AI fever, sports rivalries, and a streak of pop nostalgia ruled our search bars this year.
From AI Barbie to Squid Game 3, Google’s 2025 Year in Search shows a world equally captivated by the future and comforted by the familiar.
The annual report from Google spotlights the moments and names that defined what people cared about most, from global obsessions like Gemini and the India-England cricket clash to America’s homegrown mix of comedy sequels, cult TV, and digital curiosities. It’s a year when culture met code, and our clicks told the story.
Most searched actors
Star power came with a twist in 2025. Google’s top-searched actors reflect a year when breakout performances and cultural moments collided.
Globally, Mikey Madison led the pack after her Oscar-winning turn in Anora, cementing her as one of the year’s biggest cinematic revelations. Charlie Hunnam also surged in global interest thanks to Netflix’s Monster: The Ed Gein Story, while names like Isabela Merced and Song Ji Woo drew attention from global franchises and international hits that dominated streaming charts.
Global
- Mikey Madison.
- Lewis Pullman.
- Isabela Merced.
- Song Ji Woo.
- Kaitlyn Dever.
- Charlie Hunnam.
- Bella Ramsey.
- Jeremiah Fisher.
- Emma Myers.
- Walton Goggins.
In the US, it was all about charisma and comeback stories. Pedro Pascal, lead in The Last of Us, Fantastic Four, and Materialists, topped the list. Pamela Anderson’s decision to go makeup-free at red carpets turned her into a symbol of authenticity, while Justin Baldoni drew headlines beyond Hollywood for It Ends With Us, and his ongoing legal clash with co-star Blake Lively.
US
- Pedro Pascal.
- Malachi Barton.
- Walton Goggins.
- Pamela Anderson.
- Charlie Sheen.
- Eric Dane.
- Mikey Madison.
- Aubrey Plaza.
- Adam Sandler.
- Justin Baldoni.
From indie breakthroughs to internet darlings, 2025’s searches turned acting into a full-spectrum sport.
Most searched movies
Sequels, superheroes, and streaming originals dominated 2025’s Google movie searches, but the top search wasn’t a franchise. It was Anora, the indie that became a global phenomenon. The rest of the list reads like a duel between capes and chills, with four horror titles, including Sinners, Final Destination: Bloodlines, Weapons, and 28 Years Later, squaring off against superhero revivals Superman and Thunderbolts.
Global
- Anora.
- Superman.
- Minecraft Movie.
- Thunderbolts.
- Sinners.
- Happy Gilmore 2.
- Final Destination: Bloodlines.
- Weapons.
- 28 Years Later.
- Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.
In the US, animation and action ruled the scroll, with KPop Demon Hunters and The Minecraft Movie grabbing family audiences and gamers alike.
US
- KPop Demon Hunters.
- Sinners.
- The Minecraft Movie.
- Happy Gilmore 2.
- Thunderbolts.
- F1.
- Jurassic World Rebirth.
- Final Destination: Bloodlines.
- Weapons.
- The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
The year’s movie curiosity traced every corner of culture: fear, fun, and familiar faces.
Most searched TV shows
Streaming platforms kept audiences glued and algorithms busy in 2025. Worldwide, Monster: The Ed Gein Story dominated searches, driven by its chilling dramatization of the real-life killer and Hunnam’s performance. Follow-ups like Squid Game 3 and The Summer I Turned Pretty proved that the appetite for high-stakes drama and emotional escapism isn’t fading, while Severance and White Lotus held their ground as the thinking viewer’s binge.
Global
- Monster: The Ed Gein Story.
- Squid Game 3.
- Adolescence.
- Severance.
- The Summer I Turned Pretty.
- White Lotus.
- Pluribus.
- American Primeval.
- Alien: Earth.
- Landman.
Domestic drama and small-screen thrillers drew the loudest clicks in Google’s 2025 TV search rankings in the US. The Hunting Wives and The White Lotus led the charge — one a steamy scandal of hedonistic intrigue, the other a dark luxury satire. These are followed by The Pitt, a breakout hospital drama that kept viewers hooked week after week. The lineup rounded out with the moody UK import Adolescence and HBO’s horror series IT: Welcome to Derry, proof that American audiences still crave both tension and reinvention on TV.
US
- The Hunting Wives.
- The White Lotus.
- The Pitt.
- The Summer I Turned Pretty.
- Squid Game.
- Severance.
- MobLand.
- Adolescence.
- Andor.
- IT: Welcome To Derry.
If movies chased spectacle, television chased cliffhangers. One binge at a time.
Top searches and trends
AI ruled the search bars in 2025. Globally, Gemini took the crown as the year’s most-searched term, showing just how firmly AI has entered the public conversation. The rest of the list reads like a world in motion, jumping between sports, politics, and the relentless pace of new tech, from DeepSeek to iPhone 17.
Global searches
- Gemini.
- India vs England.
- Charlie Kirk.
- Club World Cup.
- India vs Australia.
- DeepSeek.
- Asia Cup.
- Iran.
- iPhone 17.
- Pakistan and India.
Across the US, the AI wave hit just as hard, only with a pop-culture spin. Searches like AI action figure, AI Barbie, and AI Ghostface revealed how AI became the latest playground for humor, fandom, and self-expression.
US trends
- AI action figure.
- AI Barbie.
- Holy airball.
- AI Ghostface.
- AI Polaroid.
- Chicken jockey.
- Bacon avocado.
- Anxiety dance.
- Unfortunately, I do love.
- Ghibli.
While the world searched for meaning, the US searched for fun, and both found AI waiting at the top.
Google is ending the year on a nostalgic note, giving your 2025 memories the movie treatment inside Photos.