudflare introduced tools allowing publishers to block AI crawlers from their websites unless AI companies pay for access through its marketplace. The move aims to mitigate revenue losses by restricting AI-driven data scraping.

For ChatGPT, U.S. desktop referrals to webpages improved after a May 7 search update, with visits landing on webpages rising from 25% in March 2026 to nearly 60% by May 30, 2026. This suggests users are engaging with blue links when they are presented within AI-driven results.