Google’s latest Year in Search report for 2025 underscores just how deeply artificial intelligence shaped India’s online habits this year. The data reveals that Gemini, Google’s own AI system, became the most searched AI tool in the country, overtaking ChatGPT and signalling a broader shift in how users rely on AI for everyday tasks.

AI becomes part of India’s daily digital life

The report states that Gemini was the top trending search term across India in 2025, highlighting how quickly AI has moved from novelty to necessity. Its popularity was boosted in part by the success of Gemini’s 2.5 Flash Image model, which fuelled viral trends such as “Nano Banana”, known for its 3D edits and creative saree transformation visuals that dominated social media feeds.

However, the surge in interest was not limited to Google’s ecosystem. The findings indicate that Indian users actively explored a wider landscape of AI platforms.

Gemini AI Photo secured the second position, followed by Grok in third place and DeepSeek in fourth, reflecting India’s growing appetite for specialised and creative AI platforms. Perplexity, with its answer-driven interface, took fifth, while Google AI Studio ranked sixth among the most searched AI tools.

However, the biggest surprise in the list came further down the chart. ChatGPT — once synonymous with AI chatbots in India — slipped to seventh place, overtaken by a wave of newer tools offering visual generation, humour-led chat, and search-focused outputs. Its niche spin-off, ChatGPT Ghibli Art, followed in eighth position, signalling how users increasingly sought AI systems tailored for specific aesthetic or creative needs.

Rounding off the top ten were Flow in ninth place and Ghibli Style Image Generator in tenth, underscoring the surge in demand for AI-powered visual editing and stylistic transformations.

Google’s report describes 2025 as the year when AI evolved into a “daily companion”, with Indians embracing these tools to boost productivity, learn new skills, and fuel their creativity across multiple mediums.

Global gaming searches showcase a strong year for new titles

In the global edition of Year in Search 2025, gaming queries reflected a wave of anticipation and renewed enthusiasm among players. Arc Raiders claimed the top spot worldwide, emerging as the most searched game of the year. It was followed by Battlefield 6, which secured second place, and Strands, which landed in third.

The rest of the global top ten also showcased a diverse mix of genres and major franchises. Split Fiction ranked fourth, while Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 took fifth. Path of Exile 2 secured sixth place, ahead of Grand Theft Auto 6 in seventh. Pokémon Legends: Z-A stood at eighth, followed by Minecraft in ninth and Roblox in tenth, demonstrating the enduring popularity of long-running titles alongside new releases.

India's Year in Search 2025: The A to Z

A is for Aneet Padda & Ahaan Panday

B is for Bryan Johnson on Nikhil Kamath's podcast

C is for Ceasefire

D is for Dharmendra

E is for Earthquake near me

F is for Final Destination & Floodlighting

G is for Google Gemini

H is for Haldi Trend

I is for the Indian Premier League

J is for Jemimah Rodrigues

K is for Kantara

L is for Labubu

M is for Maha Kumbh

N is for Nano Banana Trends

O is for Operation Sindoor

P & Q are for Phu Quoc

R is for Ranveer Allahabadia

S is for Squid Game & Sunita Williams

T & U are for Thekua, Ukadiche Modak 

V is for Vaibhav Suryavanshi

W is for Women's World Cup & Waqf Bill

X is for X's Grok

Y is for Yorkshire Pudding

Z is for Zubeen Garg

# is for 67 Meme