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Zero-Click Searches and What They Mean for Your Traffic

By Rahil Jain, founder of Chalk LabsUpdated How we research

The short answer

There is no single number. Pew found people clicked a regular result in 8% of visits with an AI summary and 15% without. Ahrefs found 58% lower click-through for the top result. Semrush found the zero-click rate slightly lower after an AI Overview appeared. None is a controlled test, so read them as a range, and track impressions and enquiries instead of clicks alone. 236

  • No single figure exists. Click studies disagree because they measure different things, and none is a controlled experiment.
  • Pew: a regular result was clicked in 8% of visits with an AI summary and 15% without. Only 1% clicked inside the summary.
  • Ahrefs links AI Overviews to 58% lower click-through for the top result. Semrush found the zero-click rate slightly lower after one appeared.
  • Coverage varies by keyword: about a quarter of US searches in one study, and close to half in health care.
  • Track impressions, citations, branded searches and self-reported enquiries, not clicks alone.

How much have zero-click searches grown with AI Overviews?

No one knows the exact figure, because the studies count different things. A zero-click search is one where the searcher gets the answer without visiting any site. 1 Some studies count visits with no click on any result, and others compare click-through on the top-ranking page.

One large sample points to a narrower change than the headlines. Where an AI answer appears, fewer people click regular results. But the share of all searches that end without a click moved little in one Semrush sample. 6 The baseline was already high: SparkToro found in 2024 that 60% of Google searches ended without a click, a figure Ahrefs repeats. We could not open SparkToro's own page, so that number is as Ahrefs reports it. 1

So zero-click did not start with AI. AI answers add a newer kind, one that can name sources and sometimes brands.

How often are buyers getting answers without you?

When the answer is the whole visit, what matters is whether it names you. This estimate shows what is at stake when AI answers name your rivals and not you.

Roughly how many times a month buyers ask about what you sell.
Of the AI answers, how often a competitor is named and you are not.

What this adds up to

About 120 AI answers a month name a rival and not you. At these rates that puts about 3.6 enquiries, 0.7 customers and $1,800 in revenue at stake each month, or $21,600 a year.

About 120 AI answers a month name a rival and not you. At these rates that puts about 3.6 enquiries, 0.7 customers and $1,800 in revenue at stake each month, or $21,600 a year.
Buyers asking AI a month
200
Times you are absent
120
Answers that name a rival, not you.
Enquiries at stake a month
3.6
Deals at stake a month
0.7
Revenue at stake a month
$1,800
Revenue at stake a year
$21,600

How it is worked out

  • Buyers asking AI = buyer questions × share who ask an AI assistant.
  • Times you are absent = buyers asking AI × share of answers that name a rival and not you.
  • Enquiries at stake = times you are absent × enquiry rate.
  • Deals at stake = enquiries at stake × close rate.
  • Revenue at stake = deals at stake × average customer value. The yearly figure is the monthly figure × 12.
Size this for my company (free proposal)

What do the main studies actually measure?

Each study answers a different question, so read the last column first. None of them is a controlled experiment. An earlier Ahrefs run, from March 2024 to March 2025, found 34.5% lower click-through for the top result. 4

Click studies side by side, with what each cannot tell you.
StudySampleFindingWhat it cannot tell you
Pew Research Center, March 2025 2900 US adults' Google visitsA regular result was clicked in 8% of visits with an AI summary and 15% without. 1% clicked inside the summary. 26% of visits with a summary ended the session, against 16%.Observational. Queries with summaries differ from those without.
Ahrefs, December 2023 to December 2025 3The same design, re-run58% lower click-through for the top result.Same limits, plus a two-year gap in which other results features changed.
Seer Interactive, Q3 2025 53,119 informational terms, 42 organisationsOrganic click-through of 0.52% with an AI Overview that did not cite the brand, against 1.45% with none.Informational terms only. A retrospective comparison.
Semrush, January to October 2025 6200,000 plus keywordsThe zero-click rate fell from 33.75% to 31.53% on keywords that gained an AI Overview.Semrush says those searches may already have been unlikely to end in a click.
Authoritas, April 2025 73,500 UK news search termsPublisher click-through fell 47.5% on desktop and 37.7% on mobile.News only. Google called the study inaccurate.
Ahrefs, France, 2026 8963 French domainsMedian click-through fell 23.1% for domains with heavy exposure, while domains with under 2% exposure rose 2.3%.Nine days of after-launch data, and a minority of sites.

