At Google I/O last month , the SEO industry waited for Google to launch AI Mode to the masses, and the fatalist viewpoint that it will end SEO .

For the past couple of years, AI has been moving search through a structural shift. Every software tool is embedding generative AI as a new product feature for default interface, and there seems to be a new AI measuring or optimization tool every couple of days.

But we’re seeing users react both positively and negatively to AI being seemingly thrust upon them. DuckDuckGo is reporting that visits to its No AI Search have tripled since Google announced Intelligent Search.

Screenshot from LinkedIn, June 2026

How Everyday Users Interact With AI

As an industry, we’re focused on this narrative of total disruption, and we are seeing disruption and movement away from what has been our norm, but research shows a fragmented adoption of AI , rather than blanket adoption.

For easy, low-risk tasks like finding a local plumber or brainstorming dinner ideas, people are happy…