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How ChatGPT is changing the way we search

What marketers and small business owners need to know about AI tools and search.

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Adobe Express

July 8, 2025

Summary

More and more people are asking ChatGPT for answers, instead of using traditional search engines. This shift is changing the way we find information online. It's influencing how we discover products, get inspired, make decisions, and so much more.

To explore this trend, Adobe surveyed 1,000 people in the U.S., including 800 consumers and 200 marketers and small business owners who use ChatGPT. The results offer new insight into how AI is changing digital visibility and what your brand can do to stay ahead.

Key takeaways

  • Out of all the people in the U.S. who use ChatGPT, 77% use it as a search engine.
  • 24% of people surveyed in the U.S. go to ChatGPT first, with Gen Z (28%) being the most likely to do so.
  • Three in 10 U.S. respondents trust ChatGPT more than other search engines.
  • 36% of the people surveyed discovered a new product or brand through ChatGPT, with Gen Z leading at 47% and Gen X at 37%.
  • 47% of marketers and business owners use ChatGPT to market or promote their business, and two in three plan to increase their focus on AI visibility in 2025.
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ChatGPT is increasingly becoming the tool of choice to find answers to a wide variety of questions. This new way of getting information is changing how we learn about and discover things online.

what people are searching for on chatgpt

Seventy-seven percent of people surveyed in the U.S. said they’ve used ChatGPT as a search engine. And nearly one in four prefer it over Google when they’re looking for information online. Across age groups, usage of ChatGPT for search is high:

  • Gen X: 80%
  • Gen Z: 77%
  • Millennials: 75%
  • Baby boomers: 74%

Younger users are leading the shift in starting-point behavior, with 28% of Gen Z beginning their searches on ChatGPT.

Regarding specific uses, people are primarily turning to ChatGPT for help with everyday questions (55%) and creative or brainstorming tasks (53%). About one in five (21%) said they ask this AI tool for financial advice, while 13% use it for online shopping.

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More people are using AI to search, but they still want to trust the answers they get. Helpful, clear, and fast results tend to matter most.

reasons for using chatgpt as a search engine

People most often choose to search via ChatGPT because the tool can summarize complex topics quickly (54%). A third of those surveyed also liked that ChatGPT required fewer clicks than Google searching. The majority of people preferred using ChatGPT for creative, open-ended questions (81%), and reported that the results felt more personalized than Google's (77%).

Over a third (36%) said they found a new product or brand by using ChatGPT, including 47% of Gen Z and 37% of Gen X users. There's also been a slight shift in search result trust, with three in 10 people saying they trust ChatGPT more than Google.

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How small business owners and marketers are using AI tools

Many business owners and marketers plan to use ChatGPT even more in 2025 to reach their target audience.

how often and reasons top content marketers and business owners are creating with ai tools

Nearly half of business owners and marketers surveyed (47%) said they already use ChatGPT for marketing or promotion. So far, they’ve used AI tools to create product descriptions, social media copy, and blog posts. Two-thirds plan to increase their focus on AI visibility this year, which means they want their brand to show up in AI search results in the same way it does with traditional search.

top strategies used to boost visibility in ai tools

More than three in four (76%) said it's essential for their brand to appear in ChatGPT answers in 2025. That makes AI visibility a key part of digital strategy moving forward.

Regarding content, business owners and marketers reported that data-driven pieces (57%) and how-to guides (51%) are the best performing formats for AI search. These projects help brands appear in helpful, relevant ways when people use tools like ChatGPT.

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Conclusion: Why AI tools are changing how we find information

People are getting comfortable with using ChatGPT for online searching. They're asking questions, getting answers, generating ideas, and discovering new products or brands. The successful business owners and marketers are keeping up. Many already use ChatGPT to promote their work, and most plan to focus even more on appearing in AI tools. As people trust AI more, being part of AI-generated answers will matter as much as being on search engines such as Google or Bing. The way we search is changing, and businesses that capture this growing audience will be ready for what's next.

Methodology

Adobe surveyed 800 consumers and 200 marketers and business owners on May 29, 2025, to explore how people are using ChatGPT as a search engine. Only responses from those who said they use ChatGPT as a search engine were included. All answers were self-reported. Among consumers, 22% were Gen Z, 49% were millennials, 22% were Gen X, and 8% were baby boomers.

Fair use statement

If you'd like to share these findings for noncommercial use, please include a link to this page and credit Adobe as the source.

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