AI search statistics for the UK: what 60 Google searches show

We ran 60 UK Google searches on 24 October 2026 and recorded every AI Overview and every source it cited. AI Overviews appeared on almost every question and comparison search, and most of the pages they cited did not rank on page one for the same search.

By AI Search Ranking. Published 5 November 2026. Last updated 5 November 2026. In AI visibility measurement.

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The short answer

These are original AI search statistics for the UK, from our own test rather than a round-up of other people's numbers. On 24 October 2026 we searched Google for 60 things a UK buyer might look up, and recorded what came back1.

Three findings stand out:

AI Overviews are now the norm for questions and comparisons. One appeared on 47 of the 60 searches, including 24 of 25 questions and all 20 comparison searches1.
They mostly cite pages that are not on page one. Of 342 cited links, only 38 were the same page as an ordinary top 10 result1.
Local searches are still different. Only 3 of 15 local searches showed an AI Overview, and the map pack still led1.

The full dataset is free to download, with every search and every cited link1. If you use the numbers, please link to this page.

How we ran the test

We chose the 60 searches before running any of them, and changed none afterwards1. They fall into three groups:

Group	Searches1	Examples
Questions	1">25	what is a limited company, how does stamp duty work, how to register for VAT
Comparisons	1">20	best business bank account UK, Shopify vs WooCommerce, best payroll software UK
Local services	1">15	accountant in Leeds, solicitors in Bristol, web design agency London

Every search ran through the same tool and settings: Google, United Kingdom, English, desktop, page one, between 14:46 and 14:56 UK time1. For each search we recorded whether an AI Overview appeared, every link it cited, the ordinary results on page one, and the other features on the page.

For 9 of the 47 AI Overviews, Google returned the box but not its list of sources, even after a second try1. We counted those as present, but left them out of the citation figures. So the citation statistics below come from 38 AI Overviews1.

How often AI Overviews appear

Overall, 47 of the 60 searches showed an AI Overview1. The split by intent matters more than the total.

Questions and comparisons are almost always answered by AI first. That held across finance, legal, property, software and travel. It matches our earlier, smaller tests1. On 2 October, 82 of 84 search marketing questions showed an AI Overview1. On 8 and 9 October, all 12 UK questions we checked did too1.

Comparison searches are where buyers choose. All 20 searches such as "best business bank account UK" showed an AI Overview1. For a business that sells, this is the most important number in the study: the shortlist is now often written by Google before anyone clicks.

Local searches still look like classic search. Only 3 of the 15 local searches showed an AI Overview, and all 15 showed the map pack1. If you sell to a local area, your Google Business Profile still does most of the work.

Two other features were worth noting. People also ask appeared on 57 of the 60 searches, and no search showed a classic featured snippet1.

What AI Overviews cite

The 38 readable AI Overviews cited 342 different links from 204 different websites, about nine each1.

Company websites are the biggest single source. 155 of the 342 links went to a brand or company site, from banks and software firms to law firms and retailers1. That is good news for businesses: your own website can be the cited source, if it answers the question well.

YouTube is cited far more than most guides suggest. 37 links went to YouTube, and a YouTube video appeared in 21 of the 38 AI Overviews1. Video was cited as often as GOV.UK and other public bodies, which appeared in 171.

Reddit and Wikipedia were small in this sample. Reddit supplied 7 links and Wikipedia 5, far less than you might expect from headlines about AI favouring forums1. LinkedIn and Quora were not cited at all1.

Questions and comparisons draw on different sources. In question searches, 36 of 195 cited links were public bodies such as GOV.UK1. In comparison searches, 33 of 147 were publishers and 19 were comparison sites, while public bodies supplied just 21.

Most cited pages are not on page one

This is the finding that changes how you should think about rankings. Of the 342 cited links, only 38 were the same page as one of Google's ordinary page one results for that search1. Counting by website rather than page, 76 came from a site that also ranked on page one1.

