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The introduction of AI into online search is precipitating a massive shift in the way users navigate the web. In fact, since Google<\/strong> first introduced its AI Overviews experience \u2014 which offers up a specific answer instead of a collection of links \u2014 websites of all types, from publishers to retailers, have noticed a significant drop in traffic. From a consumer\u2019s point of view, it makes sense: Why look any further when the information is right there on the results page?<\/p>\n A study from the Pew Research Center found that Google users who encountered an AI summary clicked through the traditional search result links just 8%<\/strong> of the time, compared to 15%<\/strong> when no AI summary was offered. A separate study from BrightEdge\u00a0found that the average click-through rate to third-party websites has decreased by 30%<\/strong> since May 2024, when AI Overviews was rolled out widely.<\/p>\n Google doesn\u2019t deny the dramatic change that its new AI-powered search is causing\u2014 far from it: \u201c[Search] used to be about really careful keywords, using your own behavior to figure out \u2018What word should I really be using right now?\u2019\u201d said Courtney Rose, VP of Retail\u00a0at Google during the company\u2019s ThinkRetail event for advertisers and partners earlier this month. \u201cBut now you can use search in really natural language, you can do a voice search, we search with images, we ask really complex questions, we can even have a back-and-forth with search, and it can even start to take action on our behalf. That\u2019s because AI gives search superpowers, and people are loving what it can do.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n In fact, AI Overviews now has more than 2 billion<\/strong> users every month across 200+<\/strong> countries. And while click-through rates might be down, the BrightEdge study also found that impressions are up a whopping 49%<\/strong>, indicating that consumers are encountering brands in search more than ever \u2014 even if they are skipping the next step of visiting those companies\u2019 sites.<\/p>\n It\u2019s great news for Google, which is seeing the number of queries it handles continue to grow: \u201c[Users] are increasingly happier with their results, and they\u2019re searching more often because it turns out, when you make it easier to get information, people ask more questions<\/strong>,\u201d said Rose.<\/p>\n And so while it might not seem like it on the surface, from Google\u2019s vantage point this all means a new era of opportunity for advertisers \u2014 if they adapt accordingly. This includes:<\/p>\n \u201c60%<\/strong> of shopping queries are becoming broader in their intent<\/strong>,\u201d shared Dan Taylor, VP of Google Ads at a press briefing prior to ThinkRetail. \u201cWe used to think about search and search engine marketing as being very mercenary. \u2018I\u2019m going to search for \u201cred sneakers under $75.\u201d\u2019 But now it\u2019s more like, \u2018Tell me about gifts for someone you know that likes to cook but has a small kitchen.\u2019 Those are the kinds of queries that we\u2019re getting now, where there\u2019s not a single right answer and there\u2019s some research in mind. They\u2019re not exactly sure what they\u2019re looking for and they want to get answers, not just go right to the purchase.\u201d<\/p>\n Given how rapidly this is all changing, and given that Google is one of the key players in bringing it all about, it\u2019s not particularly surprising that Google\u2019s answer for brands looking to adapt to AI Overviews is not less AI but more \u2014 specifically its own suite of AI tools for advertisers and merchants.<\/p>\n \u201cShopping behavior is evolving because of AI, and the opportunity for advertisers to meet that moment is also accelerating with AI<\/strong>,\u201d said Taylor. \u201cThis creates incredible opportunities to be discovered earlier along an expanded holiday shopping season.\u201d Or as Rose put it during the ThinkRetail keynote session: \u201cAI is the engine that will power your growth through this holiday season, and the next and after that.\u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how Google sees that all playing out.<\/p>\n As Google\u2019s AI Overviews and other conversational search tools have begun to proliferate and be used more broadly by consumers, Google has noted a number of shifts in how people shop online:<\/p>\n 1. Impulse buying has dropped<\/strong> year over year from 30% to 26%<\/strong>, according to Taylor, who said he expects this trend to continue as customers get even more deliberate with their online buying. \u201cThey\u2019re thinking more about price. They\u2019re thinking more about quality, convenience, shipping, all the rest,\u201d he said and AI is helping them easily and quickly weigh all those factors on their way to purchase. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n 2.<\/strong> Consumers are doing more research<\/strong> because AI is reducing the difficulty and time-intensiveness of doing that research. \u201cHousehold budgets are tight, so it\u2019s no surprise that people are making fewer spontaneous purchases than in the past, and instead they\u2019re researching more,\u201d said Rose. \u201cThey\u2019re making more careful choices. And here\u2019s a key insight \u2014 they are not just looking for the lowest price. They are solving a complex equation in their heads for what value truly means, weighing price and product, confidence and convenience all at once.