Google has revealed that its AI-powered search feature, AI Overviews, now serves more than 2 billion monthly users across over 200 countries and territories.
The company’s Vice President, Global Ads, Dan Taylor, disclosed this during a virtual media roundtable, where he spoke about how AI is changing how consumers search and discover products and brands.
According to him, the milestone indicates a broader shift in how consumers interact with search engines, as artificial intelligence continues to transform user behaviour and unlock new commercial opportunities for businesses worldwide.
What they are saying
Sharing more insights on the technology, Taylor said AI is ushering in what the company describes as an “expansionary moment” for Search, with more than 5 trillion searches recorded annually.
- “Users are increasingly moving away from short keyword queries to more detailed, conversational and multimodal searches, enabled by AI tools,” he said.
This shift, he added, is driving growth in both overall and commercial queries, creating new touchpoints for businesses to engage potential customers.
- “Visual search is also gaining traction, with Google Lens now processing over 25 billion searches monthly. Notably, one in five of those searches carries commercial intent, underscoring the monetisation potential of AI-driven discovery,” he said.
Taylor noted that AI Overviews, which provides AI-generated summaries alongside traditional search results, is improving the quality of traffic to websites.
According to him, users who click through from these summaries tend to spend more time engaging with content.
- “AI Overviews now has over 2 billion monthly users across more than 200 countries and territories and 40 languages and is one of the most successful launches in Search in the past decade,” he disclosed.
The company has also begun integrating advertisements within AI Overviews, placing them above, below and within generated responses.
More insights
At the core of these advancements is Gemini, Google’s flagship AI model, which the company describes as a “performance multiplier” for both user experience and advertising outcomes.
The company disclosed that integrating Gemini into its ad systems has reduced irrelevant ads by approximately 40%.
- Beyond targeting, Gemini is also driving a surge in creative output. Google reported a threefold increase in AI-generated advertising assets in 2025, supported by tools such as Google Ads Studio, which now features advanced image and video generation capabilities.
- Citing its recent report, Google said its findings also point to strong AI adoption in Nigeria, with users demonstrating significantly higher engagement and optimism compared to global averages.
The report shows that 93% of Nigerians use AI to learn or understand complex topics, while 91% rely on it for work-related tasks. About 80% are leveraging AI to explore new business opportunities or career paths, nearly double the global average.
Sentiment around AI remains overwhelmingly positive, with 80% of Nigerians expressing excitement about its potential, compared to just 20% who are concerned.
The data also highlights the country’s growing digital economy, with search engines playing a key role in business visibility. More than 80% of online businesses in Nigeria.
What you should know
As part of its moves to encourage AI adoption in Nigeria, Google recently expanded access to its latest AI image generation tools in the country, enabling users to create high quality images directly within Google Search and Google Lens by simply describing what they want to see.
The feature, powered by Google’s newest image model Nano Banana 2, allows Nigerians to generate professional visuals in seconds using the Google App or a mobile browser.
The company said the rollout was part of efforts to democratise access to advanced AI tools for students, entrepreneurs, artists and everyday creators.
