Google's AI answers: How clicks and website traffic are changing

Google now answers many queries with an AI summary above the traditional results, called AI Overviews, and with AI Mode offers a search experience built entirely on AI answers. These summaries pull together information from multiple websites, and users often get their answer without clicking.

For companies that win customers through search, this raises a business question: how much do clicks to your website drop, and what does that mean for inquiries and revenue? In this article, we review the most reliable data, compare it with Google's view and show how to protect your visibility.

The data shows far fewer clicks once an AI answer appears

When an AI summary appears, users click through to websites less often. The Pew Research Center analyzed browsing data from 900 US adults in March 2025. With an AI summary, users clicked a traditional result on 8% of searches, compared with 15% without one. They clicked a link inside the summary itself on 1% of searches.

After a results page with an AI summary, users were more likely to end their session altogether: on 26% of pages, versus 16% without a summary. In the study, 18% of Google searches produced an AI summary.

The top result loses the most

Ahrefs compared click-through rates for 300,000 Search Console keywords, half with and half without an AI Overview. The result: when an AI Overview appeared in December 2025, the top result's click-through rate was 58% lower than expected without one. An earlier 2025 analysis put the figure at 34.5%. For positions 2 to 10, the decline is smaller, between 19.4% and 50.8%.

The figures describe a correlation, not a proven effect, and apply only to desktop searches. Click-through rates also fell for searches without an AI Overview. One possible reason is additional answers directly on the results page.

Informational searches are hit harder than purchase searches

General informational questions that a summary can fully answer are hit hardest. Brand searches and searches with clear purchase intent behave differently: people looking for a specific provider or ready to buy keep clicking. So a strong ranking doesn't automatically protect you if the information people want is already in the summary.

Google talks about fewer but better clicks

Google takes a positive view. Liz Reid, head of Google Search, wrote in August 2025 that total organic clicks to websites were relatively stable year over year. What had improved, she said, was click quality: the share of visits after which users don't quickly return to search.

According to Reid, people search more with AI and ask longer, more complex questions. For quick facts, such as the date of the next full moon, the answer is often enough; for other questions, users click through to go deeper or to buy. As a result, some websites lose visitors and others gain them.

Google has supported these claims only with its own unpublished data. Independent studies such as those by Pew and Ahrefs paint a different picture at the level of individual searches. Both can be true at once: fewer clicks per search, more searches overall. For your business, what matters is how much of that reaches you.

Fewer clicks affect your website on three levels

Fewer visitors

For websites that rely heavily on search traffic, fewer clicks mean fewer ad impressions, inquiries or sales. Pages with easily summarized content are hit hardest: guides, definitions and general how-tos.

Visibility without a click

If you're not among the summary's sources, you get less attention, even with a strong ranking. If you are cited, you gain brand exposure but not necessarily visitors. Visibility within the AI answer becomes a metric in its own right.

Pressure on revenue

Ad- and affiliate-funded models feel every drop directly in revenue. For companies that generate inquiries or sales through their website, the math is different: fewer clicks only cost profit if inquiries fall too. That's exactly what we measure before deciding on countermeasures.

Five levers to protect your visibility in AI search

1. Get cited in AI answers

Google picks trustworthy, relevant sources for its AI answers. According to Google, the same fundamentals apply as for traditional search; no special files or markup are needed. Visibly demonstrating expertise in your field (E-E-A-T) and answering questions clearly improves your chances of being cited. Our article on Generative Engine Optimization explains how this works in detail.

2. Offer content that goes beyond the summary

Google answers simple questions itself. Clicks go to content that offers more: proprietary analysis and data, tools such as calculators, real project experience. The AI answer provides the overview; your page delivers what readers need to make a decision.

3. Diversify your traffic sources

The less incidental traffic comes from search, the more direct visits and loyal readers matter: newsletters, a presence on LinkedIn and YouTube, referrals. With traffic from multiple sources, you're less exposed to any single change at Google.

4. Focus on high-intent searches

Searches with clear purchase or inquiry intent are less affected than purely informational ones. So we prioritize the pages and keywords that drive inquiries and sales, and judge informational content by whether it leads to those pages.

5. Measure what really matters

Search Console now has a dedicated report showing how content is discovered through Google Search's AI features. Visits from ChatGPT, Perplexity or Gemini can be analyzed as a separate segment in Google Analytics. What matters is how much these visits contribute to profit. Our article on SEO metrics in AI search covers the KPIs we use.

Four risks to keep an eye on

• Dependence on Google: The more Google answers on its own, the more your visibility depends on Google's decisions. Blocking AI crawlers protects your content but costs you visibility in the answers.
• Weaker incentive for high-effort content: If good content no longer pays for itself through traffic, fewer companies will invest in it. Those who keep investing stand out all the more.
• Errors in AI answers: AI summaries can misrepresent information, and users rarely check the source. The cited source's reputation can suffer as a result.
• Pace of change: Google keeps changing its AI features. If you review your data regularly, you'll spot shifts early enough to respond.

Conclusion: What counts is search's contribution to your profit

The independent data is clear: when an AI answer appears, far fewer users click through to websites. Pew measures clicks nearly halving; Ahrefs measures a 58% drop for the top result. Google counters that the remaining clicks are more valuable, but hasn't backed this up with independent evidence.

For your business, the key question isn't clicks; it's how inquiries and sales develop. If you offer content with real substance, focus on high-intent searches and measure search's contribution to profit, you can grow even with fewer clicks. Our GEO page shows how we put this into practice.