YouGov: Consumers Still Rely on Traditional Search

Is AI changing the buyer journey – or is traditional search here to stay? 

According to research from YouGov, while AI has emerged as an increasingly important tool for product discovery and finding information, traditional search engines remain the primary way Americans search for information. 

The ‘Searching for Answers: How AI is Changing Online Discovery in 2026’ report finds that more than eight out of 10 online searchers have used a traditional search engine in the past 30 days, compared to just a quarter of respondents who used AI assistants in the same timeframe. 

When it comes to researching products and looking for information, the report suggests that the biggest challenge for AI is not usefulness but trust – with consumers continuing to verify AI-generated answers using source links and official websites, among other trusted sources. 

“AI is changing how people search, but it isn't replacing search engines,” says Mark Fantino, Senior Vice President of YouGov America. “Instead, people are turning to AI where it adds the most value: quick answers, summarising information, comparing options, while still relying on traditional search engines and official sources to verify what they find.”

Rising AI search

AI is beginning to play a key role in the user journey, with YouGov finding that AI search is becoming a habit for existing users. 

Among AI searchers, more than half say that they are using AI assistants more than they did a year ago, while only 12% say that they use them less. In fact, 35% of AI searchers say that they expect to increase their AI search usage over the next year – compared to just 4% of non-users. 

These frequent AI searchers, YouGov says, are emerging as a distinct audience. The 15% of online searchers who use AI assistants at least once per day are more likely to be millennial men, who are employed full-time – with 36% of this group reporting to be millennial, 56% men and 54% in full time employment. 

More than half of this same group expect to increase AI use search over the next year – which is one of the reasons generative engine optimisation (GEO) has become such a big talking point in recent years. 

According to LinkedIn News, GEO is set to “replace” SEO this year as the way brands get discovered, with Michael King, founder of iPullRank, sharing that “the SEO industry is being pulled reluctantly into the GEO era”. 

Building trust

Despite the prevalence of GEO and wider AI search, traditional search engines remain the preferred starting point for users. According to YouGov, AI assistants are used the most when audiences are looking for direct answers, with 16% of respondents reporting that they start there for specific questions. 

This may be due to a lack of trust, with only 28% of online searchers trusting information provided by AI assistants. By comparison, search engines see substantially higher trust, with 70% of respondents reporting that they trust those results. Even frequent AI searchers do not place full trust in the technology, with most treating it as part of a broader search journey rather than a replacement for traditional search. 

“The catch is trust. AI might save you steps, but people still want receipts: source links, official sites, something to verify against,” says Mark. “That's the real insight here. The future of search isn't links vs. answers. It's whoever can deliver fast, useful answers with the evidence attached. That makes the future of search less a battle between links and answers than a race to deliver both: fast, useful answers backed by visible proof.”