As of March 2025, Google represented 79.1 percent of the global online search engine market on desktop devices. Despite being much ahead of its competitors, this represents the lowest share ever recorded by the search engine in these devices for over two decades. Meanwhile, its long-time competitor Bing accounted for 12.21 percent, as tools like Yahoo and Yandex held shares of over 2.9 percent each. Google and the global search market Ever since the introduction of Google Search in 1997, the company has dominated the search engine market, while the shares of all other tools has been rather lopsided. The majority of Google revenues are generated through advertising. Its parent corporation, Alphabet, was one of the biggest internet companies worldwide as of 2024, with a market capitalization of 2.02 trillion U.S. dollars. The company has also expanded its services to mail, productivity tools, enterprise products, mobile devices, and other ventures. As a result, Google earned one of the highest tech company revenues in 2024 with roughly 348.16 billion U.S. dollars. Search engine usage in different countries Google is the most frequently used search engine worldwide. But in some countries, its alternatives are leading or competing with it to some extent. As of the last quarter of 2023, more than 63 percent of internet users in Russia used Yandex, whereas Google users represented little over 33 percent. Meanwhile, Baidu was the most used search engine in China, despite a strong decrease in the percentage of internet users in the country accessing it. In other countries, like Japan and Mexico, people tend to use Yahoo along with Google. By the end of 2024, nearly half of the respondents in Japan said that they had used Yahoo in the past four weeks. In the same year, over 21 percent of users in Mexico said they used Yahoo.

In February 2025, Microsoft Sites handled **** percent of all search queries in the United States. During the same period, Verizon Media (formerly known as Yahoo and Oath) had a search market share of little less than ** percent. Market leader Google generated **** percent of all core search queries in the United States.

As of March 2025, Google continued to dominate the global search engine industry by far, with an 89.62 percent market share. However, this stronghold may be showing signs of erosion, with its share across all devices dipping to its lowest point in over two decades. Bing, Google's closest competitor, currently holds a market share of 4.01 percent across, while Russia-based Yandex hikes to the third place with a share of around 2.51 percent. Competitive landscape and regional variations While Google's overall dominance persists, other search engines carve out niches in various markets and platforms. Bing holds a 12.21 percent market share across desktop devices worldwide, as Yandex and Baidu have found success inside and outside of their home markets. Yandex is used by over 63 percent of Russian internet users, but Baidu has seen its market share significantly in China As regional variations highlight the importance of local players in challenging Google's global supremacy, the company is likely to face more challenges with the AI-powered online search trend and increasing regulatory scrutiny. Search behavior and antitrust concerns Despite facing more competition, Google remains deeply ingrained in users' online habits. In 2024, "Google" itself was the most popular search query on its own platform, followed by "YouTube" - another Google-owned property. This self-reinforcing ecosystem has drawn scrutiny from regulators, with the European Commission imposing millionaire antitrust fines on the company. As its influence extends beyond search into various online services, the company's market position continues to be a subject of debate among industry watchdogs and authorities worldwide.

This statistic shows the results of a survey on the usage of news aggregators, online social media or search engines to access the news online in Europe in 2016. The survey found that ** percent of respondents stated to browse and read the main news of the day, without clicking on links to access whole articles.

This statistic shows the market share of search engines in the United States in December 2008 to 2020. In December 2020, Verizon Media's search market share was **** percent, down *** percent from the previous year. The subsidiary was formed in 2017 by Verizon Communications as a merge between newly acquired Yahoo! and AOL.

According to a global survey, in 2023, more than half of global Gen Z respondents stated that they use social media for brand information, compared to ** percent of them who used search engines. Social media proves to be the more preferred and used channel for brand discovery and information.

This statistic displays the results of a survey on the apps and search engines tracking online users in Italy in 2016, broken down by type. During the survey period, it was found that seven in ten respondents thought that search engines could clearly understand the lifestyle and interests of its users.

As of the fourth quarter of 2021, it was found that mobile devices accounted for 63 percent of organic search engine visits. This value has remained almost the same over the past two quarters. In the first quarter of 2021, though, it decreased to 59 percent.

