Google has not only killed the pub debate but also our trust in friends’ and family’s knowledge, according to research.

People have more confidence in the search engine than they do other people when it comes to getting correct answers to questions.

Sixty per cent of people admit they would rather ask the search engine for an answer than their partner.

Just 30 per cent of people trust their partner the most, while 10 per cent of people put most reliance on other sources of information such as social media.

Research by search engine marketing agency Search Laboratory found men are more likely than women to trust their partner over Google.

Trust in Google also extends to the news, with the search engine again preferred above friends, partners and family members for information on breaking stories.

Google is nearly five-times more popular for this purpose than social media, according to the study.

When it comes to checking Google during a working day people in the south east use the search engine an average of 2.73 times, with seven per cent Googling more than 10 times every day at work.

Search Laboratory CEO and founder Ian Harris said: “Google is seen as a kind of oracle, when you type in a question to a search engine you almost always take the first result as gospel so it’s not surprising to see that we trust it more than our friends and family.

“And while social media grows with popularity every day, fake rumours about celebrities etc mean there is the stigma that most things read on Twitter and Facebook should be taken with a pinch of salt.

“The search engine has pretty much killed the pub debate as any argument is almost always ended by the phrase ‘I’ve Googled it’ whereas 10, 15 years ago you might have heard ‘I’ve asked my mate’ and I think it’ll be a long time since we start saying ‘I’ve Twittered it.’”

When it comes to solving a problem or getting an accurate piece of information, who do you trust the most to give you the right answer out of Google, your loved ones or friends on social media? Do you think Google has killed off some of the fun that used to be had from debating an issue?

Add your comments below and also click on the infographic to open a larger version showing more of the findings.

News Shopper: Google trust infographic