Google AI Overviews now appear in 43% of searches, up from 15% in a year
A report from Similarweb shows that the share of searches using Google's AI Overviews jumped from 15% to 43% in just a year. Additionally, traffic to AI Mode saw a remarkable rise, going from 126 million visits in June 2025 to 279 million by May 2026. As more users adopt conversational searches, the average length of these queries has also increased. By May 2026, only 6.8% of ChatGPT desktop queries in the U.S. referenced citations. After a May 7 update, referrals from ChatGPT's desktop version surged from 25% in March 2026 to almost 60% by May 30, 2026. In response, Cloudflare introduced tools for publishers to block AI crawlers unless they receive payment, as referral traffic continues to drop.
Key facts
- Google AI Overviews appeared in 15% of searches one year ago, now 43%.
- AI Mode visits rose from 126 million (June 2025) to 279 million (May 2026).
- Average search length has increased, indicating more conversational queries.
- Only 6.8% of U.S. ChatGPT desktop queries included citations as of May 2026.
- ChatGPT desktop referrals doubled after May 7 update: from 25% (March 2026) to 60% (May 30, 2026).
- Cloudflare introduced tools for publishers to block AI crawlers unless paid.
- Travel, retail, and sports queries generate cited responses more frequently.
- Google is transforming from a gateway to a destination, reducing referral traffic.
Entities
Institutions
- Similarweb
- Cloudflare
- ChatGPT
Locations
- United States