From Scroll to Single Answer: What Belgian users are teaching us about the AI Search Shift

Updated: Nov 26/11/25

By Sabrina Bulteau PingPrime.ai

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Belgium just gave us a live snapshot of how generative AI is quietly rewriting the rules of search, decision-making and digital visibility.

Together with Semactic, we asked over 1,000 Belgian consumers and 300 professionals how they actually use AI in their daily lives and at work. The result: “Les Belges à l’ère de l’IA générative” – the first Belgian study focused on generative search behaviours.

Behind the numbers, one message is clear:

Search is no longer an exploration. It’s a shortcut – and that shortcut is increasingly generated by AI. And if you’re a brand, that changes everything.

The decision is moving into the AI answer box

Almost 7 out of 10 Belgians (67%) already use generative AI at least occasionally in their online research.

Even more striking:

• 40% say they often stick with the first answer provided by the AI system.

• 36% have already made at least one purchase decision based solely on a generative AI recommendation.

In other words, the decision is happening before the click.

The following bar charts show how this “shortcut effect” plays out: a large share of respondents feel that AI already influences their choices, sometimes without them fully realising it.

For brands, this means:

• The “battlefield” is not just the first page of Google anymore.

• It’s the paragraph the AI chooses to show.

Young Belgians have already embraced the "Ai Search Shift" and left the era of endless scroll

The youngest adults are not “experimenting” with AI.

They’ve integrated it. Among 18-34 year-olds:

• Almost 80% use full sentences in their online queries – either exclusively or in combination with keywords.

• 78% have noticed or already use AI Overviews, those generative summaries that “give the answer in one go”.

• 72% also use voice search, often on the move, to get a quick answer rather than a long list of links.

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The donut charts and query-mode diagrams visualise this shift very clearly: fewer fragmented keywords, more natural language, more reliance on the instant summary.

Ajouter chart du CP_LIFESTYLE_FR on pages 1–2 of the lifestyle press

For this generation, AI is:

• A reflex rather than a novelty.

• A way to reduce friction in daily decisions: where to eat, what to buy, how to understand an admin process, how to learn something new.

As Céline Naveau (Semactic cofounder) puts it in the release: AI becomes an “express coach: useful, responsive, reassuring.”

Convenience beats verification (for now)

When Belgians judge the quality of AI responses, what matters most is not raw truth – it’s fluidity. Across the general population, people rank their criteria like this when evaluating generative AI answers:

• Clarity of the response: 53% (n°1 criterion)

• Relevance to the question: 46%

• Speed & understanding: 45%

• Factual accuracy only comes 5th, at 43%.

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The bar chart below makes this hierarchy very visible: clarity and usefulness clearly stand ahead of source-checking.

At the same time:

• Around 69% of respondents say they trust AI answers to a moderate or high degree.

• Yet many admit they don’t always check sources or verify content.

And still, two out of three people refuse to delegate an important decision completely to an AI.

So we’re in an interesting in-between:

“People know AI isn’t perfect, but they use it anyway - because it’s fast, clear and convenient.” Sabrina Bulteau (PingPrime Cofounder)

A double fracture: generational and cultural

The study also shows a clear split in who trusts what.

The chart below shows that 55+ users overwhelmingly stay with:

• Search engines

• The press

• Encyclopedias and traditional reference sites

They tend to trust themselves and their own judgment.

Younger users, on the other hand, spread their attention across:

• Search engines

• Social networks

• Video platforms

• Generative AI tools

• Online communities and forums

  
  

They are more comfortable trusting the system – as long as the answer feels coherent and easy to act on.

The study also highlights a regional nuance:

• In Flanders, usage is more diversified (forums, AI, Wikipedia, etc.).

• In Wallonia, behaviours are more concentrated around search engines and social networks.

  
  

For brands, this means you’re not talking to one “Belgian user profile” – you’re navigating a mix of habits, channels and reflexes.

