Written by Hans Ho, search solutions expert with 11 years of experience, having consulted for brands like Pearson, Microsoft, Adidas & Dominos Pizza.
TL;DR
AI isn’t replacing traditional search—it’s reshaping it. AI excels at speed and creation, delivering quick answers and drafts, while search provides depth, transparency, and trust through exploration and verification. Used together, they enable faster insights with greater accuracy. The real challenge for marketers is the rise of zero-click searches—nearly 60% of Google queries now end without a click—making visibility within AI Overviews and adaptation to emerging ad formats more critical than ever.
AI is changing how we research for information. From Google to Bing, every major search engine is integrating AI features that summarize content, answer questions, and even generate text. The question being asked now is: If AI can give us the “perfect” answer instantly, do we still need traditional search engines?
The reality: AI and search shouldn’t be seen as rivals. They actually complement each other, and have their own unique strengths.
Use AI for summarizing & creating
AI excels at processing vast amounts of information and presenting it in a clear, concise way. It’s like an ultra-efficient personal assistant:
- Summarizing information
Need a quick primer on quantum computing? AI can condense complex topics into a few digestible sentences.
- Creating content
Drafting an event invitation or email? AI can generate multiple versions within seconds.
Strength: Immediacy and efficiency.
AI delivers fast, direct answers—ideal when speed matters more than depth.
Use Search to explore and verify
Traditional search, however, provides something AI can’t: breadth, transparency, and discovery.
- Breadth and discovery
A search for best Italian restaurants in Rome surfaces blog posts, forums, TripAdvisor rankings, and YouTube vlogs. This variety leads to richer insights than a single AI answer.
- Verification and trust
Search provides links to authors, publishers, and institutions. Users can fact-check, compare perspectives, and validate credibility—critical when evaluating health advice, finance, or breaking news.
Strength: Transparency and reliability.
Search empowers users to verify information themselves.
Get better results using AI and Search together
The most effective approach isn’t to choose one over the other, but to combine AI and search to work faster while ensuring accuracy and depth:
- Start with AI → Get quick answers, concise summaries, or creative drafts to speed up your workflow.
- Validate with search → Fact-check, compare multiple perspectives, and build confidence in the reliability of your insights.
Example: Ask AI for a summary of how climate change impacts agriculture in Taiwan. Then, use Google Scholar to validate the findings with academic papers, ensuring both speed and credibility.
How advertisers should deal with growing "zero-click" searches
The real disruption isn’t AI competitors—it’s how search engines themselves are changing.
Zero-click searches are growing
In 2024, nearly 60% of Google searches ended without a click【source】. Features like AI Overviews, Featured Snippets, and Knowledge Panels deliver answers directly on the results page.
Impact on advertisers
- Reduced visibility and clicks: Organic and paid results are pushed further down.
- Shift from traffic to visibility: Success is about being cited as an authoritative source in AI Overviews.
- New ad formats: Google is testing AI-integrated ads. Advertisers need to adopt AI-powered tools like Performance Max to remain competitive.
Key takeaway: The competition for attention now happens on the search results page itself.
Conclusion
AI won’t replace search—it’s transforming it.
- AI is the fast assistant: immediate, efficient, and creative.
- Search is the trusted guide: transparent, exploratory, and verifiable.
For advertisers and marketers, the challenge is clear: adapt strategies to the zero-click reality, ensure visibility within AI Overviews, and embrace evolving ad formats. The future isn’t a zero-sum game—it’s a collaborative model where both AI and search continue to evolve.
Quick Facts
FAQ about Search and AI in 2025
1. Will AI completely replace traditional search engines?
No. AI and search serve different purposes. AI gives fast answers; search provides depth and verification.
2. How should advertisers respond to zero-click searches?
Focus on visibility. Ensure your content is authoritative enough to be cited in AI Overviews, not just clicked.
3. Are AI Overviews reliable sources of information?
They’re improving, but not foolproof. Studies show AI tools can cite incorrect sources up to 60% of the time, which underscores the role of search for fact-checking.