Knowledge base v2.13.0 · Community edition · data through 2 October 2026
Topic · The state of Search
Google reports AI Mode queries doubling every quarter since launch, about three times longer than classic queries (the opening keynote's slide and its speaker said two to three times), and one in six multimodal. Brainstorming queries grew 30% faster than AI Mode queries overall in the US since launch, and 'which' and planning queries 40% and 80% faster over the past six months. These AI Mode figures come from Day 1 slides and are not in Google's public documentation. The overall scale, more than five trillion Google searches a year, was shown on Day 1 and repeated on Day 2 by the Google Trends team, who noted that Google announced it publicly in early 2025. Google's Trends FAQ says Google Trends filters out the internal searches made by AI Mode and AI Overviews. Day 3 showed what longer, conversational queries mean for shopping: shoppers ask AI Mode deeper follow-up questions, so Google added Merchant Center attributes intended for conversational experiences, and in testing with lululemon, brand-submitted attributes were used in 50% of relevant AI Mode product recommendations (Google's September 2026 post). Google's marketing research found that people who use AI run more searches, feel more confident about purchases and value easy access such as multimodal input; of these findings only searching more appears in Google's published posts. A second recording of Day 1 added the keynote's figures: AI Mode alone has more than one billion monthly active users, 2.5 billion people use Google's AI-powered search experiences (no feature or period given), and AI Overviews and AI Mode send more than a billion clicks a week to the web; Google also said 77% of their users make decisions faster, that 18 to 24 year olds requery and ask more complex questions, and that searches grow year on year in commercial and non-commercial queries (these three are not in Google's docs). The keynote added that people who also use a standalone LLM keep certain types of use anchored on Google (the example given is unclear in both recordings). Google presents AI Overviews and AI Mode as one experience, where a user can start in an AI Overview and continue in AI Mode, while still offering traditional search as a choice. Gary Illyes said AI Mode grows almost exponentially and people search more because of it, and that a multi-part query, such as a three-row SUV for two teenagers and a car-sick dog, cannot be met by one article but can by a synthesised answer. A community speaker added that the change is conversation, where follow-ups rely on earlier turns, not only longer queries.
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Google reports more than 5 trillion searches per year.
Speaker Lino CattaruzziIn Day 1, 11:00 · Welcome and opening keynotesEvidence slide photo, transcript
Google's opening slide described AI as driving an expansionary moment for Search.
Speaker Lino CattaruzziIn Day 1, 11:00 · Welcome and opening keynotesEvidence slide photo, transcript
Google says 94% of frequent LLM users are also frequent users of Google Search, as evidence that AI is growing search use rather than replacing it.
Speaker Lino CattaruzziIn Day 1, 11:00 · Welcome and opening keynotesEvidence slide photo, transcript
Google says 71% of shoppers coming to Google Search agree they are open to trying new brands or products (the slide footnote cites a Google-commissioned Ipsos global consumer survey), and that people use Search to figure out what they want, not only to find what they already know.
Speaker Lino CattaruzziIn Day 1, 11:00 · Welcome and opening keynotesEvidence slide photo, transcript
Google framed AI Mode and AI Overviews as combining the trust and real-world information of Google Search with the conversational power of an AI chatbot.
Speaker Lino CattaruzziIn Day 1, 11:00 · Welcome and opening keynotesEvidence slide photo, transcript
AI Mode queries have doubled every quarter since launch.
Speaker Gary IllyesIn Day 1, 11:35 · What's new in the world of SearchEvidence slide photo
The average AI Mode query is about 3 times the length of a traditional search (the opening keynote's slide and its speaker said two to three times).
Speaker Gary IllyesIn Day 1, 11:35 · What's new in the world of SearchEvidence 2 slide photos, transcript
Used byglossary term AI Mode
One in six AI Mode searches is multimodal, using voice or images.
Speaker Gary IllyesIn Day 1, 11:35 · What's new in the world of SearchEvidence slide photo
Follow-up queries in AI Mode have grown by more than 40% per month on average in the US since launch.
Speaker Gary IllyesIn Day 1, 11:35 · What's new in the world of SearchEvidence slide photo
Used byglossary term AI Mode
Google describes four new ways people search in AI Mode: Explore (brainstorming queries, grown 30% faster than AI Mode queries overall in the US since launch), Learn (study guides, deep dives), Decide (searches beginning with 'which', up 40% faster than AI Mode queries overall in the past six months) and Do (planning queries, up 80% faster than AI Mode queries overall in the past six months).