From SEO to GEO: when visibility becomes narrative

Classic SEO was about ranking in a list of links.GEO – Generative Engine Optimization – is about existing inside the answer.

The paradigm shift is very explicit:

• 3 out of 4 users already formulate at least some of their queries in natural language.

• 6 out of 10 say they never click on the sources cited in the generative result.

  
  

“ The AI condenses, rewrites and interprets content, optimising for fluency, not for manual comparison” Olivier de Decker (PingPirme Cofounder)

So the real questions for brands become:

• Does the AI understand who you are and what you do?

• Can it verify your claims?

• Does it consider you a strong enough reference to include in its answer – or do you simply disappear from the narrative?

  
  

At PingPrime, we call this narrative authority: being understood, cited and preferred by AI systems and by humans.

What marketers can do now

This isn’t a distant future problem. Belgian users are already there. The good news: there are concrete, pragmatic moves you can start today.

Map your presence in generative engines

You can’t optimize what you can’t see.

• Check how ChatGPT, Gemini and other generative engines talk about your brand, your products, your competitors.

• Identify where you appear, how you’re described, and where you’re absent.

  
  

Semactic’s ActivGEO technology – which we rely on at PingPrime – was designed exactly for this: monitoring and understanding how brands show up inside generative answers.

Turn your proof points into strong signals

AI models need clear, verifiable signals, not vague marketing claims.

Start by:

• Structuring your proof: case studies, certifications, numbers, client logos, expert content.

• Making those proofs machine-readable and checkable (consistent wording, clear entities, structured data where relevant).

• Publishing on places the models trust: your own site, but also recognised third-party platforms, partners, media and communities.

  
  

This is what we call the “Signal strong” pillar at PingPrime: transforming your expertise and content into something AI can confidently reuse.

Build AI literacy and governance inside your teams

On the professional side, the study shows that Belgian workers mainly use AI for:

• Translation (49%)

• Research and synthesis (46%)

• Writing (39%)

• Task automation (36%)

  
  

But they still worry about confidentiality, reliability and lack of training.

Instead of trying to block these tools, it’s more powerful to:

• Define clear guidelines on what’s okay and what isn’t.

• Train teams to use AI with method and critical distance.

• Connect their usage with your GEO & narrative strategy, so every prompt and every piece of content goes in the right direction.

Learning to think with AI

One sentence from the study captures the spirit of this moment:

“AI doesn’t replace human judgement – it accelerates its tempo.”

Belgians are already thinking with AI:

• They ask questions in natural language.

• They accept a certain level of imperfection in exchange for speed and clarity.

• They still want to keep control on what really matters.

For brands, the challenge is not just to “do AI”, but to become legible and credible in an AI-mediated world.

At PingPrime, in partnership with Semactic, our focus is simple:

• Help organisations move from visibility to narrative authority.

• Turn your proofs into strong, verifiable signals.

• Position those signals where both humans and AI look first.

  
  

If you’d like to go deeper, you can download the full study and explore all the insights behind these figures. And if you’re wondering “what’s in it for us, concretely?”, we’re happy to walk you through it: let’s look together at what this AI Search shift means for your brand, your visibility in generative answers and your next strategic moves. Reach out to us for a tailored discussion – no buzzwords, just clear opportunities and concrete next steps.words, just clear opportunities and concrete next steps.

About Sabrina Bulteau

After more than two decades shaping the digital world - including co-founding Be Connect, one of Belgium’s first social media agencies - Sabrina Bulteau, now co-founder of PingPrime.ai, is diving headfirst into the AI Search Shift, the third wave after mobile and social. She arms brands and leaders with the mindset and strategy to win in a world where visibility is power. No jargon. Just impact.

Sources:

CP_GEN_FR: https://docsend.com/view/rcgcthu44vaj42p6

CP_GEN_NL: https://docsend.com/view/ppdpfth6xmmr23tx

Etude_IA_Semactic-Pingrime_Nov-25_FR: https://docsend.com/view/tppa6fkh2wnfij5s