Google portrays how Gemini is used in Search and confirms that AI Mode is changing the way we search in the United States

Google has published a report focused on How AI Mode is being used in the United States. It’s a useful x-ray to understand how Gemini is changing behavior within Search. The company presents this data as usage trends in the US market, not as an overview, but it serves to see where the search is moving when the user stops thinking about keywords and starts talking to the search engine.

The first thing that stands out is that Google assures that AI Mode has already surpassed 1 billion monthly active users globally and that queries in this mode have more than doubled every quarter since its launch. In parallel, the firm maintains that search with AI is not only making people search more, but doing so in a different way.

One of the most obvious changes is in the way queries are written. According to Google, the average query in AI mode triples length of a traditional search, something that fits with a much more conversational use and less conditioned by the obsession of finding the exact combination of terms. Added to this is an increase in chained searches, as follow-up queries have grown by more than 40% per month on average in the United States.

Searches become more conversational, more visual and more task-oriented

Google also highlights that AI Mode is strongly pushing multimodal interactions. More than one in six searches is no longer textand image queries are among the fastest growing categories, growing more than 40% month-on-month since launch. That is, Gemini is not only changing how a question is asked, but also the type of input that people consider natural to search for.

Among the most repeated words are (remember, this is in the United States) “information”, “identify”, “find”, “explain” and “summarize”while the most frequent query beginnings are “what”, “how”, “I”, “is” and “can”. The pattern is revealing because it shows a search engine that is increasingly less based on commands and more similar to a conversation where the user asks for context, interpretation or direct help.

Google also divides the use of AI Mode into five large blocks. These are:

Explore (explore).
Decide (decide).
Learn
Do (do).
Create (create).

In the set of most common topics appear creative generation, entertainment, education, fashion, food, health, technology, travel, productivity and personal development. These are not just classic informative searches, but a much more hybrid use between query, recommendation, planning and execution.

In Explore, the company highlights that queries related to brainstorming grow 30% faster than general AI Mode searches. For its part, in Decide, the focus is on shopping. Google says searches starting with “which” have grown 40% faster than the AI Mode average in the last six months, a sign that AI is being used to compare and choose better.

Gemini gains weight in study, planning and creativity within the search

The Learn section leaves another interesting clue about how Gemini is being used within the search engine. Google points out that AI Mode is used to create quizzes, study guides and in-depth explanationswith frequent topics such as mathematics, Spanish, history, English, biology or chemistry. Searches linked to certifications and professional development also appear.

On C, the pattern moves toward planning. Queries related to organizing tasks and plans have grown 80% faster than the AI mode average in the last six months, according to Google, and Canvas is used to prepare itineraries, exercise routines or household budgets. In other words, the search no longer stops at finding information, but rather tries to structure actions. Lastly, in Create, Google states that queries for create images have tripled since the beginning of this year and that among the results that users request the most are photos, logos, stories, code, documents, videos or summaries.

We insist that all data is from the United States. Also, they come from Google, so it’s best to read them as an interested photo of your own product. Even so, they help to understand two things. On the one hand, Gemini is pushing Search toward a model less focused on finding links and more geared toward conversing, deciding, learning, planning, and creating. And, on the other hand, Google is willing to retain the user as long as it can, even if it is at the cost of cannibalizing other people’s content.