Speaker Gary IllyesIn Day 1, 11:35 · What's new in the world of SearchEvidence 2 slide photos, transcript
Queries of five or more words are growing in volume 1.5 times faster than shorter queries. The slide footnote cites Google internal data on global English-language queries, for a comparison period that starts in November 2022 (the remaining dates are only partly legible).
Speaker Gary IllyesIn Day 1, 11:35 · What's new in the world of SearchEvidence slide photo
The keynote described AI-powered search as the new reality of Google Search.
“Google Search now is AI search.”
Wording checked against the slide or recording
Speaker Lino CattaruzziIn Day 1, 11:00 · Welcome and opening keynotesEvidence transcript
Google said AI Overviews and AI Mode are integrated into one seamless AI experience in Search.
Speaker Lino CattaruzziIn Day 1, 11:00 · Welcome and opening keynotesEvidence transcript
The keynote said AI answers change the dynamic of a search, because a response leads to follow-up after follow-up.
Speaker Lino CattaruzziIn Day 1, 11:00 · Welcome and opening keynotesEvidence transcript
Google said its AI-powered responses in Search alone, AI Overviews and AI Mode, send more than a billion clicks per week to the web.
Speaker Lino CattaruzziIn Day 1, 11:00 · Welcome and opening keynotesEvidence transcript
Google said it offers users a choice between AI Mode, AI Overviews and traditional search rather than focusing on one experience.
Speaker Lino CattaruzziIn Day 1, 11:00 · Welcome and opening keynotesEvidence transcript
Google's keynote said 2.5 billion people worldwide use its AI-powered search experiences (the keynote did not say which feature or which period).
Speaker Lino CattaruzziIn Day 1, 11:00 · Welcome and opening keynotesEvidence transcript
Google said 18 to 24 year olds are more engaged than ever with the AI-powered features in Search: they requery and ask more, and more complex, questions, which leads to more searches.
Speaker Lino CattaruzziIn Day 1, 11:00 · Welcome and opening keynotesEvidence transcript
Google said its searches are growing year on year in both commercial and non-commercial queries.
Speaker Lino CattaruzziIn Day 1, 11:00 · Welcome and opening keynotesEvidence transcript
Google said AI Mode alone has more than one billion monthly active users.
Speaker Lino CattaruzziIn Day 1, 11:00 · Welcome and opening keynotesEvidence transcript
Google's examples of brainstorming queries were a request for birthday gift ideas for a son turning 18 and, instead of asking for the nearest pizza, describing a party of fifteen guests that needs healthy, warm food delivered in under twenty minutes.
Speaker Lino CattaruzziIn Day 1, 11:00 · Welcome and opening keynotesEvidence transcript
Google said 77% of users of AI Overviews and AI Mode are able to make decisions faster because of them.
Speaker Lino CattaruzziIn Day 1, 11:00 · Welcome and opening keynotesEvidence transcript
The keynote added that people who also use a standalone LLM keep certain types of use anchored on Google (the example given is unclear in both recordings).
Speaker Lino CattaruzziIn Day 1, 11:00 · Welcome and opening keynotesEvidence transcript
Google said AI Mode is growing almost exponentially and that people are searching more because of it, not less.
Speaker Gary IllyesIn Day 1, 11:35 · What's new in the world of SearchEvidence transcript
Google said a multi-part query, such as a white three-row SUV for two teenagers and a car-sick dog, cannot be satisfied by a list of links because no single article covers every aspect, while AI Overviews and AI Mode can synthesise an answer that helps users decide where to go.
Speaker Gary IllyesIn Day 1, 11:35 · What's new in the world of SearchEvidence transcript
AI Overviews and AI Mode work together: a user can start with an AI Overview and continue the conversation in AI Mode.
Speaker Gary IllyesIn Day 1, 11:35 · What's new in the world of SearchEvidence transcript
A community speaker argued that the change in search behaviour is not only longer AI Mode queries but conversation: a follow-up such as 'compare these two' relies on the context of earlier turns.
Speaker Jovana AvramovicIn Day 1, 16:20 · Lightning session C: CrawlingEvidence transcript
Principle 5 is the one to plan around. Growth is in brainstorming, 'which' and planning queries, which are comparison-style needs that a page answering a single keyword fits poorly.
Author Ibrahim AnjroAnnotates Day 1, 11:00 · Welcome and opening keynotes
Google handles more than five trillion searches a year, a figure Google announced publicly at the beginning of 2025.
Speaker Omri WeismanIn Day 2, 16:20 · Google TrendsEvidence transcript
Google's Trends FAQ says Google Trends filters out searches made by Google products and services, including the internal searches made by AI Mode and AI Overviews.
“This includes internal searches made by AI Mode and AI Overviews.”
