Fewer clicks, more answers: The new Google search

At Tuesday’s Google I/O, one message came through loud and clear: search as we know it is changing – quickly.

For years, the search bar has been the internet’s starting point. Type a few keywords, scroll a list of links, click through. Simple. Predictable. Now, that model is being replaced with something far more dynamic.

Google has reimagined the search bar as an intelligent, AI-powered interface, its biggest update in over 25 years. Instead of forcing users to compress their thinking into keywords, the new experience is built around natural, more complex queries. The search box will expand as you type, suggests more nuanced prompts, and introduces a more chatbot-style experience to allow users to ask follow-up questions and explore topics through an ongoing conversation, rather than starting from scratch each time.

But the real shift isn’t just how we search, but who (or what) is doing the searching.

Google is introducing ‘information agents’: AI systems that can run in the background, monitoring the web 24/7 and alerting you to updates when something relevant changes. Rather than repeatedly searching for the same thing, you brief the agent once and let it handle the rest. 

This moves search from a reactive behaviour to a proactive one. It’s not just about finding answers anymore, but about delegating tasks.

The knock-on effect is big. Fewer clicks, less reliance on traditional ‘blue links’, and a growing shift towards AI-generated summaries, conversations, and even custom-built tools directly within the search experience.

On one hand, it’s a better user experience - search becomes faster, more intuitive, and more outcome-focused. Instead of digging through multiple sites, users get a distilled answer instantly and can refine it in real time through follow-up questions. The addition of agents pushes this even further, turning search into something that works in the background, rather than something you have to actively do.

But there’s a trade-off. For publishers, brands and anyone relying on traffic, this is a clear challenge. If users are getting what they need directly within Google, there’s less reason to click through. Visibility shifts from being about ranking on page one, to being included in or shaping the AI-generated response itself. 

There’s also a question of control. AI summaries prioritise simplicity and speed, but that can mean less information, fewer opinions, and more reliance on how Google chooses to interpret and present information.

So, is it good or bad? Well, it’s both. For users, it’s a change in convenience. For marketers, it’s a reset. The fundamentals of search aren’t disappearing but the way value is created, captured, and measured is shifting fast.