Ironically, the No. 1 trending search term of 2025 released by the "search king" Google was its own artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot "Gemini." The fact that an AI service took the spot long held by major sports events or political issues is a symbolic sign that the center of global search interest has shifted to AI this year.
According to Google's "Year in Search" report, Gemini ranked No. 1 in annual search growth, and other Generative AI services such as DeepSeek also filled the top tier. Beyond the performance of a single service, the assessment is that a clear trend has emerged of users worldwide shifting their search behavior toward AI-based Q&A.
At the same time, signs of change are appearing in the portal-centered search ecosystem. As Generative AI search use expands, industry analysis says cracks are forming in the long-held dominance of traditional search engines such as Google and Naver.
The situation in Korea is similar. In Google Korea's released "Year in Search," the No. 1 in technology was "ChatGPT," followed by Gemini, Zetta (Zeta), and Perplexity—AI-based search and Q&A services that swept the upper ranks. While K-content and political issues filled other categories, in technology, AI effectively monopolized search interest. The industry says, "Now, the act of 'searching' has become almost synonymous with 'asking AI.'"
This mood is clearly reflected in numeric shifts in the actual search market. According to market researcher StatCounter, Google's search market share, which had stayed in the 90% range for more than a decade, fell into the 87–89% range between late 2024 and 2025. The change is not large, but it is significant as the first visible downturn for Google, the "absolute powerhouse" of search. Marketing analytics firm PageTraffic estimated Google's share of the global information-seeking market this year at 81.6% and ChatGPT at about 9%. It is virtually the first time a single AI service has come close to 10% of search market demand.
By age and use case, the shift is even clearer. Users 25–44 still rely heavily on Google for simple information like weather and maps, but in creation, work, and knowledge exploration, AI usage rose to 64%, surpassing portal search. The increase in complex, narrative-style questions already symbolizes that the center of natural-language search has shifted to AI.
Traffic growth for AI-based search services was even steeper. According to data analytics firm Similarweb, traffic for Generative AI services increased 165 times year over year, while organic search referrals to the top 10 traditional search engines fell by –0.51%. Perplexity, which fronts a "conversational search engine," saw its monthly visits surge from 52 million in Mar. 2024 to 153 million in May this year, nearly tripling. The data shows that user search behavior is shifting from a "link-exploration" model to a "direct-answer" model.
The change the industry is watching most closely is the "zero-click" phenomenon. Users leave after checking only the summary information provided by AI without moving from the search results page to the original site. Gartner projects that with the introduction of generative search, incoming traffic to existing websites will fall 25–50% by 2026. Analysis also shows that when Google's "AI Overview" feature is activated, website click-through rates drop an average of 34.5%, heightening concerns in the content and media industries.
AI is also being rapidly absorbed into ecosystems outside search services. In Apple's released "App Store Awards," apps with built-in AI features took home many honors, including the visual schedule organizer "Tiimo," the auto video-editing "Detail," and "Be My Eyes," which provides descriptive assistance for people with visual impairments. It is a case showing that AI is being incorporated as a default function of the smartphone and PC ecosystems.
The industry says that as of this year, the search market has entered a transition period from a portal-centered "link-exploration model" to a "response model" in which AI provides direct answers. The shift in the center of the search market has already begun, and the existing search and media industry structure centered on traffic and advertising is expected to come under pressure to reorganize.