Traditional search still dominates, but AI is making gains in the U.S. and Europe
AI search is gaining ground, especially in Europe, but traditional search remains the primary method for finding information online.
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Traditional search continues to dominate user activity, according to a new report, with AI and ecommerce search tools running behind.
The “State of Search Q2 2025: Behaviors, Trends, and Clicks Across the US & Europe” (registration required) from Datos and SparkToro found activity in AI tools among U.S. users shows a consistent rise in event share, growing from 0.24% in April 2024 to 0.64% by April 2025. While the numbers remain relatively small, the growth rate is significant, nearly tripling in share over the year.
Ecommerce event share has remained relatively stable overall, with fluctuations month-to-month, peaking at 4.07% in July 2024 and dipping to 2.48% in February 2025.
The report also found traditional search similarly dominates in Europe, but AI tools show more aggressive growth than in the U.S., rising from 0.26% in April 2024 to 0.78% by April 2025. ]
The steeper European growth curve is consistent with the Q1 report from Datos, which showed the E.U. and U.K. outpacing the US in AI adoption by Q1’s end.
Ecommerce remains stable in Europe, hovering between 1.75% and 2.23% over the past year, with a slight upward tilt in Q2 2025.
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(Datos and Third Door Media, the publisher of MarTech, are both owned by Semrush.)
MarTech is owned by Semrush. We remain committed to providing high-quality coverage of marketing topics. Unless otherwise noted, this page’s content was written by either an employee or a paid contractor of Semrush Inc.
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