Late last month, Gartner made a stunning prediction, forecasting an imminent and dramatic decline in search engine traffic. “By 2026, traditional search engine volume will drop 25%,” the research firm said, “with search marketing losing market share to AI chatbots and other virtual agents.”
The prediction seemed aggressive, especially given that Microsoft Bing — with its AI chatbot — hadn’t gained much share at all in a hype-filled 2023. If it comes true, it would be an earth-shaking moment in the tech world, leading to chaos within Google and the web. So I asked Gartner to talk.