How AI Is Reshaping the Internet

Google is reshaping its search engine to better handle the longer, more complex questions people now ask online, as artificial intelligence changes how users search, shop and interact across the internet. Robby Stein, Google’s vice president of product for Search, said people increasingly ask questions that do not have a simple answer anywhere on the web. In response, Google is adding features that can generate custom visuals, interactive graphics and even mini-apps directly on the search results page by combining information from multiple web sources.

The company says this is one of the biggest upgrades to Search in 25 years. The new search box expands to fit longer prompts and makes it easier to include photos, files and Chrome tabs. Google says the changes are meant to reduce the number of steps users need to complete a search and make it easier to move between image-based queries, follow-up questions and AI Mode, its conversational search experience.

Google says visual and multimodal searches are rising quickly. Queries that begin with a photo or a screen circle are growing 60% year over year, according to Stein. AI Mode searches have more than doubled each quarter since launching about a year ago, and those queries are about three times longer than standard Google searches. At the same time, SEO data from Semrush suggests some users are adopting more conversational search habits, with longer queries and question-style searches increasing while short keyword searches decline. Still, the median Google query remains just three words, showing that traditional search remains dominant.

Experts say people are using a mix of Google and AI tools like ChatGPT, depending on the task. Google is often used for direct questions and transactions, while ChatGPT is more often used for summarizing information, comparing options and drafting content. Semrush found that more than 20% of ChatGPT referral traffic goes to Google, highlighting how closely the two platforms are now linked in everyday browsing behavior.

AI is also changing social media. AI-generated influencers such as Aitana Lopez, Lil’ Miquela, Lu do Magalu and Granny Spills are gaining attention, with brands increasingly spending on creator content powered by generative AI. These synthetic personalities are attractive to marketers because they can be cheaper than human influencers and can be tailored to specific campaigns. Meta and Google are also expanding their AI offerings across social apps, with new models and avatar-generation tools aimed at making AI more central to online identity and communication.

Shopping is another major area of change. Adobe data shows traffic to US retail sites from AI services rose sharply in early 2026, while Google, Amazon, Meta and OpenAI are all rolling out new AI shopping tools. Google introduced a universal shopping cart that lets users add products from multiple retailers, while Amazon has integrated its Rufus assistant into shopping features inside Alexa for Shopping.

Despite these shifts, Google says human-made websites still matter, and the company continues to send billions of clicks to sites every day. But analysts say search behavior is clearly evolving, and businesses will need to adapt as AI increasingly shapes how people discover information, products and services online.