Why do the numbers disagree?

Four things explain most of the gap. Google then adds its own view, which outsiders cannot test.

  • The unit differs. Pew counts visits, Ahrefs and Seer count click-through on result pages, and Semrush counts searches that end with no click on any result. 2356
  • The people differ. Pew tracked 900 adults, Seer tracked 42 client organisations, and Authoritas tracked UK news terms. 257
  • The queries differ. Searches that trigger an AI answer tend to be informational and may already have had low click rates, which Semrush notes. 6 Ahrefs limits its sample to informational keywords for a similar reason. 4
  • The month differs. AI Overview coverage rose and then fell during 2025, so any before-and-after comparison depends on the dates chosen. 6

How often do AI Overviews appear?

It depends on the topic. Conductor found that 25.11% of about 21.9 million US Google searches produced an AI Overview between 15 September and 12 October 2025, with close to half of health care searches and under 5% of real estate searches. 9 Pew found that 18% of its 68,879 searches produced one in March 2025. 2

Semrush saw coverage rise from 6.49% of queries in January 2025 to 24.61% in July, then fall to 15.69% in November. 6

These samples differ, so do not stitch them into one trend line. Check how often AI Overviews show for your own keywords.

Do people click the links inside AI answers?

Rarely, in Pew's data. Users clicked a link inside the AI summary in 1% of visits to pages that showed one. Those visits also ended the browsing session 26% of the time, against 16% for pages without a summary. 2

Being cited still seems to help. In Seer's data, brands cited in an AI Overview had 0.70% organic click-through, against 0.52% for brands that were not cited, and 7.89% paid click-through against 4.14%. Seer says it cannot prove the citation caused the difference, since brand strength may explain both. 5

Google does count those clicks. In Search Console, a click on an external link in an AI Overview counts as a click, and the AI Overview takes one position that all its links share. 12

Which pages lose clicks, and which still earn visits?

Pages that exist to give a fact are the most exposed. In Ahrefs' first study, 99.2% of keywords that triggered AI Overviews were informational. 4 Semrush later saw AI Overviews spreading to other query types, with the informational share falling from 91.3% in January 2025 to 57.1% in October. 6

Pages that finish a job still need a visit. Our reasoning, which no study tests directly, is that a buyer cannot request a quote, book a slot or read your terms inside someone else's answer. Pricing, booking, proof, comparison and contact pages are the ones to protect and improve.

Pages that only define a term can still earn citations, though they may earn fewer clicks. Write them to be quotable, and to lead the reader on to the pages that finish the job. See how to write content AI engines quote.

What should you track instead of clicks?

Track whether you are shown, cited and chosen. Clicks are one signal among several, and they now undercount your reach. The table pairs each signal with where to find it, and the rules below say how to read the pattern.

  • Impressions up, clicks down, enquiries steady: AI answers are carrying your name. Keep going.
  • Impressions and enquiries both down: you are losing ground. Review the pages and the questions you target.
  • Impressions steady, clicks and enquiries down: fix the pages that should finish the job, such as pricing and contact.
Signals that still work when the answer is the whole visit.
SignalWhere to find itLimit
Impressions in Google's AI featuresSearch Console's Search Generative AI performance reports, announced in June 2026. 13Shows appearances, not whether anyone read your name.
All Google clicks and impressionsSearch Console's Performance report, where AI features count within the Web search type. 11AI features are mixed in with ordinary results.
Citations in Copilot and BingBing Webmaster Tools AI Performance report, in public preview since 10 February 2026. 14A sample of citation activity. Counts do not show ranking or importance.
Visits from AI assistantsThe AI Assistant channel in GA4. 15Excludes Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode, and misses visits filed as direct.
Self-reported sourceA how-did-you-hear question on forms, with more than one answer allowed. 16Depends on response rates and memory.
Branded search and direct visitsSearch Console brand queries and GA4 direct traffic.Rises for many reasons. Look for a trend, not a cause.

