Google’s annual Year in Search report for 2025 offers a broad look at the topics that saw the most notable growth in public interest, reflecting everything from global politics to entertainment shifts and evolving digital habits. Unlike a ranking of the most common queries overall, the report tracks searches that experienced a meaningful rise compared with the previous year. That approach allows it to surface the cultural moments and recurring questions that defined how people used search throughout 2025.
According to the report, the term Gemini led the list of trending searches worldwide. The spike reflects ongoing public interest in AI chatbots and tools, a category that continued expanding as more people experimented with conversational systems and compared their capabilities. The search term also sat alongside another chatbot, DeepSeek, which landed in the seventh spot. While AI dominated plenty of tech discussions this year, its strong position in trending search results shows how quickly these tools have entered daily conversations, whether through curiosity, skepticism, or routine use.
Sports and politics often drive search momentum, and 2025 was no exception. India vs England was the second-highest trending query, underscoring cricket’s global following. Meanwhile, political commentator Charlie Kirk appeared as the third trending search, and his name also led the year’s news-related queries due to searches connected to an assassination attempt. Broader geopolitical issues were close behind, with Iran and the US government shutdown drawing significant attention.
Food and entertainment continued to shape online curiosity as well. Hot honey topped recipe-related searches, with Marry Me Chicken and chimichurri following. On the movie front, Anora led trending searches, trailed by Superman and the Minecraft Movie. Actor searches mirrored those results, with Anora lead Mikey Madison ranking first, followed by Lewis Pullman and Isabela Merced.
Sports fans gravitated toward major tournaments, making the FIFA Club World Cup the top trending sports search, followed by the Asia Cup and ICC Champions Trophy. Paris Saint-Germain F.C. ranked as the most searched team, with S.L. Benfica and the Toronto Blue Jays not far behind. Beyond sports and film, podcasts and books also captured attention: The Charlie Kirk Show topped podcast searches, while Colleen Hoover’s Regretting You led the book category, followed by titles from Rebecca Yarros and Naveesa Allen.
Taken together, the Year in Search data highlights how cultural flashpoints, international events, and shifts in digital technology shape what people look up. With AI tools becoming more visible, geopolitical tensions continuing to fluctuate, and entertainment cycles moving quickly, trending search terms offer a compact reflection of how users navigated an increasingly complex information landscape in 2025.