Since 2016, the popularity of the keyword dropshipping has grown online. The popularity of 'dropshipping' searches on Google indicated a higher interest by online users. Over the period studied, search interest through the search engine increased gradually over the last few years until reaching its peak in ***********, when it achieved a score of ** out of 100 points.

This statistic shows the results of a survey on the usage of news aggregators, online social media or search engines to access the news online in Germany in 2016. The survey found that ** percent of German respondents stated to browse and read the main news of the day, without clicking on links to access whole articles.

This statistic shows the results of a survey on the usage of news aggregators, online social media or search engines to access the news online in Austria in 2016. The survey found that ** percent of Austrian respondents stated to browse and read the main news of the day, without clicking on links to access whole articles.

This statistic shows a ranking of smartphone activities performed at least weekly by smartphone users in Sweden in 2016. During the survey period it was found that ** percent of smartphone users in Sweden used search engines via their smartphone at least once a week.

This statistic shows a projection of the local search query volume in the United States from 2014 to 2019, sorted by platform. In 2016, mobile local search query volume is estimated to reach 94.7 billion searches.

This statistic presents the most popular first choice for performing searches as stated by adults in the United States as of April 2018. According to the findings, 44 percent of respondents stated their first choice in terms of performing searches was their mobile browser, while in comparison 16 percent stated their first choice being their search engine app or voice search.

This statistic shows a ranking of activities internet-going smartphone users performed online at least weekly in the Middle East, in 2016, by select country. During the survey period it was found that 68 percent of the internet users used search engines via smartphone at least once a week.

This statistic shows a ranking of tablet activities performed at least weekly by tablet users in Denmark in 2016. During the survey period it was found that ** percent of Danish tablet users use search engines on their tablet at least once a week.

A reported 95.3 percent of the United Kingdom (UK) population were using the internet in 2022, the same share as 2021.Internet users in Great Britain 46.6 million people used the internet daily in Great Britain during 2020 according to the United Kingdom’s (UK) Office for National Statistics (ONS), breaking the record set in 2016. 41.8 million people in Great Britain used the internet on a daily basis during 2016, the first time the amount cracked the 40 million mark. Methods of accessing the internet In a survey conducted during early 2018, Ofcom found that 48 percent of the 2,392 respondents indicated that their smartphone was the most important device they use to access the internet, at home or elsewhere. Mobile internet usage penetration is higher in the UK than the EU average, however, as of February 2021, desktop searches still managed to account for the most of the search engine activity in the UK.

This statistic presents the percentage of consumers who use a mobile device for product research while shopping in-store worldwide as of January 2019, by country. According to the findings, 97.6 percent of respondents from Turkey stated that they used their mobile devices for product research while shopping in-store, while in comparison only 69.6 percent of respondents from the United Kingdom reported similar responses.

The immense popularity of smartphones and their integrated virtual assistants such as Siri or Google Assistant have led to an explosion of voice search usage. As of the first quarter of 2019, 42 percent of the worldwide online population had conducted a voice search via any device within the past month. With 49 percent of respondents from Asia Pacific stating that they had accessed voice search recently, the region is the clear leader in terms of voice search adoption. Other common ways to access voice search include smart speakers such as the Amazon Echo. In 2019, China is projected to account for 28 percent of the worldwide smart speaker installed base.

46.6 million people used the internet daily in Great Britain during 2020 according to the United Kingdom’s (UK) Office for National Statistics (ONS), breaking the record set one year prior. There were 41.8 million daily internet users in Great Britain during 2016, marking the first time this amount had exceeded 40 million.

Internet access in the UK

While the vast majority of households in the UK are able to go online, 7 percent of all households was without an internet connection as of 2019, according to the ONS. Eurostat estimate the figure to be higher, at 96 percent of households with an internet connection, above the EU average of 90 percent.

Methods of accessing the internet

In a survey conducted during early 2020, Ofcom found that 60 percent of the 2,419 respondents indicated that their smartphone was the most important device they use to access the internet, at home or elsewhere. Mobile internet usage penetration is indeed high in the UK compared to the EU average, and as of January 2020 accounted for the majority of activity for search engines in the UK.