Transformation of the Search Landscape in 2025: Google’s Competitors Climb

Google launched AI Overviews in May, which made it easier and faster than ever for users to find answers to their search queries. The search engine has continually developed its generative summaries throughout the year, and has announced several updates for early 2025, powered by Gemini 2.0.

As well as making changes to Google Lens, Google Search, and Google Maps, Gemini 2.0 will advance AI Overviews so they can “tackle more complex topics and multi-step questions, including advanced math equations, multimodal queries and coding,” Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, explains.

On top of this, Google has announced it will be increasing the quantity of core updates in 2025. It seems this is already being implemented, with the December core update dropping just one week after the previous one finished rolling out. Danny Sullivan, Google’s Public Liaison for Search, explained: “We’re always improving our systems to deliver better search results. If an update is ready, why wait?”

Recent algorithm updates have caused a lot of volatility in the SERPs, so businesses are understandably concerned about what this means for 2025. However, Sullivan further explains that “the goal is to make updates routine and continuous, so they’re no longer seen as major events.”

Why Google’s Upcoming Changes Matter To Businesses

SEO expert Dr. Pete Myers predicts Google will increase the amount of AI Overview features, which will lead to featured snippets being phased out. He says: “Brands must adapt by understanding how AI processes queries and source answers to ensure their content remains relevant.”

On a positive note, we can hope that more advanced and accurate summaries will credit a wider range of source sites, which will in turn help to improve visibility. 

With studies indicating a 70% lower click through rate on SERPs including AI Overviews, platforms are trying to reduce their reliance on Google by coming up with search alternatives:

AI Search Alternatives

Perplexity, Bing Chat, and ChatGPT Search are just a few examples of engines that have been extremely popular since their release, highlighting the increasing demand for AI-powered search. The former has recently ventured into the ecommerce space with Perplexity Shopping, its new Shopify integration that followed not long after Google’s newest AI shopping tools.

New AI chatbots have been introduced, such as Reddit Answers, which, native to Reddit, pulls information from its platform to answer user queries in a similar way to Google’s AI Overviews – a move that may put a halt to Reddit’s and Google’s budding relationship.

Social Search

People are using YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok as a search engine more frequently in an effort to seek trustworthy content and human connection. Recently, TikTok developed support for content creators with search insights tools and search-centric ad campaigns.

It’s important to note that social media search is most commonly used for local search and personalized recommendations. With the surge of artificially generated answers, social media creators offer a unique perspective that’s increasingly sought after. Because of this, brands have more social media success when they focus on authenticity and connection rather than heavy sales language.

How Will Diversification Impact Search in 2025?

When Google was the only notable search engine, the rules were clear: master Google’s algorithm and win over users. With this division of search preference, businesses only focusing on Google will be missing out on reaching their full target audience.

AI chatbots and social search make this more challenging because, unlike search engines, they only pull content published on their platforms. To keep up with the changes to search in 2025, businesses will need to maximize their online presence by creating content that can be used across different platforms that are relevant to their audience.

AI has caused a huge shift in the way search is being carried out. More platforms are striving to create all-in-one solutions that reduce the need to “just Google it”.

Don’t get me wrong, Google is still the market leader by far, but other search tools are rising in popularity. Going forward in 2025, businesses should aim to diversify their strategy to create trustworthy, expert content across multiple platforms relevant to their target audience. 

And, ecommerce features are rapidly evolving. So, for those selling products online, keep an eye out for shopping developments to Google, Perplexity, and social media platforms, and optimize your product listings accordingly to have the best chance at attracting new customers.