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For nearly two decades, asking "Google it" has been the default response to any question. But 2026 marks a historic turning point: Google's global search market share has dropped below 90%, and UK marketers need to understand what this seismic shift means for their digital strategies.
The Numbers That Changed Everything
The data tells a stark story. As of 2026, Google dominates the global search engine industry with 90.04% market share, but Google's global market share in search fell below 90% in late 2024 and has hovered in the high 89% range for most of 2025. For perspective, Google hasn't seen sustained market share below 90% since 2015.
Whilst an approximately 1% decline might seem trivial, when you're dealing with 5 billion internet users worldwide, that represents roughly 50 million people who have actively chosen not to use Google anymore. This isn't a blip - it's the beginning of a fundamental transformation in how people search for information online.
Even more striking: Google's market share has stayed almost the same over the last five years, falling slightly from 92.58% in 2022 to 90.04% in 2026, with average yearly growth dropping by 0.48%. The decline is small but consistent, and crucially, it's accelerating.
The AI Revolution Driving the Decline
The primary force behind Google's eroding market share isn't another traditional search engine - it's artificial intelligence.
ChatGPT currently has 800 million weekly active users, up from 400 million in February 2025. That's a doubling of users in less than a year. To put this in perspective, ChatGPT commands 17% of queries and poses the greatest threat to Google's market dominance that has been seen in the past 20+ years.
But ChatGPT isn't alone. The AI-powered search landscape now includes:
- Google Gemini: Surging from 5.7% to 21.5% market share over twelve months, making it the fastest-growing major AI platform
- Perplexity AI: Offering conversational, source-linked answers
- Claude: Anthropic's AI assistant gaining significant traction amongst professionals
- DeepSeek: Holding 3.7% market share, with particularly strong adoption in developing nations
- Grok: Commanding 3.4% market share, benefiting from deep integration with X (formerly Twitter)
This fragmentation matters enormously for UK marketers. For the first time in over a decade, users have credible alternatives to Google that don't just replicate the traditional search experience - they fundamentally reimagine it.
What's Different About AI Search?
AI-powered search engines operate on a completely different model than traditional search. Rather than returning a list of ten blue links, they provide direct answers synthesised from multiple sources.
This creates what industry experts call "zero-click searches" - queries where users get their answer without ever visiting a website. When you break out the data by transactional searches only, which are by far the most valuable to businesses, Google is less vulnerable to ChatGPT, but the shift is real and accelerating.
For UK businesses that have built their entire digital marketing strategy around ranking on Google's first page, this represents an existential challenge. You can rank number one and still receive dramatically less traffic than you did two years ago.
Not sure where to start? Book a free consultation with Harri Digital.
The Multi-Platform SEO Strategy UK Marketers Need Now
Here's the uncomfortable truth: the traditional SEO playbook isn't dead, but it's no longer sufficient. UK marketers must now optimise for visibility across multiple platforms simultaneously. Here's how to adapt:
1. Embrace Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO)
Answer Engine Optimisation is the practice of structuring your content so AI platforms can easily extract and cite your information in their responses.
Practical AEO tactics for 2026:
Structure content with clear, question-based headings that AI can easily identify and parse. Provide concise, direct answers in the first 50-100 words of each section. Use tables, bullet points, and FAQ formats that AI can easily parse and extract. Implement comprehensive Schema markup including FAQ, HowTo, and Product schemas. Focus relentlessly on E-E-A-T principles: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness.
Google is rewarding smaller blogs written by people with real lived experience over faceless corporate blogs, especially following the June 2025 Core Update. This is Google's way of combating AI-generated content flooding search results.
2. Optimise for Conversational Search
Voice search and conversational queries are exploding. Searches with natural language patterns are dominating how people interact with AI tools.
UK marketers need to target long-tail, question-based keywords that mirror natural speech, create content that answers specific questions your audience asks, optimise for local voice searches (especially relevant for UK businesses targeting regional markets), and structure content in a way that voice assistants can easily extract and deliver.
3. Build Authority Across Multiple Platforms
With search fragmenting across Google, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and others, your brand needs visibility everywhere your potential customers might be looking.
Key platforms to prioritise:
Google remains essential - still the dominant player, but you must optimise for both traditional rankings AND AI Overviews. In 2026, AI Overviews will likely appear in 50-60% of SERPs, up from 40% in late 2025.
ChatGPT requires focus on creating content that's clear, authoritative, and properly cited.
Gemini emphasises integration with Google's ecosystem and multimodal content.
Perplexity prioritises recent, factual content with clear sourcing.
Social platforms like Reddit, LinkedIn, and TikTok are increasingly showing up in AI-generated responses.
4. Implement Robust Technical SEO Foundations
The good news is that strong technical SEO still matters enormously. AI platforms rely on many of the same signals that traditional search engines use.
Non-negotiable technical requirements:
Fast page loading speeds - Core Web Vitals remain crucial for both Google and AI platforms. Mobile-first design is absolutely essential. Comprehensive structured data implementation to help AI understand your content.
Clean site architecture with logical internal linking so both humans and AI can navigate easily. Regular content updates - AI platforms favour fresh, current information with updated timestamps.
5. Create Multi-Format Content
Different AI platforms prefer different content formats. To maximise visibility, create content in multiple formats:
Written guides and articles for traditional search and AI citations. YouTube is becoming one of the most powerful tools for your website's SEO - embedding a relevant YouTube video you created is like adding a turbocharger to your content.
