Consumer behavior in 2025 proved unpredictable, fast-moving, and increasingly shaped by external shocks — from the adoption of AI to geopolitical tensions. A recent Similarweb analysis of global search behavior highlights how quickly interest surged, cooled, and reappeared across various industries, offering valuable insights for insurers assessing emerging risks and long-term exposure trends.
AI Adoption Accelerated — Along With Concern
Interest in artificial intelligence remained high throughout 2025, but it evolved unevenly. Searches for generative AI tools surged, followed by increased demand for AI detection and verification technologies. This pattern reflects a broader concern around authenticity, compliance, and accountability as AI-generated content becomes more common. For insurers, this trend signals growing relevance for governance, professional liability, and technology-related risk frameworks — particularly in education, publishing, and enterprise environments.
From Brand Loyalty to Cost Sensitivity
Search data revealed a notable shift away from branded queries toward generic, outcome-driven terms, particularly in the retail and apparel sectors. Consumers appeared less loyal to specific brands and more focused on affordability and function. This behavior aligns with broader economic pressure and suggests sustained sensitivity to pricing, which may influence claim frequency patterns tied to consumer goods, supply chains, and warranty-related exposures.
Lifestyle and Wellness Risks Are Changing Shape
Wellness-related searches told a mixed story. Interest in traditional mindfulness and meditation declined, even as overall wellness spending reached record levels. At the same time, demand rose for experimental anti-aging treatments and alternative lifestyle products, including non-alcoholic beverages. These trends suggest a shift toward personalized, sometimes unregulated solutions — an area that may present evolving liability, product risk, and health-related considerations.
Sustainability Remains a Long-Term Signal
Search interest in sustainable fashion and eco-friendly products continued to grow, reinforcing sustainability as a structural trend rather than a short-term cycle. For insurers, this ongoing shift may influence underwriting considerations related to materials, manufacturing practices, supply chains, and regulatory compliance, particularly as environmental disclosures and standards expand.
Short-Term Spikes Highlight Event-Driven Risk
Several trends demonstrated how quickly consumer attention responds to external events. Oil price searches spiked sharply during periods of geopolitical tension before dropping just as quickly. Seasonal travel behavior, such as increased staycation interest, followed similar patterns. These short-lived surges underscore the importance of preparedness for sudden demand changes, market volatility, and event-driven risk scenarios.
What This Means Looking Ahead
The data from 2025 reinforces a consistent theme: consumer behavior is increasingly reactive, fragmented, and data-informed. Interest shifts quickly, often driven by uncertainty, cost pressure, or technological change. For insurance professionals, these patterns highlight the value of monitoring early demand signals, reassessing exposure assumptions, and remaining flexible as new risks emerge and existing ones evolve.
Understanding how and why consumer interest changes is not about predicting the next trend — it’s about recognizing how volatility itself has become a defining feature of the risk environment.
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