What does a fall in click-through look like in numbers?

Ahrefs' figures give a concrete case, though not all of the fall is the AI Overview. On keywords with an AI Overview, position-one click-through fell from 0.073 in December 2023 to 0.016 in December 2025. 3 Similar keywords with no AI Overview also fell, from 0.076 to 0.039. The example separates the two. The enquiry rate is made up.

Clicks are only half the picture. The calculator below estimates how many buyers see an AI answer that names a rival and not you. Its defaults are invented placeholders; replace them with your own prompt research. See also what zero-click search is and how to recover from an AI Overview traffic drop.

Worked example: 10,000 impressions at position one
  • December 2023, click-through 0.073: 10,000 x 0.073 = 730 clicks.
  • December 2025, click-through 0.016: 10,000 x 0.016 = 160 clicks.
  • Without an AI Overview, Ahrefs' model expects about 0.037: 370 clicks. Actual: 160 clicks, a gap of about 210 clicks.
  • At a made-up 2% enquiry rate that is about 4 enquiries a month. The rest of the fall from 730 happened on keywords with no AI Overview too.
  • The page is still shown 10,000 times, so the AI answer may still carry your name.

Frequently asked questions

How much have zero-click searches grown?

There is no agreed figure. SparkToro found in 2024 that 60% of Google searches ended without a click, as Ahrefs reports it. Semrush found the zero-click rate on keywords that gained an AI Overview fell slightly, from 33.75% to 31.53%. The clearer change is fewer clicks on regular results where an AI answer shows. 16

Do AI Overviews reduce clicks?

Mostly yes, where they appear. Pew found a regular result was clicked in 8% of visits with an AI summary and 15% without, and Ahrefs found 58% lower click-through for the top result. Google says total organic clicks are relatively stable, so the evidence is contested. 2310

What percentage of searches show an AI Overview?

It varies by study, topic and month. Conductor found 25.11% of about 21.9 million US searches in autumn 2025, Pew found 18% in March 2025, and Semrush found 15.69% in November 2025. Health care sits far above real estate. Check your own keywords. 926

How can I tell if zero-click answers are hurting my site?

Compare impressions, clicks and enquiries over time in Search Console and your CRM. If impressions hold while clicks and enquiries fall, answers are probably taking visits. If all three fall together, look at rankings and demand. Add a self-reported source question to see AI influence. 1316

Should I still write informational content?

Yes, but write it to be quoted and to lead to the pages that finish the job. Informational pages face the largest click losses in these studies, so do not judge them by clicks alone. Count citations, impressions and the enquiries that follow. 4

About the author

Rahil Jain

Rahil Jain is an AI SEO (answer engine and generative engine optimisation) consultant and co-founder of Chalk Labs.

