Google has put artificial intelligence at the front and center of its search bar. The most-visited site on the internet still shows the same list of links to users, but they have to scroll past a summarized response from an AI chatbot, a feature Google calls AI Overviews. The change to what was once the gateway to the rest of the internet has been profound, and the browsing habits of billions of people are shifting.

“AI is driving the most significant upgrade of the Google Search experience ever,” wrote Liz Reid, Google’s vice-president of search, last August. In May, the company said more AI is coming.

As people grow accustomed to AI chatbots, they’re spending more time with Google’s and therefore more time on Google.com. Academic studies are finding that people navigate less to sites beyond Google if an AI Overview can give them a good enough answer, even if the bot cites the sites that feed it. Clicks, also known as traffic, are often the most significant way a website earns money from advertising. Media outlets and website owners are enduring a sustained traffic decline. Large US media companies are suing Google, alleging that AI summaries have redirected and reduced traffic to their sites, cutting into their revenue.

Google said it had not seen a decline in aggregate traffic and that such accusations are based on “flawed methodologies”. Reid, the company’s vice-president of search, wrote last year: “Total organic click volume from Google Search to websites has been relatively stable year-over-year.”

The Guardian asked readers whether Google has improved or worsened in the age of AI and how their habits of searching the internet have changed.

‘Google is better now’

Better, mainly because it leads you in your quest rather than you having to search on yourself. I am happy to have the AI lead me to an answer but the mega caution is that Google AI or any of them are not at all trustworthy. I have had it admit that it was lying to me and apologise! Sionn Achog, retired teacher 76, Dublin

I find that AI responses are more informative than previously, which simply referred the user to other relevant websites. Peter Warb, 75, UK

AI has made Google better. I use AI mode for all my searches. Jose Garcia Jr, 40, recovery coach, Dallas, Texas

AI has improved Google search. The analysis and chat functions are so much more useful than a ranked list of websites that still need to be explored by the user. Reviewing a list of websites is still an option but is very time consuming, and frustrating. Alan Caruana, consultant, 62, Malta

Far more better, faster and real. I search now with confidence, complete assurance and a high degree of accuracy. Eleazar Eke, electrical engineer, 67, Onitsha, Nigeria

Much better. It hasn’t changed my behavior, just getting better and more focused results. Catherine Weber, former political analyst, 57, Oregon

It’s made Google search much better, I find that I rarely actually click on the website links any more. I find information I want much faster and have a deeper understanding of any topic as I can ask questions about it and drill into the areas I’m interested in. Mark Johnson, 52, software engineer, London

Greatly improved it by getting at more arcane info regarding subject matter. Juxtaposition has improved with AI and abstruse knowledge of subjects becomes more accessible to layman. Wonderful tool with power to extend mind through sensing connections and very akin to human thinking. Samuel Lieberstein, 90, retired teacher, Cherry Hill, New Jersey

‘Search has gotten worse’

Search has become worse. Google AI obscures sources and tries to claim information it did not create while diverting traffic from the sources it steals from. Sean Peters, document processor, 41, Portland, Oregon

Every time I search I have to scroll down to find an actual real website to find a full article or discussion or to confirm that the AI summary isn’t making things up. Occasionally when I am feeling particularly bitter, I remember to add the ““-ai”” tag to my search. Ewan Herbert, English teacher, 33, Japan

Worse. I have disabled AI overviews using an extension. Chris Gibson, Dundee

Absolutely worse. I want to be able to decide for myself which results are the most useful and relevant, and we’re no longer able to turn off the AI summary results. Jon Wilkinson, personal trainer, 43, Manchester, UK

Google has been enshittified … I do miss old Google Search and I really hope something of equal capabilities eventually comes to replace it.

The search engine I currently use is good for a lot of things, but if I need to look for something in languages other than English, the quality of the results is much lower. Image search is also not as good as that of Google used to be. Sofia, postdoctoral physics researcher, 30, Lausanne, Switzerland

My first stop now is Duck Duck Go, a pale imitation of Google’s search engine at the height of its powers. Unfortunately, the top results often include Grokipedia entries and other garbage. Craig Garrett, book editor, 52, New York City

I have stopped using Google. I now use another search engine with no AI overviews. Guy Arthur Simpson, writer 66, Spain

I’ve made a conscious effort to find a browser which does not lead with the AI results. Mine is now Ecosia. Dan Jennings, IT, 54, Southampton, UK

I do a lot of research for my studies, and the AI features are a nightmare! I’m still scouring for a decent search engine without any of these ‘AI features’, the last thing i want is to accidentally utilise a water-wasting AI behemoth datacentre when I forget that crucial suffix. I’ve even resorted to using my local library’s resource of legal cases for my work, at least it is trustworthy. Catherine O’Leary, student studying law, politics and sociology, 17, Newcastle Upon Tyne

Google has become almost useless, searches I’ve made in the past which yielded specific results, (news articles, local information, historical references) no longer appear. I no longer submit to Google search first, I go directly to Wikipedia as my first source, then to DuckDuckGo, (with AI disabled) then to Reddit and only to Google as a last resort. Pedro Reyes, 61, Galicia, Spain