Similarweb’s 2026 report says Google’s AI Overviews now appear in 43% of searches, up from 15% a year earlier. Visits to Google’s conversational AI Mode rose from 126 million in June 2025 to 279 million by May 2026. Google said in May that AI Mode had surpassed one billion monthly users.
Google has economic reasons to make the answer page a destination. Alphabet reported $63.271 billion in second-quarter 2026 Google Search and Other revenue, up 17% from a year earlier. Alphabet also said its AI features were driving Search query growth. Each query gives Google an opportunity to present ads, products, follow-up questions, or commercial recommendations inside its interface.
The unit of digital visibility is changing from position to participation. A brand can rank well in traditional results and remain absent from the synthesized answer. Another brand can appear inside that answer without receiving a click. There is no agreed-upon term for this, but I call it “share of prompt.” It measures how often an AI system selects your company, products, expertise, or content when it constructs an answer.
Google rejects the claim that AI search drains the web. On May 6, Google announced more inline links, website previews, and subscription labels in the (now combined) AI Mode and AI Overviews. Google said its early tests showed that people were significantly more likely to click links labeled as their subscriptions. The changes confirm that referral traffic depends partly on interface design.
Ranking still matters, but these stats tell us that share of prompt is the new frontier. If only someone would tell us how to buy it…
Every company needs a Claw strategy. Do you have one?
Author’s note: This is not a sponsored post. I am the author of this article and it expresses my own opinions. I am not, nor is my company, receiving compensation for it. This work was created with the assistance of various generative AI models.
About Shelly Palmer
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with technology, media and marketing. Named LinkedIn’s “Top Voice in Technology,” he covers tech and business for Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN and writes a popular daily business blog. He's a bestselling author, and the creator of the popular, free online course, Generative AI for Execs. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.