Open Google Trends on any Tuesday in January 2026 and you see the same names: YouTube, ChatGPT, Amazon, Gmail, Facebook, and the latest sports league in season. That consistency is the point. These searches are the infrastructure of daily digital life.
But the surface stability hides a major shift. Multiple industry reports show zero-click behavior rising, and click-through rates on results pages with AI summaries have fallen since mid-2024. Gartner expects traditional search traffic to decline materially by 2026. The internet is still searching, but fewer people are clicking.
The always-on habits: streaming, sports, AI
Streaming became the default tab
YouTube remains one of the most searched destinations worldwide, and many of those searches are simply people using Google as a shortcut. The search bar replaced bookmarks and direct URLs as the fastest path to content.
The same behavior shows up across streaming. People type "Stranger Things Netflix" or "what's on Apple TV tonight" instead of opening the apps. Google is the universal remote control for entertainment.
Sports went second-screen
Industry surveys show a large majority of sports fans multitask while watching, using fantasy apps, betting tools, real-time stats, or social feeds. During NFL season, "NFL" sits in daily top searches. During NBA season, "NBA" replaces it. Formula 1 spikes on race Sundays.
The pattern maps the calendar. It also reflects a shift: watching a game without a second screen now feels incomplete. As we covered in Apple's F1 deal signals the sports viewing shift, platforms are racing to make multi-angle, AI-powered data the default experience.
AI became the search proxy
ChatGPT now handles a massive daily volume of prompts, and a large share of its traffic is direct, a sign that it has become a habit rather than a discovery tool. Most usage centers on practical guidance, information retrieval, and writing.
The behavior shift is clear: instead of searching Google and clicking websites, people ask AI for answers that synthesize multiple sources without leaving the interface.
What spikes mean: playoffs, events, releases
Search spikes still matter, but they are brief. Playoff games create 24 to 72 hour surges, then collapse. Celebrity announcements follow the same arc. Major product launches spike for a day or two, then return to baseline.
The baseline is the story. Spikes are just measurement noise.
The 2026 shift: AI Overviews kill clicks
When AI summaries appear, click-through rates drop meaningfully. Pew Research Center found users clicked results less often when AI summaries appeared, and publishers have reported significant traffic losses since AI Overviews rolled out.
Zero-click rates for queries with AI Overviews are higher than for traditional results. Google keeps users in its ecosystem, serves more ads, and controls the experience. The open web loses.
Enter GEO: Generative Engine Optimization
If traffic is declining, the survival strategy is to get cited in AI answers. Generative Engine Optimization focuses on how large language models retrieve, summarize, and cite sources.
Traditional SEO emphasized ranking. GEO emphasizes citation frequency, clear entity signals, and extractable structure. Research shows most AI Overview citations still come from top-ranked domains, so SEO is still the foundation. But being cited can be more valuable than ranking alone.
- Lead with the answer: Start with a 50 to 70 word summary that nails the primary question.
- Use authoritative sources: Outbound links to trusted domains increase citation likelihood.
- Make data easy to extract: Clear headers, concise stats, and direct explanations win.
- Show your method: "How we choose" sections signal credibility.
Build for citation, not just visits
The metrics that matter are changing. Instead of CTR and sessions, marketers are tracking citation frequency, share of model, and brand visibility across AI platforms.
Content strategy changes with it. AI can summarize static explainers, so the winners will build tools, calculators, interactive experiences, and constantly updated data that cannot be fully copied in a summary.
Multi-platform distribution becomes mandatory. You cannot rely on organic search alone. Brands must show up in YouTube, newsletters, social, and wherever audiences already live.
The takeaway
Traditional SEO is not dead, but it is no longer the only path. The winners in 2027 will not just rank well. They will be the sources AI trusts enough to cite over and over.
The surface of Google Trends looks the same as it did last week. Underneath, the information ecosystem is being rewritten in real time.