Publisher Google Trends HelpAnnotates Day 2, 16:20 · Google Trends
In AI Mode, shoppers keep asking deeper, more nuanced follow-up questions about brands and products, so AI Mode must return much more detailed product information than classic shopping results needed.
Speaker Alex JansenIn Day 3, 13:40 · Shopping on Search: Beyond the blue linksEvidence transcript
Nik Vujic said GA4 setups that separate out traffic from LLMs do not capture visits from AI Overviews and AI Mode.
Speaker Nik VujicIn Day 3, 14:20 · Lightning session L: Understanding SERPs and your usersEvidence transcript
Google's headline finding was that people who use AI features such as AI Mode or AI Overviews feel much more confident about their purchase decisions.
Speaker Pablo PérezIn Day 3, 15:30 · Mastering the messy middleEvidence transcript
Google's research also counted easy access as part of AI's ease benefit: multimodal input, such as taking pictures, and low friction lower the barrier to entry.
Speaker Pablo PérezIn Day 3, 15:30 · Mastering the messy middleEvidence transcript
Google's research found that people who use AI run more searches than people who do not.
Speaker Pablo PérezIn Day 3, 15:30 · Mastering the messy middleEvidence transcript
Google's Merchant Center help marks the question_and_answer, document_link, related_product and popularity_rank attributes as primarily intended for conversational experiences such as AI Mode in Google Search.
Publisher Google Merchant Center HelpAnnotates Day 3, 13:40 · Shopping on Search: Beyond the blue links
Used byrequirement DEV-SHP-03glossary term Conversational attributes
Google's 16 September 2026 holiday shopping post says that in testing with lululemon, conversational attributes submitted by the brand were used 50% of the time in relevant product recommendations in AI Mode.
Publisher Google blog (16 September 2026)Annotates Day 3, 13:40 · Shopping on Search: Beyond the blue links
Used byrequirement DEV-SHP-03
Google's AI features guide says traffic from sites appearing in AI features such as AI Overviews and AI Mode is included in the overall search traffic in Search Console and reported in the Performance report within the Web search type.
Publisher Google Search CentralAnnotates Day 3, 14:20 · Lightning session L: Understanding SERPs and your users
Used byrequirement DEV-MON-07
Google's AI Mode launch post (March 2025) said that with Google's new AI features people are using Google Search more than ever, as they get help with new and more complex questions.
Publisher Google blog (5 March 2025)Annotates Day 3, 15:30 · Mastering the messy middle
Google said AI Mode is growing almost exponentially and that people are searching more because of it, not less.
Google says users like AI Overviews and search more because of them, with early feedback overwhelmingly positive and satisfaction highest among 18–24 year olds.
Google said AI Mode is growing almost exponentially and that people are searching more because of it, not less.
AI Mode queries have doubled every quarter since launch.
Google said a multi-part query, such as a white three-row SUV for two teenagers and a car-sick dog, cannot be satisfied by a list of links because no single article covers every aspect, while AI Overviews and AI Mode can synthesise an answer that helps users decide where to go.
Queries of five or more words are growing in volume 1.5 times faster than shorter queries. The slide footnote cites Google internal data on global English-language queries, for a comparison period that starts in November 2022 (the remaining dates are only partly legible).
AI Overviews and AI Mode work together: a user can start with an AI Overview and continue the conversation in AI Mode.
Google said AI Overviews and AI Mode are integrated into one seamless AI experience in Search.
The keynote added that people who also use a standalone LLM keep certain types of use anchored on Google (the example given is unclear in both recordings).
Google says 94% of frequent LLM users are also frequent users of Google Search, as evidence that AI is growing search use rather than replacing it.
Nik Vujic said GA4 setups that separate out traffic from LLMs do not capture visits from AI Overviews and AI Mode.
The regular Search Console Performance report still shows all traffic including AI features, while the generative AI view shows only impressions from AI surfaces.
Google's AI features guide says traffic from sites appearing in AI features such as AI Overviews and AI Mode is included in the overall search traffic in Search Console and reported in the Performance report within the Web search type.
The regular Search Console Performance report still shows all traffic including AI features, while the generative AI view shows only impressions from AI surfaces.
Google's research also counted easy access as part of AI's ease benefit: multimodal input, such as taking pictures, and low friction lower the barrier to entry.
One in six AI Mode searches is multimodal, using voice or images.
Google's research found that people who use AI run more searches than people who do not.
Google says users like AI Overviews and search more because of them, with early feedback overwhelmingly positive and satisfaction highest among 18–24 year olds.
Google handles more than five trillion searches a year, a figure Google announced publicly at the beginning of 2025.
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