Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming how people search for and interact with information. Once niche, tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude are now part of everyday life, used for everything from creative brainstorming to quick research.
Yet despite their growing popularity, concerns about misinformation, bias, and sourcing persist, particularly in fields such as academia, finance, and law.
To understand these shifting dynamics, we surveyed 1,025 internet users in the US and UK. The results reveal changing behaviors, evolving trust levels, and a growing belief that AI could overtake traditional search engines within the next five years.
When asked which platforms they use to search for information, an overwhelming majority of respondents (86%) selected Google, cementing its position as the go-to search tool. ChatGPT followed closely, with nearly 70% indicating they use the AI chatbot for finding information, reflecting its rapid adoption as an alternative or complement to traditional search engines.
Social media platforms such as Reddit, TikTok, X, and Facebook also played a notable role, with 41.7% of respondents turning to these channels for information. In contrast, other AI and search tools like Bing (11.9%), Claude (7.4%), and Perplexity (6.1%) saw more modest usage.
Despite the rise of AI tools, 68.3% of users still default to traditional search engines like Google when seeking quick answers.
This preference holds across age groups, with usage ranging from 61.42% among Millennials to 77.08% among Boomers. The enduring trust and familiarity of traditional search continue to make Google the go-to source for quick lookups.
In the past three months, 81% of respondents reported using AI-powered search tools such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Claude.
Regular adoption is most prominent among professionals in Technology/Software (86%), Marketing/Advertising (81%), and Academia/Research (81%), placing these sectors at the forefront of AI search tool usage. On the other end of the spectrum, Retirees and Journalists reported the lowest adoption, with only about 37% using these tools regularly.
Generational differences are also evident. Gen Z (18–24) and Millennials (25–38) lead in frequent usage, at 63.6% and 68.5% respectively, with very few in these groups having never tried AI tools. In comparison, just 46.2% of Boomers report frequent use, and 12.3% say they have never used them at all, underscoring a clear generational divide in AI engagement.
For most users, AI isn’t replacing traditional search; it’s enhancing it. 56.1% view AI tools as a supplement to search engines like Google, while only 6.1% consider them a full replacement.
When it comes to how people use AI, it’s largely for exploratory (58.3%) and task-oriented queries (58%), such as idea generation, summarizing content, or planning. Creative tasks (44.7%) and factual questions (38.1%) follow closely, reinforcing that AI is valued for both productivity and ideation.
On average, respondents reported that 31.3% of their searches are AI-generated results, showing that while it may not be the default yet, it's becoming an essential part of the search mix.
Users Are Warming Up to AI, Especially for Research and Experience
Interestingly, user satisfaction is actually increasing with AI adoption. Almost half (45.5%) say that AI tools provide a superior experience to Google in terms of speed and clarity, with 15.8% saying it is “much better” and 29.7% saying it is slightly better. This implies that AI might now become the interface of choice in some categories of tasks, such as where summarization or brainstorming is involved.
AI is also playing a growing role in purchase behavior. Nearly 60% of respondents use AI tools to research products or services before buying. This indicates that AI isn’t just changing how people search; it’s influencing how they spend.
AI tools are fueling the rise of zero-click search behavior, where users find what they need without leaving the platform. 52% of users say they get answers directly from AI summaries without clicking on links, with Millennials and Gen Z having the highest percentages at 60% and 55% respectively.
While 49% still click links when they care deeply about a topic, only 21% routinely verify information by clicking through.
Such an increasing use of AI summaries is changing the way individuals engage with the websites themselves. Around 30% of the users report regularly or always staying with the AI Overview provided by Google without any further scrolling. As a result, 66% of users have noticed a decline in the frequency with which they visit websites directly. It is clear that AI tools are not only transforming the way we search but the entire click ecosystem.
This behavioral change is mainly driven by younger users: Gen Z and Millennials declare an even more dramatic decrease in visits to websites, which can be explained by the higher trust and familiarity with AI interfaces. The traditional approach to opening as many tabs as possible or reading the articles in their entirety is slowly being phased out. Instead, people are favoring a more focused and conversational approach with summarized information, especially when it comes to quick or surface-level searches.
43.3% of users still trust traditional search engines more, while only 20.5% say they trust AI tools more. A significant portion (36.2%) trusts both equally, indicating that for many, AI is not replacing traditional search, but rather complementing it. This balanced perspective is most prominent among Gen X (44.36%) and Boomers (41.11%), showing a generational shift toward blended trust models.
When it comes to perceived accuracy, Google remains the most trusted source, with 69.6% of users naming it their go-to for reliable information. AI tools are still catching up, with ChatGPT being trusted most by merely 24.1% of respondents.
Why People Still Double-Check AI Responses
61.6% of users report experiencing misinformation or biased responses, strengthening the case for skepticism. Additionally, nearly one-third (32.8%) say they don’t trust AI-generated summaries to provide accurate and complete information compared to visiting original source websites.
This aligns with the 43.3% who still place greater trust in traditional search engines, suggesting that while AI tools offer convenience, many users still crave source-level validation and transparency.
The top concern is clear:
Ultimately, users say their trust in AI tools depends on whether these platforms can clearly explain how answers are generated, show transparent and verifiable sources, and consistently provide accurate, fact-checked information.
58.6% of respondents consider clickable sources or references in AI-generated answers to be important.
The general consensus is that information provided by AI needs to have a proper citation to be fully trusted, with 68.3% of participants deeming sources as important, especially in high-stakes areas such as academia (93.5%) and finance (68.9%).
When asked what would increase their confidence in AI-generated search results, users pointed to several key factors:
These insights reinforce a clear message: trust in AI is earned through clarity, consistency, and credible sourcing, not just speed or convenience.
Over one-third of respondents (33.6%) said they are open to replacing traditional search engines with AI tools within the next year. Boomers showed the highest openness at 38.9%, followed by Gen X at 35.6%. Millennials (30.7%) and Gen Z (29.1%) were less likely to consider making the switch, suggesting that younger users, despite their high current usage of AI tools, may still prefer to keep traditional search engines in their mix.
This is a small but important change in user attitude, as AI tools become more powerful and more ingrained in daily workflows. AI is not a trend exclusively targeting early adopters or tech enthusiasts, but one that spans across generations and fields. Its capabilities to generate fast and personalized responses are exactly what we need.
AI as a replacement for traditional search engines may not be a lost hope. More than half respondents (50.5%) are positive that this transition is possible in five years, with Gen X as the largest group (52.53%).
The most optimistic are creative (58.3%) and technology and software (50.38%), where AI is already performing well in idea, content, and solution generation.
While current usage patterns may still reflect a hybrid approach, users could see a future where AI is potentially the standard in search. In the next few years, Google is likely to remain dominant in terms of speed and reliability, especially among the older generations and in highly-trustworthy fields like academia and finance.
The next chapter of search is likely to be user-centric, where users make strategic decisions about which tool to use given the task at hand and the balance of speed, trust, and depth.
This study is based on a survey of 1,025 internet users, conducted in July 2025 via Prolific, a platform commonly used for academic and consumer research. The sample included participants from four distinct age groups to ensure generational insights: 18–24 (Gen Z), 25–38 (Millennials), 39–54 (Gen X), and 55–64 (Boomers). Quotas were applied to maintain balanced representation across age groups.
Participants responded to a series of multiple-choice and scale-based questions designed to assess their search behavior, trust in traditional vs. AI-powered tools, and frequency of use of AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude. The goal of the survey was to gain a deeper understanding of current user perceptions, preferences, and trust dynamics surrounding AI-generated search results in comparison to conventional search engines.
