Google AI Overviews now show up in 43% of searches, report says

In short: Google’s AI Overviews, the AI-written summary at the top of Search, are showing up in 43% of searches, up from 15% a year ago.

What's going on

A new report cited by TechCrunch says Google’s AI Overviews are appearing more often when people use Google Search. AI Overviews are short, AI-generated answers that show up before the usual list of links (like getting the “summary” first, then the sources).

Market research firm Similarweb found AI Overviews rose from 15% of searches to 43% in about a year. Similarweb also tracked growth in Google’s AI Mode, a more chat-like way to keep searching inside Google. Visits to AI Mode increased from 126 million in June 2025 to 279 million by May 2026.

The report suggests people are typing longer, more natural questions into Google. That is different from the old style of search, where many people used short keyword phrases.

This shift is causing tension with publishers, including news sites. If people get an answer directly on Google, they may not click through to the original websites that provided the information. Similarweb says more AI answers now include citations, meaning links that name the source, but those citations do not always lead to a click.

What to watch

If AI summaries keep expanding, websites that rely on search traffic may keep looking for ways to protect their content. TechCrunch notes Cloudflare has introduced tools that let publishers block AI crawlers (automated programs that read websites, like a vacuum cleaner for web pages) unless AI companies pay for access.

Source: TechCrunch AI