Googles Year in Search 2025: The most interesting part is how we searched
Google has released its annual Year in Search report for 2025, revealing significant shifts in the way users are interacting with the search engine. While the trending topics may not come as a surprise, they highlight a notable evolution in online behavior, particularly due to the integration of advanced AI technologies like Google’s Gemini. This year’s trending searches included high-profile topics such as the “assassination of Charlie Kirk,” the “election of Pope Leo XIV,” and curiosity surrounding Google’s own AI assistant, Gemini. Interestingly, despite Gemini being a feature within Google Search, users still sought more information about it, indicating a growing interest in conversational AI and its implications for search.
The report emphasizes that the trending queries represent searches that experienced a significant spike in traffic compared to the previous year, rather than the most searched terms overall. This distinction is crucial as it underscores how user engagement has shifted towards more complex and conversational queries. For instance, searches beginning with phrases like “Tell me about…” surged by 70% year-over-year, while those starting with “How do I…” increased by 25%. This trend reflects a broader transition towards nuanced information-seeking behaviors, suggesting that users are becoming more comfortable engaging with AI-driven tools and expecting more tailored responses from their searches. As Google continues to refine its search capabilities, the insights from the Year in Search report provide a fascinating glimpse into the evolving landscape of online inquiry and the role of artificial intelligence in shaping user experiences.
For those interested in exploring the complete findings, Google has made the entire Year in Search 2025 report available on their website, offering a comprehensive look at how trends in search reflect broader societal interests and technological advancements. This shift towards more conversational and complex queries not only illustrates changing user expectations but also highlights the importance of AI in shaping the future of information retrieval.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KtWfp0UopM
Google
‘s annual
review of search trends
is here, and while the most popular keywords and queries in 2025 won’t surprise you, the way we searched this year underlines a huge shift in our online behavior.
Yes, the “trending” searches this year are, unsurprisingly, topped by topics such as
Charlie Kirk’s assassination
,
the election of Pope Leo XIV
, and (chuckles)
Google’s own AI assistant Gemini
.
Looks like Google Search users did a lot of searches for Gemini – despite it being baked into Google Search.
Credit: Google
Notably, these aren’t the most popular terms that were searched on Google; instead, Google
says
the “lists on the Year in Search 2025 Trends website represent the top trending queries, which are the searches that had the highest spike in traffic over a sustained period in 2025 as compared to 2024.”
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As the company
pointed out
, with Gemini being baked into Google Search, people started asking questions in more conversational ways. One popular example, according to the company, was “
What’s the deal with 6-7,
” a query which I, myself, have typed into Google at least once this year.
Google also said that more complex queries became more popular this year, with searches for “Tell me about…” being up 70 percent year over year, and searches starting with “How do I…” increasing 25 percent compared to last year.
Check out the entire
Google Year in Search 2025 report on the website
.