As everyone shared their “Spotify Wrapped” results on social media, Google released its own year-in-review.

The search engine dropped its annual “Year In Search” report early Thursday, and the results are a good snapshot of the year’s biggest news stories. One of this year’s biggest surprises was that Chinese AI Company DeepSeek cracked the Top 10 Trending Searches in the United States.

In early 2025, DeepSeek made news after claiming its latest AI model performed just as well as American AI systems despite only needing $6 million worth of older, weaker chips to build it. The company’s claims sent Nvidia and other American firms into a global sell-off, with Nvidia plunging 16.9% on the news.

Just this week, DeepSeek released two new AI models and a technology report, doubling down on its bold claims.

Google’s other trending topics were less shocking, with politics leading the national conversation in 2025. Charlie Kirk, the Turning Point USA founder who was assassinated in September, was the “top trending U.S. search” overall.

New York Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani, who last year was unknown even in Manhattan, took the number-one slot in “top trending people searches,” and was the sixth-most ‘top trending US Searches’ overall. The One Big Beautiful Bill, which President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4th, took the fifth slot.

All told, politics accounted for 60% of the top trending Google searches in 2025, up from 30% last year.

“Trump has set the pace,” the Guardian reported. “Dominating the news cycle with a flood of executive orders and actions, raids of undocumented immigrants, fast-moving international disputes, contentious cabinet confirmations, interpretations of the causes of a tragic air crash in Washington, D.C. and much more.”

But not all searches were political. Music fans had Taylor Swift on repeat, bringing four songs from her new album, “The Life Of A Showgirl,” into the Top Trending Song Searches of 2025.

Sports also captured attention. Americans showed strong interest in the FIFA World Cup, scheduled for 2026. The upcoming tournament will mark the first time the World Cup expands to 48 teams battling across three countries: the United States, Canada, and Mexico. 

Google says its report is intended to provide a “unique look at what the world is searching for, and what it seeks to better understand.”

“These searches reflect specific moments in time and illuminate our shared experiences and cultural events that mattered most around the globe,” Google said.

And while AI popped up a few times in Google’s “Year in Search,” the company does not currently publish a list of trending Gemini queries, which would highlight the searches in its chatbot.

Some hopeful news emerged, even as the war between Russia and Ukraine drags on. First Lady Melania Trump’s office just announced that seven additional children — six boys and one girl — have been reunited with their families in Ukraine as part of a humanitarian effort.

The first lady released the following statement on the news: “My dedication to guaranteeing the safe return of children to their families in this region is unwavering.”

Trump revealed in October that eight Ukrainian children who had been displaced during the conflict were reunited with their families, bringing the total number of reunited families to 15. 

“I commend the leadership and persistent diplomacy of Russia and Ukraine in the pursuit of the reunification of children and families,” the statement continued. “Their bridge-building has created a tangible collaborative environment — an anchor for optimism. This cooperation will continue to drive the process forward through the next phase.”

“In close partnership, my representative and I have provided humanitarian support from the United States to enhance the reunification initiative’s outcome. My hope is that, ultimately, our collective efforts will lead to broader regional stability.”

The Kremlin’s children’s rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, posted on Telegram, thanking the first lady for her “unwavering commitment and involvement in the effort.”

Just before the Thanksgiving holiday, President Trump said that his team is making “tremendous progress” toward ending the years-long Russia-Ukraine war, offering updates on his peace negotiations.  

Trump confirmed that no more meetings would take place until Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reached the final stages of a resolution, as The Daily Wire previously reported.

“Let’s all hope that PEACE can be accomplished AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!” Trump said in part in a statement last week.

The president’s statement came after news that Ukraine has agreed to the terms of a potential peace deal, negotiated by the Trump White House, that could end the years-long war with Russia.

“The Ukrainians have agreed to the peace deal,” Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll told ABC News on November 25. “There are some minor details to be sorted out but they have agreed to a peace deal.”

Mary Margaret Olohan contributed to this report.