BrightEdge: Google Shows First Market Share Rebound Since AI Search Surge—Billions at Stake as Competition Stalls

Despite a 1.5% loss over nine months, Google's 0.17-point rebound is equivalent to billions in potential profit, amid AI search battle

SAN MATEO, Calif., Oct. 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BrightEdge, the global leader in AI-driven organic search, content, and digital marketing automation, today released new research showing Google’s first rebound in search market share in more than nine months. While the increase seems modest — from 90.54% to 90.71% — it amounts to billions in potential revenue as AI-powered challengers start chipping away at the remaining 10%. The findings are part of BrightEdge’s newly launched AI Market Pulse, a quarterly measurement of how AI is reshaping search and discovery.

The Shifting Tide In Search
After tracking a slow but steady decline in market share over the last nine months, BrightEdge’s data shows Google recently reversed this trend. Data suggests the release of Google’s AI Mode contributed to this recovery, with specific increases in long-tail querying in Google indicating widespread use of the search engine's new AI feature helping boost Google’s gains. Meanwhile, BrightEdge’s referral analysis shows the broader AI search ecosystem — including ChatGPT and Perplexity — still accounts for less than 1% of total referrals from search, and for the first time BrightEdge observed the collective group lose market share.

Smaller players like Grok and Claude continue to grow, albeit at a slower rate. To put their growth in perspective, Claude's referrals are 60 times smaller than ChatGPT's, and Grok's are 200 times smaller.

“In the last year, we’ve seen Google do a solid job of staving off the AI bleed and the search market has simply expanded around them, but the question has remained: what does all of this mean for Google in the long-term?” said Jim Yu, CEO of BrightEdge. “For the first time, Google is gaining market share, demonstrating their strategy for durable success — which isn’t just to increase or monetize searches — is working.”

What This Means For Marketers
The search landscape is evolving, and today's marketers must master two fronts: traditional search and AI-driven discovery. But as Google stabilizes, the winning strategy remains clear: optimize once, win everywhere. While new trends like AI agents are reshaping the field, Google's continued dominance proves that traditional search optimization is more critical than ever. To succeed, brands need the right technology to rank on Google and across the new AI engines—like ChatGPT and Perplexity—that matter most to their customers.

BrightEdge's suite of technology, including AI Catalyst, provides marketers with the leading resources needed to monitor how their brand's performance is changing over time, adapt strategies and stay ahead as search continues to evolve.

Reporters and analysts can access the full BrightEdge AI Market Pulse here.
Learn more about BrightEdge AI Catalyst here.

About BrightEdge
BrightEdge is the global leader in Enterprise SEO and AI-powered content performance. For more than 18 years, BrightEdge has helped thousands of brands and digital marketers, including 57% of the Fortune 500, transform online opportunities into measurable business results. Its industry-first platform integrates the most comprehensive dataset in search, combining insights from traditional SEO, digital media, social, and content with cutting-edge generative AI capabilities, including its deep learning engine DataMind and AI Catalyst platform. Trusted by enterprises, mid-market companies, and leading digital agencies, BrightEdge continues to set the standard for innovation in search and AI, enabling brands to win by becoming an integral part of the digital experience.

Contact: press@brightedge.com

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