When you’re hunting for a new car, a virtual assistant is now part of the answer—Google’s AI overviews, Gemini chats, and AI‑mode search pages are the new companion to your notebook and phone. 93% of the 1,022 buyers surveyed reported using one or more AI surfaces, and 87% turned to Google platforms for active research, while 90% encountered AI‑generated overviews and 89% used AI‑mode features. The data also flags a 20% jump in car‑related queries from 2025 to 2026, and a trend toward more conversational, highly specific searches that mix price, mileage, and local driving conditions.
AI‑assisted buyers touch the market at 7.8 points on average, 13% more than the 6.9 touchpoints of buyers who didn’t use AI. The study maps five key AI activities: exploring options, prioritising features, comparing technical specs, short‑listing models, and finalising purchase logistics like negotiation tactics and EMI plans. Even with this extra layer, 80% of AI users still paired chatbots with Google Search or YouTube, proving the assistant is a supplement, not a replacement.
YouTube remains king of the casual discovery phase—60% of respondents say a video helped seed their consideration set before any Google query. 77% of those YouTube users turned to experts for first looks, walk‑arounds, and head‑to‑head comparisons. Yet AI surfaces are now the bridge that moves them from passive watch to active research, pulling in data from dealership locations on Google Maps and weaving that into the decision matrix.
For buyers, the takeaway is that the research phase is longer and richer; you’ll be juggling more touchpoints, but AI helps cut through the noise by surfacing the most relevant specs, safety scores, and pricing tiers. For brands and marketers, the lesson is to keep a presence across every stage—casual discovery, active research, validation, and final decision—using content that answers specific questions, from battery life for EVs to financing options for new models.
By the end of 2026, we expect AI integration to deepen as EV mandates push more buyers into the digital research arena. Watch for brands that launch AI‑enabled configurators and price‑prediction tools, as they’ll likely capture the segment that now wants instant, data‑driven answers before stepping into a showroom.