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n 3. The holiday shopping period is continuing to expand<\/strong>. For years retailers have noticed holiday purchases taking place earlier than ever before \u2014 certainly well before the traditional \u201ckickoff\u201d on Thanksgiving weekend\/Black Friday. Now, these new, more deliberate shopping patterns are causing that creep to extend even further, with Taylor saying shoppers are now making gift purchases whenever the correct elements are in place at any time from October through the end of the year. \u201c[Holiday] is now a three-month marathon for retailers, so it\u2019s more important than ever for retailers to understand where that demand is happening over the course of the retail holiday season and to be there in those moments,\u201d said Taylor.<\/p>\n Google is, of course, positioning itself as the resource brands need to meet this demand, touting the fact that on the typical at-least-five<\/strong>-touchpoint customer journey, Google and\/or YouTube<\/strong> pop up at least 86%<\/strong> of the time, and 70%<\/strong> of social media users use Google Search to inform and evaluate products that they discovered on social platforms.<\/p>\n Google\u2019s answer to meeting those customers whenever and wherever they land on Google is for marketers to use its AI-powered tools for everything from developing creative assets to targeting, and indeed it\u2019s hard to see how an advertiser could really keep up without some kind of AI support.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re telling [our clients] to really educate themselves on this shift, especially from a search perspective and from a syntax perspective, from thinking semantically to [thinking about] intent<\/strong>,\u201d said Tory Lariar, SVP for Paid Search at marketing consultancy Monks during a ThinkRetail panel session. \u201cYou have to continue testing, iterate on your testing, and you want to embrace that change. We\u2019re trying to build out multi-month roadmaps for testing before demand is [expected to hit] so that we can ensure that we\u2019re ready when that demand happens.\u201d<\/p>\n This includes testing AI tools like Google\u2019s Performance Max that rapidly generate variations of ad assets to target different audiences, as well as \u201cdiversifying away from that last-click, text-focused brand search,\u201d Lariar added. \u201cA lot of businesses have built success around that, to where that is 80%<\/strong> of their budget and then there\u2019s everything else. The ones that are successful now are those that are flipping those percentages and utilizing more of an incrementality mindset, creating brand stories for demand gen and even more advanced YouTube models.\u201d<\/p>\n Running in tandem with the rise of AI search has been a growing recognition of the power of creators in this new ecosystem. With AI tools scraping all corners of the web for insight into consumers\u2019 questions, verified product feedback and reviews like those that creators churn out to massive audiences carry more weight than ever.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, there have been declines in organic traffic, and we have a lot of clients concerned about that going into the holiday,\u201d said Lariar. \u201cOur tip is that it\u2019s really important to optimize for the questions that you want to show up in<\/strong>, both from an organic and a paid perspective. We\u2019re seeing increased conversion rates across organic and paid when you show up in experiences [like Google\u2019s AI Overviews and AI Mode]. So that\u2019s our hot tip \u2014 make sure that you\u2019re optimizing for the questions your customer [is asking] and that you\u2019re showing that on your site, in your content and your creative, and how you\u2019re buying search or display.\u201d<\/p>\n As an example of how this can work, imagine a search query to find out how to bring small dogs on flights<\/em>. The initial AI Overview will likely focus on information that answers the question directly, such as airline policies and tips for traveling with animals, but \u201cthere\u2019s also a commercial need here that we can anticipate,\u201d said Rose. \u201cMaybe they need an airline-approved pet carrier, and it shows up here in the right moment as a helpful ad.\u201d<\/p>\n The tricky part is anticipating those questions. To that, Lariar said her team uses tools like Semrush to track where their clients\u2019 brands are showing up in search, then optimizing content such as landing pages and ad creative for different consumer personas and the kinds of questions they are asking.<\/p>\n To be sure, this can all be a bit overwhelming, especially for marketers who have operated under a different set of rules for decades. The one thing that is clear is that everyone is dealing with the same challenges, and the best solution may just be to dive in headfirst.<\/p>\n \u201cAnyone who skis knows that when you go down a mountain, your initial reflex is to lean backwards because you\u2019re scared of falling over, but actually to be a good skier you have to lean forward,\u201d said Michelle Carrara, VP of Growth and Analytics at bedding brand Boll & Branch<\/strong> during the panel. \u201cThat\u2019s the philosophy we\u2019re bringing to Q4 \u2014 leaning into the opportunities that present themselves. Don\u2019t be afraid to take risks. Use the rest of the year to really develop that playbook of levers so when things do go wrong, which they absolutely will, you have something else to go back and try.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"Google](\"https:\/\/www.retailtouchpoints.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Pew-research-chart.png\")
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How AI is Changing Consumers\u2019 Online Shopping Behaviors<\/strong><\/h2>\n
AI to Keep up with AI: Manual Marketing Processes Don\u2019t Cut it Anymore<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Storytelling Matters More Than Ever<\/strong><\/h2>\n