LinkedIn · Method and credentials

Sources

  1. Welcome to Zero-Click Search. Please Leave Your Traffic at the Door. · AhrefsOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Defines a zero-click search as one where the searcher gets the answer without clicking or visiting any site; repeats that SparkToro found in 2024 that 60% of all Google searches ended without a click (SparkToro's own page could not be opened). Published 17 June 2025.
  2. Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results · Pew Research CenterOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: 900 US adults, March 2025: a regular result was clicked in 8% of visits with an AI summary and 15% without; 1% clicked a link inside the summary; sessions ended after 26% of visits with a summary against 16%; 18% of 68,879 searches produced a summary. Published 22 July 2025.
  3. AI Overviews Reduce Clicks by 58% · AhrefsOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: 300,000 keywords, desktop, December 2023 vs December 2025: an AI Overview correlated with 58% lower click-through for the top-ranking page; position-one CTR on AI Overview keywords fell from 0.073 to 0.016, against a 0.037 forecast without an AI Overview; modelled, not controlled. Published 4 February 2026.
  4. AI Overviews Reduce Clicks by 34.5% · AhrefsOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: 300,000 keywords, March 2024 vs March 2025: an AI Overview correlated with 34.5% lower click-through for the top-ranking page; sample limited to informational keywords because 99.2% of keywords triggering AI Overviews are informational; modelled comparison. Published 17 April 2025.
  5. AIO Impact on Google CTR: September 2025 Update · Seer InteractiveOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: 3,119 informational terms across 42 client organisations, Q3 2025: organic CTR 0.52% with an AI Overview that did not cite the brand vs 1.45% with none; 0.70% organic and 7.89% paid CTR when the brand was cited vs 0.52% and 4.14% when not; Seer says it cannot prove citation causes higher CTR. Published 4 November 2025.
  6. Semrush AI Overviews Study · SemrushOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: AI Overview share of queries 6.49% (January 2025), 24.61% (July 2025), 15.69% (November 2025); informational share of AI Overview queries 91.3% (January) to 57.1% (October); zero-click rate 33.75% to 31.53% on keywords that gained an AI Overview, with Semrush's caveat that those searches may already have been unlikely to end in a click. Published 15 December 2025.
  7. AI Overviews cutting publisher clickthrough rates by 50%, new report finds · Press GazetteOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: 3,500 UK news search terms checked 16 to 22 April 2025: publisher click-through fell 47.5% on desktop and 37.7% on mobile when an AI Overview was present; a Google spokesperson called the study inaccurate. Published 30 July 2025.
  8. AI Overviews Cut CTR by 23.1% in France · AhrefsOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: 963 French domains around the 22 July 2026 launch: median CTR fell 23.1% for domains with over 20% of queries showing an AI Overview, while a control group with under 2% exposure rose 2.3%; nine days of post-launch data. Published 16 September 2026.
  9. AEO / GEO Benchmarks Report · ConductorOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: 25.11% of about 21.9 million US Google searches (15 September to 12 October 2025) produced an AI Overview, from about 48.7% in health care to about 4.4% in real estate. Page last updated 6 July 2026; vendor data.
  10. AI in Search is driving more queries and higher quality clicks · Google (The Keyword), Liz ReidOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: 6 August 2025: total organic click volume from Google Search to websites has been relatively stable year over year. Google's own statement.
  11. AI features and your website · Google Search CentralOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Sites in AI features are reported in the Performance report within the Web search type; Google says clicks from results pages with AI Overviews are higher quality. Last updated 2025-12-10.
  12. Search Console Help: Performance report · Google Search Console HelpOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: A click on an external link in an AI Overview or AI Mode counts as a click; standard impression rules apply; an AI Overview takes one position shared by all its links.
  13. Introducing Search Generative AI performance reports in Search Console · Google Search Central BlogOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Post title and June 2026 archive listing confirm Google announced Search Generative AI performance reports in Search Console; launch day and rollout date not confirmed.
  14. Introducing AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools Public Preview · Bing Webmaster BlogOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Launched 10 February 2026; shows total citations, cited pages and grounding queries in Copilot and Bing AI summaries; the data is a sample, and counts do not indicate ranking, authority or importance.
  15. [GA4] Default channel group · Google Analytics HelpOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: The AI Assistant channel covers visits from ChatGPT, Gemini, Deepseek, Copilot or Grok and excludes Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode, which count as Organic Search.
  16. AI Search ROI Is Messy. Here's How to Measure It Anyway · AhrefsOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Recommends asking how customers heard about you at signup, checkout or onboarding, allowing multiple answers and tying them to real deal values; notes referrer data can be stripped so AI visits may appear as direct. Published 6 October 2026.
How this page was made. Built on Rahil Jain's AI SEO method and drafted with AI research assistance. Every statistic links to the page we read it on (opened October 20, 2026 or nearby). Published October 20, 2026; last updated October 20, 2026. Chalk Labs sells AI SEO services, so we have a commercial interest in this topic. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will fix it.