Google reveals what New Zealanders searched for this year

Up the Wahs!

Google has revealed what Kiwis were searching for this year and it's confirmed the faith was strong: the Warriors gripped the nation's attention during their hunt for the NRL title. It was also an interesting outcome in a Rugby World Cup year.

Google's "Year in Search" report shows what trended this year. It doesn't reveal the most searched terms – which the tech giant said come back similar every year – but instead, it shows the search terms that saw the biggest increase in 2023.

"Whether you were team Barbie or Oppenheimer... it was quite a year for us all," a spokesperson said.

And it wasn't just the Warriors, with sports searches ranking high in the report.

"We've proven time and again that we're a nation of sports-mad people and this year is no exception," a spokesperson said.

"We were so spoiled with sports games, events and tournaments that it's a wonder we got anything else done."

The top five trending sports event searches were:

The top five trending sports team searches were:

The signing of Argentine football superstar Lionel Messi presumably helped Inter Miami rocket up the ranks.

But it wasn't all light, with a number of major news events capturing New Zealand's attention.

Cyclone Gabrielle, Matthew Perry's death, the election, the Census, the Auckland Anniversary floods and Jacinda Ardern's resignation all drew a lot of interest. Other deaths that saw Kiwis tapping into the search engine included Sinead O'Connor, Jock Zonfrillo, Yanfei Bao, Cal Wilson and Angus Cloud.

Controversy also captured our interest, with Posie Parker and Andrew Tate taking the two top trending spots for global figures we searched. Taylor Swift, David Beckham, Harry Styles and Prince Harry followed along.

The top trending searches for notable New Zealanders were:

Our politicians also attracted interest in an election year:

In entertainment, we wanted to know more about Oppenheimer, Barbie, Avatar, Everything Everywhere All At Once and The Last of Us.

And New Zealanders learnt a lot this year – or at least, we set out to.

Kiwis googled the definitions of "Culvert", "Cis White Male", "Wan", "Woman", "Proclaim", "Staid", "Credo", "Snafu", "Contempt" and "Misogyny" a lot more than we usually do.

We tried to learn how to make cookies, scones, Afghans, Yorkshire puddings, and focaccia – plus Coronation Quiche and Coronation Chicken, a nod to King Charles ascending the throne this year.

The top trending searches for the "how to cook" category were:

New Zealand also tapped into its famous number eight wire mentality in 2023, with a number of trending DIY searches. We wanted to make headboards, chicken coops and even solar panels ourselves.

Kiwis search up how to vote, how to watch the Rugby World Cup and how to solve a Rubik's cube, alongside different questions about the Israel-Gaza conflict.

The top trending searches for "why" included "why were chainsaws invented" and "why is there an egg shortage".

"[The results paint] a unique picture of what kept us Kiwis confused, curious and questioning this year," the Google spokesperson said.