In May 2026, Google unveiled a radically reworked version of its search engine at I/O. The traditional blue links have been replaced by AI agents that summarize answers right in the SERP. Users reacted immediately, and the reaction was measurable.
In fact, installs of the DuckDuckGo app grew 30% in just a few days. The signal is clear: a significant share of users see Google's AI Overview as an experience forced on them, not one they asked for. That said, this doesn't mean Google will lose its dominant share any time soon. On the contrary, the trend opens up new scenarios for the SEO strategies of Italian SMBs.
At SHM Studio, we see this shift as a real opportunity. Businesses that invest today in quality content, technical optimization and organic rankings on alternative search engines can gain visibility in an ecosystem that is fragmenting. The time to diversify your digital presence is now.
Google I/O 2026: The SERP You Didn't See Coming
At the end of May 2026, Google made official the most radical transformation of its search engine in twenty years. At the Google I/O 2026 conference, the Mountain View giant announced it would replace classic organic results with AI agents that generate summarized answers directly on the page. Traditional links don't vanish entirely, but they take a back seat to expanded AI Overviews.
As a result, the search experience changes substantially. Users get a ready-made answer before they can even choose which source to read. Websites that used to appear in the top organic results also see their direct traffic drop sharply. Consequently, the model on which many Italian SMBs built their digital visibility is being called into question.
According to TechCrunch, users didn't wait long to respond. The phrase used in the original story says it all: users don't want to be force-fed AI answers they never asked for.
The Number That Changes the Outlook: +30% for DuckDuckGo
Installs of the DuckDuckGo app rose by 30% in just a few days after Google's announcement. This is an unusual jump, hard to explain by the product's normal organic growth. The timing with I/O 2026 is too precise to be a coincidence.
DuckDuckGo has been the leading privacy-focused search engine for years. Until now, though, its growth had remained modest compared with Google's dominant share. This spike in installs points to a shift in sentiment: these aren't just privacy-minded users, but people who reject a search experience that feels too mediated by artificial intelligence.
Likewise, other signals in the market point to growing frustration with generative search systems. Research by Gartner had already forecast a decline in traditional search volume. In short, the market is fragmenting faster than many analysts expected.
What Breaks in the Classic SEO Model
For SMBs that have invested over the years in SEO strategies built around organic traffic from Google, this change calls for immediate reflection. AI Overviews tend to answer informational queries directly, reducing click-through to the source sites. As a result, pages optimized for queries like
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