Google’s Year in Search 2025 is here, and the name of the game isn’t which topics spiked. It’s how our queries changed. The report highlights a clear trend toward conversational, multistep prompts that sound less like key terms and more like exchanges with an intelligent assistant. Google also emphasizes that its “trending” lists measure the search terms with the highest year-over-year spikes in their average traffic, not those searched most overall.
Helping to drive the shift is the company’s increasing integration of Gemini into Search, gently encouraging people to type what they’d ask a person in more natural language. The result: longer, more specific, and yet more contextual searches that represent actual life intent.
- Conversational prompts go mainstream in everyday search
- AI reshapes search intent and raises user expectations
- Singular searches replace multiple complex tasks
- Search is multimodal, and not just typed anymore
- Trending topics versus totals in Year in Search metrics
- Why this shift matters for everyday users and brand teams
- The bottom line on how our search behavior is changing
Conversational prompts go mainstream in everyday search
Searches that began with “Tell me about” surged 70% year over year, Google’s report said, and searches starting with the phrase “How do I” increased by 25%. The company even showed off the charmingly human “What’s the deal with 6-7?” — a nudge that diction is becoming looser, quirkier, and more natural.
And beyond tone, users are loading their queries with context to get more precise help. The question “How to boil eggs?” was replaced with “How do I boil farm-fresh eggs without cracking them for ramen tonight?” Courses, timing, preferences — all the limitations of our life now all in one post.
AI reshapes search intent and raises user expectations
Gemini’s impact inside Search is that it has broadened what people now expect because of the results. Instead of a link list, users expect synthesis, comparisons, and step-by-step plans immediately. Internet marketing industry watchers at Search Engine Land and other sources have noted an increasing reliance on long-tail phrasing, as well as a follow-up pattern that’s essentially treated search engines like they’re part of an ongoing conversation.
This mirrors broader consumer patterns. Studies from Pew Research Center and Ofcom recorded increasing willingness to use AI chatbots for mundane information tasks — a trend that is now spilling over into search. So you might find one like “Plan a two-day trip to Kyoto with teens,” followed by “Make it cheaper and add vegetarian ramen spots.”
Singular searches replace multiple complex tasks
Another unmistakable signal: people are aggregating what used to be many different searches into a single compound query. Rather than cobbling together responses (“best budget mirrorless camera,” “beginning photography settings,” “low-light tips”), users ask: “Tell me about beginner mirrorless cameras under $800 and present settings for shooting in lower indoor light.” Google’s own data on “Tell me about” and “How do I” queries represents that consolidation of intent.
They are part of the trend toward comparative language too. There’s a clear switch amid this type of query to one that says, “compare,” “vs,” and “best for me.” It tells us the users are trying to say, do not give me generic rankings. The idea is Search knows your options and can describe them in plain language.
Search is multimodal, and not just typed anymore
But text is only a part of it. Visual and voice inputs are transforming how people launch and qualify queries. Google has said Lens logs billions of searches a month, and the 2025 patterns illustrate how visual lookups now seamlessly transition to conversational follow-up queries: snap a photo of a plant, then ask “what is this and will it survive the winter in zone 7?” The necessary relay between image recognition and natural language guidance becomes ever smoother.
Meanwhile, Voice is emerging as the adhesive between moments — asking a query follow-up while stirring in the kitchen, or modifying self-shopping on your couch. It’s the question, rather than the device, that shapes the experience.
Trending topics versus totals in Year in Search metrics
It is worth reiterating that the “trending” lists are based on spikes, not raw number of posts. Notable spikes: Gemini itself, the election of Pope Leo XIV, and the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Those tell us what suddenly mattered, but the bigger signal in this year’s report is the format change: more natural language, more context, and more multi-intent prompts.
Why this shift matters for everyday users and brand teams
For everyday search users, the lesson is straightforward: simply request what you really want. Add constraints, goals, and follow-ups. Search can now deal with the nuance. For publishers and brands, it’s a time to start creating content in the way people speak. That, in turn, involves plain-language explanations, step-by-step assistance, and examples of real-world situations — as well as structured data to guide search systems through understanding context.
Next steps include creating in-depth FAQ sections that reflect common conversational phrasing, using semantic headings mirroring those with the highest search volume, and monitoring long-tail performance within Google Search Console. Visual assets that would have filled the bill in combination with Lens — well-composed photos, illustrations, labeled parts — also for an expanding cohort of multimodal searchers.
The bottom line on how our search behavior is changing
Year in Search 2025 sounds more like a behavior shift than a leaderboard. As generative tools become normal, the queries are longer, messier, and more human. The most fascinating thing isn’t what we searched, it’s that finally we began asking the web in the way we speak.
