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Google鈥檚 AI Overviews debut advertising space: Pressure to monetize costly AI tech is driving Google to launch ad space in AI Overviews as it works to improve the product.

That would be especially meaningful in healthcare and pharma, where marketers skew heavily toward search advertising to meet consumers who use the internet to conduct healthcare-specific research. We estimate that healthcare and pharma marketers will spend $13 billion on search advertising this year, accounting for 56% of the sector鈥檚 total digital ad spend.

We forecast that Amazon search ad revenues, while moving at a slower rate, will continue growing in upcoming years鈥攁nd its strength in search ad revenues is second only to Google. Our take: Advertisers who maintain visibility during downturns often emerge stronger, and Amazon鈥檚 reach means ad spend will likely remain resilient compared to other channels.

Microsoft is building a strong search ad business鈥攂ut it still trails far behind. Microsoft鈥檚 Search and News advertising grew 21% in Q1, a figure that aligns with its push into AI-enhanced formats and branded Copilot experiences. Our forecast for Microsoft鈥檚 US search ad revenues backs up this momentum: We forecast it will grow 12.5% in 2025 to $7.73 billion.

鈥淭he amount spent by UK business entities for search advertising on Google last year was equivalent to more than 拢33,000 ($25,826) per advertiser,鈥� Cardell wrote. 鈥淚f competition was working well, we would expect these costs to be lower.鈥�. Google called the CMA鈥檚 statements 鈥渂road and unfocused鈥� and said it could lead the company to withhold certain features or products in the UK.

We forecast Google鈥檚 share of search ad revenues to drop to 25.8% in 2026 from 26.6% in 2024, indicating that customers may already be moving toward generative AI (genAI) platforms with their own ad offerings. Why it matters: Google鈥檚 dominance was built on a model where links drove discovery, traffic, and monetization.

Our take: Google鈥檚 search ad dominance means advertisers are likely to keep investing, regardless of legal scrutiny鈥攂ut the myriad of charges threatening Google鈥檚 market power could lead to meaningful changes in search. Regulatory pressure is intensifying globally and could force structural changes to Google鈥檚 business model.

Search Ad Spending鈥�. Search Ad Spending, by Device鈥�. Display Ad Spending鈥�. Display Ad Spending, by Device鈥�. Display Ad Spending, by Format鈥�. UK Digital Ad Spending Benchmarks, by Channel. Digital Ad Spending, by Channel鈥�. Social Network Ad Spending鈥�. Social Network Ad Revenues, by Company鈥�. Retail Media Ad Spending鈥�. Connected TV (CTV) Ad Spending鈥�. UK Programmatic Ad Spending Benchmarks.

Amazon鈥檚 growing share of search ad revenues, second only to Google, will continue to push growth in a high-value advertising space as more consumers begin product research directly on Amazon.

Despite lacking the targeted personalization of search ads, GSTV considers itself 鈥渄igital media in the physical world,鈥� McCaffrey said at the 2025 OOH Media Conference last week. That鈥檚 an opportunity for advertisers to reach consumers in a space where they may be more welcome to ads than when disrupted while consuming content.

Google will fall below a 50% share of the US search advertising market next year for the first time since we started tracking it in 2008, per our forecast. It鈥檚 a pivotal time for paid search, with Google鈥檚 ad dominance threatened by generative AI, social media, retail media, and lawsuits. Meanwhile, ad-averse consumers are becoming hesitant to click search ads. Here are four trends our exclusive KPI data reveal about Google, retail media, and the future of paid search.

Search ads launch on TikTok: The keyword-based feature enables brands to reach users during searches, aligning ad efforts with user intent and behavior.

GenAI is already shaking search advertising, and tariffs threaten further disruptions. But YoY growth in US search ad spending should fare better than other channels in the moderate tariff scenario. Our projected growth of 6.9% is just 4.1 percentage points from the 11.0% growth we expect with light tariffs.