Google’s Ai Overviews Are Cutting Click-Through Rates

We’ve been closely tracking the rollout of Google’s Ai Overviews and the early data confirms what many SEOs suspected: these AI-generated summaries are dramatically reducing the number of users clicking through to websites.

This isn’t speculation. Recent research (highlighted by Search Engine Roundtable) shows that the introduction of Ai Overviews is linked to major declines in both organic and paid click-through rates. And while this technology is designed to make search faster for users, it’s forcing marketers and business owners to rethink how they earn visibility online.

What the data is showing

Here’s what’s happening across the board:

• When Google displays an Ai Overview and your site isn’t referenced, organic clicks are down by roughly 65% year-on-year.
• Paid clicks fall even further, around 78%.
• Even when your site is cited in an overview, there’s still an average 49% drop in organic clicks and 54% in paid clicks.
• Alarmingly, even searches without Ai Overviews are showing reduced click activity, approximately 46% fewer organic and 20% fewer paid clicks.

In other words, users are increasingly satisfied with answers on Google’s results page itself, often without needing to click through at all.

Why this matters for your business

We help clients grow through visibility, engagement, and conversions, and these changes hit at the heart of that. Google’s Ai Overviews mean that ranking alone is no longer enough. Businesses now have to think about how their brand appears within these summaries, not just beneath them.

Here’s the impact we’re already preparing clients for:

• Less traffic, even from strong rankings. Visibility doesn’t automatically translate into visits anymore.
• Paid performance volatility. Ai boxes push traditional ads further down the page, cutting into ROI.
• Shifting brand exposure. Being referenced in the Ai overview may help mitigate losses, but doesn’t eliminate them.
• Changing user habits. Searchers are becoming accustomed to instant answers, bypassing the need to visit a site altogether.

How we are responding

We’re not waiting for this trend to settle, we’re adapting our SEO and PPC strategies to keep our clients ahead.

1. Optimising for inclusion in Ai Overviews

Our SEO team is focusing on authority signals, structured data, and concise, accurate content to improve the chances of being cited in these summaries. When your content helps train the Ai’s response, your brand still gains exposure even without the click.

2. Building stronger multi-channel resilience

We’re helping clients diversify their traffic sources, from email marketing and social engagement to referral partnerships, so they’re less dependent on Google’s shifting algorithms. The goal: a balanced digital ecosystem that still delivers conversions.

3. Rethinking paid strategies

For PPC campaigns, we’re reviewing placement, intent, and creative messaging to make sure ads remain visible and persuasive in an Ai-heavy landscape. Expect more focus on brand searches, retargeting, and conversion-driven creatives.

4. Designing for zero-click exposure

We’re refining on-page content to appear in featured snippets, FAQ schemas, and voice-search results, so even if users don’t click, your brand still earns trust and recognition.

Our take

Ai Overviews aren’t the end of SEO, but they are a turning point. The businesses that thrive will be the ones that evolve quickly, prioritising authority, clarity, and multi-channel strength.

We’re already reshaping our strategies to make sure our clients stay visible, competitive, and profitable, regardless of how Google changes the game.

If your site’s traffic has dipped recently, or if you’d like a detailed audit of how Ai Overviews might be affecting your rankings, get in touch. We’ll show you exactly where your opportunities still lie, and how to make them count.