In 24 of the 38 AI Overviews, not one cited page ranked on page one1. "How does stamp duty work" is a clear example. Its AI Overview cited four GOV.UK pages, two MoneyHelper pages and MoneySavingExpert1. Yet none of those sites ranked in the ordinary top 10, which was led by estate agents, a law firm and two Facebook posts1.

Google explains part of why. Its AI features may run several related searches across subtopics and sources to build an answer2. That lets them link to a wider set of pages than the classic results2. A page can be a good source for one part of the answer without ranking for the whole search.

What this means in practice:

Ranking first is no longer the whole goal. A page that answers one sub-question clearly can be cited without ranking for the main search.
Ranking still helps. Google says its AI features use the same core ranking and quality systems as search3. "What is capital gains tax" showed the overlap at its strongest: 6 of 10 cited pages also ranked on page one1.
Track both. A rank tracker alone will miss most of your AI visibility, and an AI tracker alone will miss your clicks.

What it means for clicks

Our test did not measure clicks. Pew Research did. It found that people who saw an AI summary on Google clicked a link to another site less often than people who did not see one4. Put together with our results, the picture is clear. For questions and comparisons, more of the buyer's research now happens on the results page. Being named inside the answer matters as much as being one of the blue links.

What UK businesses should do with this

Find the questions and comparisons that lead to a sale. These are the searches where an AI Overview now almost always appears. Check what it says about your market.
Answer each question directly on your own site. Company sites were the largest source of citations. A clear answer near the top of a section gives Google something to quote. Our guide to answer engine optimisation explains how.
Make a video for your most important topics. YouTube appeared in over half of the readable AI Overviews in this study1.
Get mentioned where your buyers compare options. Publishers and comparison sites supplied most citations in comparison searches1. That is the off-site work we call generative engine optimisation.
Keep your local profile strong if you sell locally. Local searches were still led by the map pack1.
Measure citations, not just rankings. Check your key searches each month and record whether you are cited. Our AI search page explains how we measure it for clients.

Limits of this study

We want these numbers to be used, so here is exactly what they can and cannot support:

One day, one device, one location. Desktop searches set to the United Kingdom, run within ten minutes on 24 October 20261. Mobile results and results in a particular city may differ.
Google only. We did not include ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini or Bing in this test.
AI Overviews change between loads. We loaded some searches twice. On four of them, the result changed, including two where the AI Overview disappeared1.
Nine AI Overviews could not be read. All three local AI Overviews were in this group, so we have no local citation data1.
60 hand-picked searches1. This is a fair picture of common UK searches, not a random sample of all searches.
Source types are our judgement. We classified each website by hand. For example, MoneyHelper counts as a public body and Which? as a publisher.
One odd result. For "best accounting software for small business UK", 14 of the cited links pointed to unrelated pages, such as a restaurant's privacy policy1. We kept them in the totals. Without them, the figures barely change1.

We plan to repeat this test every quarter with the same searches, so changes over time can be compared like for like.

Download the data

The full dataset lists all 60 searches, whether each showed an AI Overview, every cited link with its source type, and the page one results1. It is free to use. If you publish anything based on it, please credit AI Search Ranking and link to this page.

Download the dataset (CSV)

Common questions

How often does Google show an AI Overview in the UK? In our test, on 47 of 60 searches: almost every question and comparison, but only 3 of 15 local searches1.

Do AI Overviews cite the pages that rank first? Mostly not. Only 38 of the 342 cited links were the same page as a page one result1.

Which websites do AI Overviews cite most? Company websites, followed by publishers, GOV.UK and other public bodies, and YouTube1.

Does Google still show featured snippets? Not in this test. None of the 60 searches showed one, while People also ask appeared on 571.

Where to start

Search the three comparisons your buyers make before they choose a supplier, and note which businesses the AI Overview names. If yours is not one of them, that is the gap to close first. If you would like help, our GEO service is built around exactly that.