The news: GenAI use is growing, with average monthly web visits to genAI platforms rising 70% YoY to 9.5 billion between June 2025 and May 2026, per Similarweb’s “2026 Generative AI Landscape” report. However, it’s also fragmenting.

• ChatGPT is losing market share to rivals like Gemini and Claude, but no clear winner has come out to unseat traditional search.
• Users ages 18 to 34 now represent 50% of genAI users, down from 61% two years ago, as usage evens out among users under and over 35, per Similarweb.

The technology also holds a strong role in discovery but is a supplemental resource for traditional search—not a replacement. There’s still a 95% overlap between ChatGPT and Google users that’s remained unchanged since September 2025.

Various AI tools are also being used for different purposes, which could help marketers target specific audiences: ChatGPT draws in users that are likely accessing retail and banking sites, Claude overindexes with education- and employment-site users, and Gemini skews toward technology- and gaming-focused audiences.

What it means: Our data backs up Similarweb’s findings and shows overlap between AI tools and search is consistent even with younger users who frequently access AI tools—83.7% of US Gen Zers who use AI monthly also use search engines at least once per day, according to an EMARKETER survey.

Consumers’ comfort with switching between traditional search engines and multiple AI assistants makes search behavior more diversified but complicates marketers’ metrics on path to purchase. Understanding how AI influences research and consideration—even when conversions happen elsewhere—is becoming more important for measuring marketing performance.

Recommendations for brands: Optimize brand presence across both search engines and AI assistants as discovery becomes less centralized.

• Keep up traditional SEO efforts to surface high in Google Search rankings.
• Publish content frequently or refresh existing content often to maintain authority and relevance in both AI and traditional search results.
• Audit multiple AI assistants to evaluate visibility across platforms, considering users’ fragmented behavior.