Americans Can’t Look Away From AI Summaries

Since OpenAI released its flagship chatbot ChatGPT in late 2022, companies in nearly every sector have raced to incorporate artificial intelligence-backed features into their core product offerings — including search engines. 

In 2024, both Alphabet’s Google and Microsoft’s Bing began rolling out AI-generated summaries, which appear in bolded or enlarged text at the top of many (but not all) search result pages and most often aggregate information from sites like Wikipedia, Reddit and YouTube. 

Morning Consult’s latest survey aimed to better understand exactly how consumers are interacting with these new features. We found that consulting an AI-generated summary is now a standard — and quite enjoyable — part of the online search experience for a majority of U.S. adults.

AI summaries everywhere all at once 

When asked to consider their typical online search, a plurality of U.S. adults (31%) said they refer to an AI-generated summary as often as they scroll down to the standard results page. Eighteen percent said they “usually refer to an AI summary, but sometimes scroll further down,” and another 10% said they “always only” refer to an AI summary. 

This means AI summaries — when they are provided — are now a major part of the internet search process for roughly 3 in 5 (58%) U.S. adults.

Millennials, employed U.S. adults and high-earning individuals are among the most likely to report exclusively referring to AI summaries when searching online. These groups were also among the technology's earliest adopters and continue to be some of its most vocal champions and general users. 

In a separate question, close to half of U.S. adults (44%) said they consult AI-generated summaries while conducting online searches “much” or “somewhat” more often than they did a year ago, and this figure was even higher among Gen Z adults (55%) and millennials (57%). Meanwhile, the share who said they were consulting these features less did not exceed 10% for any of those demographics, suggesting that they are decidedly popular.

AI summaries have won over the public 

Beyond an increasing usage rate, search engines’ AI summaries also enjoy something quite rare: a consensus about their utility.

We asked U.S. adults to rate the helpfulness of AI-generated summaries in relation to seven common search inquiries, and overwhelming majorities categorized them as “very” or “somewhat” helpful in every instance. 

This level of satisfaction affirms that, like the technology more broadly, AI summaries in online search are here to stay. And it's all part of a broader shift in consumers’ primary mode of engagement with the internet, which is moving from active to passive.

While it’s still early days for this behavior change, online publishers and other companies that are heavily reliant on search traffic for discovery and sales are already feeling the impact. Amid this environment, ensuring that branded content — or better yet, organic conversations about your brand — are present on sites that AI summaries tend to pull from (e.g., Reddit, YouTube) will be of utmost importance. 

But to be most resilient, brands should also focus on shoring up channels where the path to reaching consumers is still relatively direct and human-feeling, like email, newsletter platforms and in-real-life activations. With the AI train moving relentlessly (and unpredictably), a consistent, engaging presence in wholly or mostly-owned spaces may just be the best way to stand out in the long run.