📋Table of Contents
📈The Current State of Search: 2024 Data
According to recent data from Statcounter, Google's global search market share fell below 90% for the first time since 2015, marking a significant shift in the search landscape. The numbers show Google at:
This trend is particularly notable in the U.S. market, where Google's search share peaked at 90.37% in November but fell to 87.39% in December 2024. For more analysis on Google's market position, read our detailed report on The Shifting Search Landscape: Google's Market Share Faces AI Challenge.
"As the old saying goes, one's a dot, two's a line, and three's a trend. Clearly, we're seeing a trend here with Google losing search market share... Google has been under attack for nearly two years over the growing unhelpfulness of its search results despite dominating thanks to its illegal monopoly status with a commanding and consistent 90-92+% share for nearly a decade."- Danny Goodwin, Search Engine Land
🔍Our Clickstream Analysis Findings
Estimated Google's effective search market share: ~91%
(Calculated as 92% - 17% × 30% × 20%)
"This is a very complex question to answer. But, if you're willing to handle some messy data processes, this is the closest I'm able to get to something reasonable. Visit data comparisons come from SimilarWeb. The number of 'searches' (or prompts, in the case of LLMs) comes from Datos."- Rand Fishkin, SparkToro Research
🚀The Rise of AI Search: A Case Study
It's worth noting that this analysis only includes mobile and web browser traffic, not in-app activity, which could overcount LLMs since they are more likely than social or search platforms to have mobile app activity. The data reveals fascinating patterns in user behavior as AI-powered search tools gain adoption.
Data Limitations
- •Analysis limited to mobile and web browser traffic
- •In-app activity not included in measurements
- •Potential overcount of LLM usage due to mobile app preferences
When Searchers Choose ChatGPT vs. Google
Google's market share decline isn't a measurement artifact — it reflects a real behavioral shift. Aiso's panel of millions of anonymized AI conversations shows that users are migrating specific query types to AI assistants, while keeping others on Google. The switch is task-driven, not platform-loyal.
The pattern is clear: users turn to ChatGPT when they need synthesis, comparison, or a direct answer without reading through links. They return to Google for current news, local results, or when they want source verification. For a growing segment of users, both tools cover different legs of the same research session.
From Aiso's panel of millions of anonymized AI conversations
“ChatGPT can directly answer questions posed by the user without the user having to filter and read search results themselves. [...] Speed and Directness: ChatGPT can directly answer questions without the user having to click on search results and then browse the content of web pages.”
AI assistant response to a real user query, from Aiso's panel
For brands, this creates a two-channel optimization challenge. The same customer may discover your brand on Google and evaluate it on ChatGPT — which means a brand that is invisible in AI answers can lose deals it never knew it was in. Aiso's AI search monitoring tracks both channels and shows exactly where your brand appears across the full decision journey.
Start Tracking Your AI Search Visibility
As AI assistants capture more of the top-of-funnel, the brands that measure their presence across both Google and AI answers will have an advantage over those that don't. Aiso tracks your brand across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Claude so you always know where you stand.