Why business expectations for marketing agencies are changing
Picture this: You’re a small-batch candle maker, and your ‘Lavender Dreams’ candle is beautiful, but it’s stuck on page three of Google, even with perfect SEO. Then, on a whim, you ask ChatGPT to rewrite your product description for a voice search, something like, ‘Hey, find me a stress-relief lavender candle.’ A week later, your voice-driven orders jumped 15%. This isn’t just a lucky break; it’s a clear signal: how we find things online is undergoing a fundamental change.
In June 2025, Google’s global search share slipped to 89.54%, with the first drop below 90% in October 2024.
This scenario, although hypothetical, underscores a real, sweeping shift: billions of queries are escaping Google and moving into new, conversational gateways.
Photo by Benjamin Dada on Unsplash
The Cracks in Google’s Armor
For decades, Google’s dominance felt absolute. But as of June 2025, its global search share has dipped to 89.54%, a significant slide, marking its first drop below 90% since October 2024.
This isn’t just a statistic; it represents 140 million daily queries shifting away from Google’s traditional search bar. That’s a massive, unfolding opportunity for brands willing to adapt.
The search giant’s fortress isn’t just cracking; it’s creating a vacuum that new, conversational channels are rapidly filling.
Talking about this seismic shift, Scott Cohen, CEO, InboxArmy, notes, “Brands that treat AI assistants like another search silo risk being left out of the conversation. You need to script your product narrative as if you’re speaking directly to your customer, because that’s exactly what’s happening.”
Beyond Keywords: The Rise of Conversational Search
Rather than typing keywords, users now converse with AI. ChatGPT and its peers have emerged as powerful search platforms:
- 72% of consumers plan to use generative AI shopping assistants in the future.
- 79% of current AI-shopping users say these tools outperform traditional search engines.
- ChatGPT processes over 1 billion queries per day.
By transforming product pages into conversational scripts, brands can insert themselves directly into purchase-intent dialogues, bypassing the old keyword battleground entirely.
Your Voice is the New Search Bar
The same natural language shift is happening in living rooms and on handheld devices alike. Voice assistants have graduated from novelty to necessity:
- 20.5% of global Internet users employ voice search across 8.4 billion devices.
- 27% of mobile searches happen via voice commands
- 153.5 million Americans used a voice assistant in early 2025
Capturing these spoken queries requires natural-language Q&A pages and FAQ schema tuned for local, hands-free experiences.
Scroll, Tap, Buy: How Social Media Became a Search Engine
For many, especially Gen Z, search happens within social feeds, not search bars. Social platforms now double as search engines for younger audiences:
- 74% of Gen Z turn to TikTok for information; 51% prefer it over Google for certain queries.
- U.S. social commerce is projected to reach $85.6 billion in 2025 and surpass $100 billion by 2026.
Shoppable videos, in-feed product tags and strategic hashtags have become the new SEO, guiding scroll-driven discovery directly to in-app checkout.
Busting Common Misconceptions
Old beliefs no longer hold true:
Myth: “Google’s dominance is unbreakable.”
Reality: Its share dipped below 90% for the first time in a decade.
Myth: “AI chat is too error-prone for buying decisions.”
Reality: 79% of AI-shopping users say chat assistants outperform search engines for purchasing queries.
Myth: “Social media isn’t a serious search place.”
Reality: Social commerce is on track to reach $100 billion+ in U.S. sales by 2026.
The Next Frontier: AR-Powered Visual Search
Augmented-reality overlays are poised to become the newest search bar, quite literally:
- 80% of retailers will deploy AR experiences by 2025.
- By 2027, over 50% of U.S. consumers are expected to use AR for shopping purposes.
- 61% of shoppers say they’d buy more if they could “try before they buy” via AR overlays.
This visual search frontier not only dazzles consumers but also reduces returns by helping buyers visualize products in their own environments.
Conclusion
The era of Google as the sole gateway to online discovery is rapidly fading. What’s emerging is a dynamic, multi-modal ecosystem, from AI-powered conversations and voice assistants to vibrant social feeds and immersive AR experiences.
The ‘Lavender Dreams’ story isn’t just a charming anecdote; it’s a wake-up call. Brands that pivot to craft prompt-friendly dialogues, optimize for voice, create shoppable social content, and embrace AR will be the ones that capture the next wave of customers.
It’s no longer about dominating a single search bar; it’s about being present and discoverable wherever and however consumers choose to ask their questions.
Sources
Search Engine Market Share Worldwide | Statcounter Global Stats
2024 Consumer Trends Report
ChatGPT Statistics 2025 – DAU & MAU Data [Worldwide]
68 Voice Search Statistics 2025 (Usage Data & Trends)
TikTok gains favor among Gen Z over Google for searches
TikTok is driving US social commerce growth
2025 Augmented Reality in Retail & E-Commerce Research Report
Augmented Reality Outlook: 2025-2030 Trends & Impact
AR in Retail: Stats, Benefits & Examples for 2025 | REYDAR