Despite the online buzz, Google Search and SEO are far from dead. Nick Fox, Senior Vice President of Knowledge & Information at Google, revealed that Google Search “broke all prior usage records and saw its highest usage in history” after Argentina scored the winning goal in yesterday’s World Cup match.
Google Search broke all prior usage records and saw its highest usage in history right after Argentina scored their winning goal in yesterday’s match! 🤯 Great to see the global excitement for the World Cup… can't wait for the semis and final!
— Nick Fox (@thefox) July 8, 2026
According to Statcounter, Google Search’s global market share increased from 89.5% in June 2025 to 91.25% in June 2026, reinforcing Google’s continued dominance in online search.
Google’s global mobile search market share also increased from 93.7% to 96% over the same period.
Taken together, these record-breaking usage figures and Google’s growing market share suggest that people around the world continue to rely on Google Search despite increasing competition from AI-powered search tools. While AI assistants are changing how people discover information, Google remains the primary destination for search, especially for real-time events, news, and everyday queries.
For businesses, this is an important reminder that SEO remains as relevant as ever. Ranking prominently in Google Search continues to be one of the most effective ways to attract qualified traffic, generate leads, and reach prospective customers.
