Anja-Sara Lahady, a lawyer and legal technology consultant based in Montreal, has shifted her online research habits from traditional search engines like Google to large language models (LLMs) such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT. She often uses these models to assist with everyday queries, such as decorating ideas or meal suggestions, noting their ability to reduce time spent on administrative tasks. Lahady reports that her use of LLMs for low-risk professional tasks, such as drafting emails and coding, has surpassed her reliance on Google in the past year.
Lahady’s experience reflects a broader trend, with an increasing number of users opting for LLMs for various everyday questions and recommendations. ChatGPT now boasts over 800 million weekly active users, a rise from 400 million in early 2025, according to research from Demandsage. Meanwhile, traditional search engines continue to dominate; however, LLMs are gaining traction, capturing 5.99% of desktop search traffic in July, which is double the percentage from the previous year.
According to Professor Feng Li from Bayes Business School, LLMs can alleviate “cognitive load,” providing synthesized information rather than overwhelming users with multiple links. Despite their advantages, he cautions that the outputs still need verification due to potential inaccuracies.
Google maintains that its overall search queries are growing, even as it acknowledges the rising influence of AI tools that provide conversational queries and summaries. In antitrust proceedings, Google faced scrutiny over a decline in search volumes on Apple devices, though it disputes that LLMs are significantly impacting its search business.
As the adoption of LLMs increases, companies are adapting their marketing strategies to align with the sources these models prioritize. Notably, LLMs tend to favor official sites and established media over social media. There is emerging evidence that consumers who engage with LLMs to search for products are more inclined to make purchases.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1dx9qy1eeno?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss