AI Overviews: Why first place alone is no longer enough

For a long time, a top Google ranking was a reliable indicator of reach, and for some even an essential marketing strategy. With the introduction of AI Overviews, companies can rank in position 1 and still gain significantly fewer visitors.

For marketing managers, a new question becomes decisive: how does the brand stay visible when Google already delivers the answer itself?

The click comparison shows the order of magnitude: in position 1, a click-through rate of around 2.7% with an AI Overview compares to 8.2% without an AI answer. At the same time, AI Overviews appear for around six out of ten search terms.

Good rankings remain important, but they are no longer enough as a measure of successful search engine optimization.

AI Overviews change access to customers

AI Overviews have long been an integral part of Google Search. The measured prevalence ranges from 59.0% for high-volume search terms to 67.4% for terms with low search volume. The change thus affects both major topics and smaller niches.

For marketing, this shifts the competition for attention. In addition to the position in the results list, what counts is whether the company appears as a source in the AI answer. Those who only look at classic rankings overlook part of the visibility that can be relevant to how the brand is perceived.

Good rankings provide less planning certainty

The difference is particularly clear in the first two positions: for non-branded desktop searches, the click-through rate with an AI Overview is around one third of the comparison value without an AI answer.

Calculated per 1,000 impressions, this corresponds to around 27 clicks in position 1 with an AI Overview and around 82 clicks without. The same position can therefore be associated with very different visitor numbers.

If position 1 in the search results delivers fewer visitors, the expected contribution of SEO to leads, sales and pipeline changes. Ranking targets alone are then no longer sufficient for performance monitoring and budget planning.

SEO reporting has to change

Reporting must reflect this development: how do impressions, click-through rates and visits develop with stable positions? Which topics are losing reach? And what does that mean for qualified inquiries and revenue? Only this connection shows where action is needed.

Desktop and smartphone need to be looked at separately

Devices are also developing differently: year over year, the measured click-through rate in position 1 on desktop fell from 10.1 to 5.5%, while on mobile it remained at around 22%.

For marketing management, this means: overall values are not enough. If mobile search remains stable, it can mask a decline on desktop. Especially for topics that generate important business contacts, reach and conversions should therefore be viewed separately by device.

Competition for visibility extends beyond your own industry

Among the cited sources, YouTube stands out in particular: the platform appears in 28.2% of the recorded AI Overviews for high-volume search terms. It is followed by Wikipedia, google.com and Facebook.

The competition for attention thus extends far beyond direct competitors. Videos, reference works, trade media and social platforms also draw attention and clicks away from your website.

Content strategy therefore calls for a new approach: which questions matter before a purchase decision? Which sources are cited for them? And where can the company contribute its own experience, solid data or concrete examples? From this, you can derive which content and formats deserve investment.

Takeaway: manage visibility and business success together

Position 1 remains an advantage. But how much this advantage contributes to the business needs to be reassessed. AI Overviews change the conditions under which visibility turns into a visit and a visit into a customer.

This results in three priorities for marketing leadership:

1. Expand reporting. Look at rankings, organic clicks and presence in AI answers together and connect them with leads, sales and revenue.
2. Prioritize the economically important topics. Check first where falling click-through rates noticeably affect demand generation.
3. Allocate content budgets according to concrete contribution. Fund content that answers relevant customer questions with your own knowledge, data and examples.

The strategic task is to make the brand visible in AI answers as well, while securing the contribution of search to the business. For this, CMOs need reporting that detects changes early and a content strategy that offers more than interchangeable answers.

Methodology

The basis is 591 German desktop search queries via DataForSEO from November 4, 2026 and anonymized Search Console data from our client domains with verified AI Overviews.