Google's AI Overviews are now appearing in 43% of searches, up from 15% in just one year. The shift means users spend more time on Google itself rather than clicking through to other sites.
A recent analysis by market intelligence firm Similarweb shows that visits to AI Mode have surged, with over 279 million visits by May 2026, compared to 126 million in June 2025. This change is prompting a broader shift in how web users consume information online.
The trend isn’t sitting well with publishers who are seeing a decline in referral traffic due to AI citations that don’t lead to clicks. However, there's some hope as U.S. desktop referrals have improved after a May 7 search update, doubling the proportion of visits landing on webpages from 25% to nearly 60%.
While this development is transforming Google’s role online, it also raises questions about dependency and privacy. Is humanity trading clickable links for conversational convenience?
