The essentials
- The answer: neither one exclusively. Google is still the first point of entry (more than 85% of web searches in France), but it has itself become an AI engine with AI Overviews and AI Mode.
- What has moved: complex informational searches, comparisons and writing; not local, transactional or brand searches.
- For a small business: the same content serves both, provided it is structured for extraction; the extra GEO effort is 10 to 20%.
- The trap: dropping SEO to "do GEO"; AI picks its sources from search indexes.
The question has been coming up among business owners since 2024: now that customers ask ChatGPT, is it still worth investing in Google? The answer fits in one sentence: Google remains dominant but has turned itself into an AI engine, and assistants pick their sources from search indexes. This article gives the 2026 usage figures, separates the searches that have moved from those that haven't, and proposes a trade-off. The wider framing is in GEO marketing.
Usage in 2026
| Metric | 2026 order of magnitude | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Google's share of web search in France | 85 to 90% (Bing 5 to 8%) | StatCounter |
| Weekly ChatGPT users worldwide | More than 800 million | OpenAI |
| French internet users using an AI assistant to search each week | 15 to 30% depending on the study | Ifop, Médiamétrie, sector studies |
| Google queries showing an AI Overview | 10 to 30% of informational queries, highly variable by sector | Semrush, BrightEdge, Ahrefs |
| Referral traffic from assistants to websites | 0.5 to 3% of sessions, growing by tens of percent per quarter | Aggregated GA4 measurements |
| Google query volume | Stable to slightly rising | Google, third-party estimates |
How to read this: assistants have taken a real place without pushing Google back in volume; above all they have changed the nature of certain searches, and Google has built the AI answer into its own pages. How assistants work is set out in detail in understanding AI engines.
What has moved, what hasn't
| Type of search | Where it happens in 2026 | Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Complex informational ("how do I choose", "explain", "compare") | Increasingly in assistants and AI Overviews | Guides and comparisons have to be citable; the click is no longer guaranteed |
| Writing, summarising, decision support | Assistants | A new channel: being the source the AI cites in its reasoning |
| Recommending brands, tools, providers | Both; assistants name 3 to 5 brands | Being on the shortlist becomes a marketing objective |
| Local ("near me", opening hours, reviews) | Google, Google Maps, Apple Maps; assistants draw on your Google listing | Local SEO remains the lever, and it feeds AI too |
| Transactional (buy, book, price) | Google, marketplaces, websites; ChatGPT is starting (Shopping) | Little change in the short term |
| Navigational and brand | No change | |
| Breaking news | Google, social networks, media | Assistants lag by a few hours |
What Google has absorbed
Since 2024, Google has shown AI Overviews at the top of many queries, then a conversational AI Mode. The sources cited are mostly top-10 pages. The consequence: "aiming at Google" in 2026 already includes "aiming at Google's AI", and the practices are the same as for other assistants: direct answers, structure, facts, a named author. Organic clicks fall on queries with an Overview, by 15 to 40% depending on the study, but the pages cited keep qualified traffic and gain recognition. The mechanism is described in the AI featured snippet and the wider shift in GEO and SEO.
The trade-off for a small business
- Don't pick a side: SEO remains the foundation, because assistants and Google pick their sources from the same indexes. Content that ranks well and is well structured serves both.
- Add 10 to 20% of GEO effort: rewrite your key pages as self-contained answers, add figures and tables, sign and date them, mark them up, open up to AI crawlers, consolidate your entity; see structuring your pages for AI.
- Prioritise according to your business: a small local business keeps local SEO and its Google listing first; a B2B business or a software vendor invests more in reference content and comparisons, where assistants make recommendations.
- Measure both: rankings and clicks (Search Console), citations and share of voice (GEO tracking), AI referral traffic and conversions (GA4); see GEO KPIs.
- Review every quarter: the share of searches going through assistants is rising fast; the trade-offs of 2026 won't be those of 2028.
Mistakes to avoid
- Stopping SEO in favour of a "GEO" sold as a new independent discipline: AI's sources come from search indexes.
- Blocking AI crawlers for fear of content being scraped: that means giving up the citations and the traffic that comes with them; see indexing by AI.
- Judging GEO on traffic alone: a citation read without a click builds recognition and preference.
- Producing generic content "for AI": it cites what is precise, sourced and different.
How GreenRed helps
Rather than juggling several tools, GreenRed's GEO and AI module brings these metrics together in a single dashboard, compares them over time and tells you which actions come first. You can try it free, with no card, from the Pricing.
Frequently asked questions
Is ChatGPT going to replace Google?
Not by 2026-2027: Google still handles the vast majority of web searches and has built AI into its own results. Assistants have taken a real share of informational searches and comparisons, and that share is growing. The two coexist; well-structured content serves both.
Do I need a separate budget for GEO?
Not necessarily to begin with: the GEO effort amounts to 10 to 20% of extra work on your SEO content (structure, direct answers, structured data, entity consistency) plus a citation tracking tool. A dedicated budget is justified for brands whose customers choose through assistant recommendations (software, B2B services).
Do local searches go through AI?
Not much yet: for "near me", opening hours and reviews, people use Google, Google Maps and Apple Maps. Assistants answer local questions by drawing on your Google listing and your reviews. A complete listing and recent reviews therefore serve both channels.
How do I know whether my customers use AI to find me?
Three clues: referral traffic from chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai or gemini.google.com in GA4; the presence of AI Overviews on your queries in a rank tracking tool; and asking customers directly, or in your form ("how did you hear about us?", with an "AI assistant" option).