Infographics and data visualisations that are highly shareable and often cited. Podcasts with growing importance for voice-based discovery. Interactive tools and calculators which are excellent for building authority and backlinks.
6. Track New Metrics
Traditional SEO metrics like rankings and click-through rates are no longer sufficient. You need to track:
Brand mentions in AI responses - how often does your brand appear in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, or AI Overviews?
Citation frequency - when AI tools cite sources, are you included?
Share of voice across platforms - what percentage of AI-generated answers in your industry mention your brand?
Zero-click visibility - are you appearing in featured snippets and AI summaries?
Branded search volume - growing your branded search volume is a powerful lever you can pull to get high-converting traffic and even boost your rankings for generic terms.
AI-driven answers dominate informational queries, and visibility increasingly depends on being trusted enough to be referenced, not just ranked.
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The UK-Specific Context
For UK marketers, several factors make this transition particularly crucial:
Digital market maturity - the UK has one of the most sophisticated digital marketing ecosystems in the world. Early adopters here will set global trends. Privacy consciousness - UK consumers are increasingly privacy-aware, making privacy-first search engines more attractive. Local search importance - with Google's market share declining, local and regional searches present opportunities for businesses who optimise for alternative platforms. Competitive pressure - UK markets are highly competitive, and those who adapt to multi-platform search now will capture disproportionate market share.
What Not to Do
As you adapt your strategy, avoid these critical mistakes:
š« Don't abandon traditional SEO - Google still commands 90% of global search and the vast majority of UK searches. You can't afford to stop optimising for it.
š« Don't chase every new platform - focus on where your specific audience searches. 60% of businesses hadn't seen any impact to their website traffic as a result of AI-assisted search yet, so right-size your investment to match real opportunity.
š« Don't sacrifice quality for AI optimisation - thin, duplicative, or purely AI-written pages are increasingly ignored. Don't ignore measurement - if you can't track it, you can't improve it.
š« Don't panic about hype cycles - GEO will likely see hype cycles and reactionary predictions, but the reality is that GEO is promising and will grow, whilst SEO won't go to zero.
The Three-Month Action Plan for UK Marketers
Ready to adapt? Here's a practical roadmap:
Month 1: Audit and Research
Conduct an AI visibility audit by searching for your key topics in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude. Identify where your competitors appear in AI responses. Analyse your current Schema markup implementation. Review your content for AI-friendly formatting. Measure your current branded search volume as a baseline.
Month 2: Implement Core Changes
Add comprehensive Schema markup to key pages. Restructure top-performing content with clear Q&A formats and direct answers. Create FAQ pages targeting conversational queries. Begin tracking AI mentions and citations. Build your brand presence across platforms - EEAT is just your brand, and what's weighed more heavily is what others say about you.
Month 3: Scale and Optimise
Expand Schema implementation across your entire site. Create content specifically optimised for AI platforms with clear headings and factual support. Build authority through digital PR and quality backlinks. Refresh statistics, add new sections, update screenshots - a 2019 article updated with 2026 data can outperform a brand new piece. Test and refine based on AI visibility metrics.
Looking Ahead: The Future of Search in the UK
The decline in Google's market share isn't about Google failing - it's about search evolving. Google parent company Alphabet's market capitalisation reached $4 trillion Monday, driven by its recent successes in artificial intelligence. Google isn't dying - it's adapting, and so must we.
Users now expect instant, conversational answers rather than a list of links to explore. For UK marketers, this evolution presents both challenge and opportunity. Those who cling exclusively to traditional SEO will find themselves increasingly invisible. But those who embrace multi-platform optimisation, Answer Engine Optimisation, and conversational search will capture attention from the growing segment of users who've moved beyond Google-only searching.
Search is no longer about competing for ten blue links - it is about earning inclusion in answers, summaries, and decision-making moments.
The search landscape will continue fragmenting. New AI platforms will emerge. User behaviours will keep evolving. The marketers who thrive won't be those with the perfect strategy for today - they'll be those with the adaptability to keep evolving alongside their audience.
Key Takeaways for UK Digital Marketers
Google's market share dropped to 90.04% globally in 2026, the first sustained decline below 90% since 2015. ChatGPT's 800 million weekly users (up from 400 million in February 2025) represent a fundamental shift in search behaviour. Google Gemini surged to 21.5% market share, making it ChatGPT's most formidable challenger.
Traditional SEO remains important but must be supplemented with Answer Engine Optimisation. Multi-platform visibility is now essential: optimise for Google, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and emerging platforms. Structure content for AI extractability with Schema markup, Q&A formats, clear answers, and updated timestamps.
Track new metrics including AI mentions, citations, zero-click visibility, and branded search volume. Brand authority and E-E-A-T are more critical than ever - focus on what others say about you, not just what you say about yourself. AI Overviews will appear in 50-60% of SERPs by the end of 2026.
The era of Google-only SEO is over. Welcome to the age of multi-platform search optimisation. UK marketers who recognise this shift today will be the ones dominating visibility tomorrow.
Need help adapting your SEO strategy for the AI search era? At Harri Digital, we're helping UK businesses navigate the transition from traditional to multi-platform search optimisation. Get in touch to learn how we can future-proof your digital marketing strategy for 2026 and beyond.
