Google search has 16.4 billion searches per day worldwide with people searching for everything from pencils to trips to the moon. Because of this vast audience, Google Ads have long been a staple in marketing, for businesses that want to come up closer to the top of searches. They are a great place to reach those who are searching for your product or service but, depending on your keywords, can also be very expensive.
Search ads are available on other search engines, such as Bing and Yahoo, but Google has the most users by far, at least for now. Search ads’ effectiveness is based on the mass amount of people using Google so currently, there are plenty of users to show the ads to. But not everyone is remaining faithful.
A Change is Quickly Coming
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is quickly being adapted into people’s lives, both in business and in personal life. AI is allowing people to get more information, faster. Using an AI Agent, the AI program you use for searches like Gemini, Perplexity, or ChatGPT, is surging. The benefit people are seeing in using an AI Agent is that it provides analysis instead of just a list of options.
For example, if someone wants to hire a landscaping company that installs trees/plants/flowers AND hardscapes (outdoor fireplaces/kitchens, etc.) here are 2 ways to get that information:
1. Google “landscaping companies near me” – once you get the list of results, you have to:
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A. Open each separate link, THEN
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B. Surf each company’s website for the info you need THEN
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C. Write down the bits of info about each company THEN
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D. Hand-create a chart to compare each company
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2. Open your ChatGPT (or other AI Agent), and type “find the top 10 best-rated landscaping companies who are within 20 miles of my house that provide both trees/shrubs/flowers AND hardscapes such as outdoor fireplaces/kitchens, etc. Put the findings into a spreadsheet showing the company name, address, phone, website, average customer reviews, what they offer for trees/shrubs/flowers, what they offer for hardscapes and approximate pricing. Put in order of best reviews.”
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A. Waiting about 60 to 90 seconds after hitting enter, you get all the info you need organized in a spreadsheet
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Google Search – How Many are Being Unfaithful?
This illustrates the reason people are leaving Google search and moving to an AI Agent. The marketing industry is predicting that, in 2026, Google will lose 25% of its search users and continue to drop as everyone jumps into the AI Agent mode. You may be experiencing this shift yourself – I rarely Google anything anymore and instead use Perplexity because it does all the legwork for me in searches and produces a comprehensive, well-researched, well-organized document with the results.
Interested in marketing that harnesses the power of AI? Reach out to Tami@SCmarketinginc.com for case studies that show how AI-based content, graphics, and audience building can deliver social media campaigns with amazingly low costs and exceptionally high engagement.
