After months of speculation about a decline in its dominance, Google has recorded its first market share rebound in web search, according to a new analysis from BrightEdge. The report notes that the recovery follows a period of rapid transformation driven by the rise of generative AI search tools such as ChatGPT, Perplexity AI, and Anthropic’s Claude.
BrightEdge’s latest data reveals that Google’s search market share ticked upward in the third quarter of 2025, signaling renewed user trust in traditional web search alongside AI-assisted models. The firm, which tracks billions of web pages across industries, attributes this rebound to Google’s continued integration of AI summaries, Search Generative Experience (SGE), and its enhanced alignment with user intent-driven queries.
Jim Yu, Founder and Executive Chairman of BrightEdge, said the recovery shows that search evolution is entering a hybrid phase. “Users are exploring both conversational AI tools and search engines, but Google’s push to embed generative answers directly into its results is helping it retain engagement,” he said.
The rebound comes after an extended period of market turbulence. In early 2024, Google’s share had reportedly dipped to its lowest levels in years as AI-native platforms like Perplexity and ChatGPT Search began capturing user attention through interactive query models. These platforms allowed people to ask complex questions and receive synthesized, conversational answers — a model that resonated with younger and tech-savvy demographics.
According to BrightEdge, Google’s new trajectory aligns with the broader “AI-assisted search normalization” trend, where users are shifting from novelty-driven experimentation toward reliability and accuracy. Many professionals and consumers, the report notes, have returned to using Google’s search for verification and cross-checking results initially generated by AI tools.
The platform’s renewed performance is also being linked to updates in its Search Generative Experience (SGE) rollout. The initiative, which integrates AI summaries, citations, and image-based context into Google’s main results page, has been expanding globally. These enhancements have allowed Google to retain its core advantage — indexing the open web at scale — while integrating the conversational tone users increasingly expect.
BrightEdge’s report found that industries like e-commerce, finance, and healthcare saw the most visible gains in organic visibility, reflecting improved indexing for long-tail and intent-specific searches. The firm’s research further highlighted that publishers optimizing their content for AI visibility — including schema markup and entity recognition — experienced greater ranking stability than those relying on traditional keyword strategies.
Digital marketing analysts believe the rebound highlights the emerging balance between open search ecosystems and closed AI interfaces. While AI chatbots provide synthesized insights, Google’s platform continues to drive measurable traffic for brands and publishers, keeping it central to the web economy.
“Marketers are realizing that AI chat systems and search engines will coexist, not replace one another,” said a BrightEdge spokesperson. “Google’s data-backed improvements show that the future of search will depend on how effectively generative AI integrates into information discovery, rather than on which platform wins.”
The report also emphasized the competitive context. While Google has regained traction, AI-powered browsers and platforms continue to gain share in specific segments. Perplexity AI, for instance, surpassed 100 million monthly visits in October, while OpenAI’s ChatGPT Search feature has reportedly seen strong adoption among professionals. However, these services often lack the real-time web indexing and depth that traditional search maintains.
Experts suggest that the next wave of differentiation will center on personalization and context awareness. “Google’s ability to connect search with user behavior across Maps, Gmail, and YouTube gives it an unmatched data advantage,” said technology analyst Priya Menon. “Its recent AI integrations are making that ecosystem more responsive without losing trust.”
The recovery also follows broader industry moves to adapt to AI-first consumer behavior. Marketers, SEO professionals, and content strategists have been rethinking optimization tactics, focusing less on keywords and more on structured content that AI systems can parse efficiently. According to BrightEdge, the share of traffic driven by AI-augmented results is expected to exceed 20% of total searches by the end of 2026.
At the same time, the company cautioned that the current rebound should be seen as a stabilization, not a complete reversal. With Microsoft, OpenAI, and Perplexity continuing to innovate in the agentic AI space, competition remains intense. “The search landscape is now multi-modal and conversational,” the report states. “Google’s rebound demonstrates adaptability, but the long-term winners will be those who can align AI reasoning with credible, verifiable data.”
Industry observers agree that the new era of AI-influenced search marks one of the most significant shifts since the rise of mobile optimization a decade ago. The challenge now, they say, is not whether AI will replace search, but how effectively the two will merge to serve users seeking both speed and accuracy.
As AI continues to shape how people interact with information, BrightEdge’s data suggests that Google’s reconfigured strategy may help it retain leadership in an evolving digital ecosystem. For marketers, this signals a need to embrace AI-aligned SEO models — ones that prioritize content quality, structured data, and human relevance — as the foundation of long-term visibility.