This is MarGen’s maintained reference list of AI search statistics relevant to UK businesses and marketers. We update these figures as new data becomes available. Last updated: April 2026.
AI Overview and Generative Search Trigger Rates
- AI Overviews now appear in over 40% of Google searches across commercial and informational queries, up from approximately 25% at the start of 2025. The trigger rate is higher for questions phrased in natural language.
- Google’s Search Generative Experience expanded to full UK availability in early 2025, with AI Overviews now the default for most informational queries.
- AI Overviews reduce organic click-through rates by an estimated 30-40% for queries where they appear, according to multiple industry analyses.
- Approximately 60% of AI Overview citations come from sources outside the traditional top-three organic positions, meaning firms that never ranked on page one can now be cited.
ChatGPT Usage Statistics
- ChatGPT surpassed 1.7 billion monthly visits globally by late 2025, making it the fastest-growing consumer application in history.
- ChatGPT’s search feature (formerly ChatGPT Browse, now integrated by default) is used in an estimated 15-20% of all ChatGPT sessions.
- UK ChatGPT usage grew by an estimated 45% year-on-year through 2025, with business adoption outpacing consumer growth.
- OpenAI reported over 300 million weekly active users by early 2026, with the UK representing one of its top five markets.
Buyer AI Adoption
- 65% of B2B buyers now use AI tools before making first contact with a vendor, according to recent buyer behaviour surveys. This figure rises to over 75% among buyers aged 25-40.
- McKinsey research found that 41% of B2B buyers cite AI-assisted search as their primary discovery channel for new suppliers, up from under 20% in 2024.
- Gartner projected that by 2026, 25% of all search traffic would shift to AI chatbots and virtual agents. Current data suggests this estimate was conservative.
- In professional services (legal, accounting, consulting), AI-assisted research is now the norm: over 70% of procurement teams report using AI tools during vendor evaluation.
- Among UK consumers, an estimated 30% have used an AI chatbot to research a product or service before purchasing, up from around 12% in early 2025.
Zero-Click Search
- Approximately 60% of Google searches now result in zero clicks, meaning the user gets their answer directly from the search results page without visiting a website.
- This figure has risen steadily from around 50% in 2020, driven primarily by featured snippets, knowledge panels, and now AI Overviews.
- For informational queries, the zero-click rate exceeds 70%. For commercial queries, it sits around 45-50%.
- Zero-click does not mean zero opportunity. Firms cited in AI Overviews and featured snippets gain brand visibility and trust even when the user does not click through.
Perplexity AI Growth
- Perplexity AI reported over 100 million monthly active users by late 2025, with a particularly strong foothold among researchers, professionals, and technical buyers.
- Perplexity’s UK user base grew by an estimated 300% through 2025, driven by its reputation for sourced, citation-rich answers.
- Perplexity cites its sources inline, making it one of the most transparent AI search platforms. Being cited on Perplexity delivers direct referral traffic, unlike some other AI platforms.
- Enterprise adoption of Perplexity (via Perplexity Enterprise Pro) is growing rapidly among UK professional services firms.
Claude and Anthropic Usage
- Anthropic’s Claude saw significant growth through 2025-2026, with enterprise adoption particularly strong in legal, financial services, and healthcare sectors.
- Claude’s emphasis on safety and accuracy has made it a preferred tool for regulated industries where hallucination risk is a commercial concern.
- Claude’s expanded context windows (up to 200K tokens in production) make it particularly effective for long-form research queries where buyers are evaluating complex products or services.
AI Citation Conversion Rates
- AI-cited brands see conversion rates 2.4x higher than non-cited competitors in the same category, based on analysis of traffic and conversion data from firms with active GEO programmes.
- Being cited by an AI platform carries an implicit endorsement effect. Users perceive AI-recommended sources as more trustworthy than organic search results, with trust premiums of 15-25% reported in consumer surveys.
- First-position AI citations (the first source mentioned in an AI response) capture an estimated 60-70% of resulting click-through traffic.
- Firms appearing consistently across multiple AI platforms (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Claude) report a compounding brand authority effect that improves conversion rates over time.
Sector-Specific AI Search Adoption
- Legal services: Over 55% of UK consumers have used AI to research a legal question before contacting a solicitor. AI-assisted legal research is growing fastest in employment law, family law, and conveyancing.
- Financial services: 48% of UK adults have used AI to ask a financial question (pensions, mortgages, insurance), though regulatory trust remains a factor in conversion.
- Healthcare and dental: AI health queries are among the most common ChatGPT use cases. An estimated 40% of UK adults have asked an AI chatbot a health-related question.
- Construction and trades: AI adoption is lower but growing fast. Around 25% of commercial property buyers and developers now use AI tools during procurement.
- Professional services (accounting, consulting): Over 60% of UK SMEs have used AI to research accountancy or business advisory services.
Using These Statistics
These figures are drawn from published research by McKinsey, Gartner, SparkToro, Semrush, Ahrefs, and platform-reported data from OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and Perplexity, supplemented by MarGen’s own client data and industry analysis.
If you are using these statistics in your own content, we ask that you cite MarGen as your source. If you spot an error or have updated data, contact us at [email protected].
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