Is the phrase ‘Google it’ dying?
Picture this: you’re having a heated debate with a friend over whether chewing gum really stays in your stomach for seven years, how do you settle it? You pull out the big guns, Google, and find out once and for all who’s right.
Or do you?
The engine playing the role of the peacemaker is changing, and you might've not even noticed the shift.
A 2026 YouGov survey found that 21% of Brits now turn to generative AI as their first port of call when they have a specific question, and 31% had used AI in the past 30 days to search for information or find answers.
Which brings us to the question, is the phrase 'google it' dying?
To understand just how significant this shift could be, let's look at how we got here. Before the internet, settling a debate meant reaching for an encyclopedia, heading to the library, checking a newspaper or simply, just asking someone who might know.
Then came the internet.
The World Wide Web became publicly available in 1993, and four years later, Google launched. By 2004 it had become THE dominant way of surfing the web. From there, search became second nature. ‘Google it’ entered the public lexicon and has remained there for more than two decades.
But now, 22 years later, we've entered a new era: the era of AI.
ChatGPT launched in 2022, and in just four years, generative AI has gone from a novelty to an increasingly normal way of finding information.
In fact, a 2026 UK Government survey found that 73% of the public had used AI in their day-to-day lives in the past month. This really puts into perspective just how quickly things are changing, and if there’s one way to keep up - adapt or die!
Google is already putting AI summaries at the top of search results, companies are redesigning websites with bots in mind, and brands are hiring agencies for their expertise to make sure they don’t get left behind *wink wink*
So, is ‘Google it’ going anywhere? Probably not overnight. The act of searching is changing rapidly, but the phrase itself? We reckon it'll stick around.
After all, we’re pretty attached to our sayings: we still ‘hang up’ the phone, ‘rewind’ the TV, and ‘dial’ numbers, despite the actions themselves being relics of another era.
So, perhaps ‘Google it’ isn’t dying, It may just become another one of those phrases that outlives the technology that created it.
And if you’re still wondering, no, that chewing gum isn’t going to be with you until 2033 (says ChatGPT).
If you're wondering whether your customers are 'ChatGPT'ing your brand or product - we can't say for sure (but they definitely are).
The question is, are you showing up when they do?
Come to our talk in September and find out why ChatGPT hates your brand… and how to change its mind.