If you are ever looking for any information, to quite possibly anything, the main answer is always the same: Google it. Synonymous with search for years, Google has been the leader of the online information world. Even if sometimes you would stray to its subsidiaries like Youtube, Google has remained the top dog. At the start of the new year, though, things are starting to shift.
The way people navigate online is tricky. It can vary from age demographics to information types, but one thing has become abundantly clear: Google is not what it used to be. According to Statcounter, Google’s share of the search market dipped below 90% at the end of 2024—for the first time in a decade.
Though Google is still at 89% (89.79 to be exact), it’s not about the 1% in this case, it’s what it looks like for the future of search and where the population is going for its information. Consumers aren’t going to Google as the default anymore, which is the big picture, they are using TikTok for product recommendations, checking Amazon for reviews, and using AI-powered search engines like ChatGPT to get quick, conversational answers.
With users spreading their searches across more platforms, advertisers are searching for the answer across the internet on how to adjust their resources.
Search Engine Optimization’s Time to Shine
Once the underrepresented and underappreciated sidekick of digital marketing, SEO is finally getting its time in the spotlight. Brands are utilizing SEO to make sure they’re easily accessible to consumers across every platform, not just Google.
"SEO has gone from being the last thing brands thought about to a key lever in clients’ response to a changing search environment," says Catherine Lux, head of SEO at Assembly (Digiday).
Now, brands are adjusting their websites so search tools can actually understand them with the use of cleaner data, structured FAQs, and blog posts with real authors because AI isn’t the only one that likes a personal touch!
And there’s a bigger picture here. AI-driven search tools like Gemini and ChatGPT are already shaping the way people find answers. As Matt Allfrey, head of SEO at PMG, puts it: “Great SEO is what is going to inform the large language models.” Translation? If AI search is the future, brands need to speak its language.
Paid Search Is Changing Course
It’s not just organic search that’s evolving, advertisers are reallocating their paid search budgets too. Some are testing social search ads on TikTok, Instagram, and Reddit, while others are diving into retail media networks, like Walmart’s growing ad business, for example.
Others are still riding the Google train but just switching seats, opting for newer ad formats like Performance Max and Demand Gen. And then there’s YouTube, which is benefiting big time. One travel brand even moved 50% of its branded search budget into YouTube ads instead.
The Future of Search
Google’s dip in market share might be a small wobble for now, but it’s a sign of something bigger: People are searching differently. AI-driven tools and social platforms are shaping a new online experience, one that’s more conversational, less robotic, and much more fluid.
The bottom line? SEO, paid search, and social can’t live out on their own anymore. Brands need to treat them like pieces of the same puzzle because search isn’t going away; it’s always evolving.
