Google’s AI Overviews slash clicks, with users abandoning searches more often and not visiting websites, Pew data shows.Google’s AI Overviews slash clicks, with users abandoning searches more often and not visiting websites, Pew data shows.Google’s AI Overviews, the AI-generated summaries that often appear over organic search results, are cutting into how often users click on links to websites, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of 900 U.S. adults’ browsing data.
By the numbers. The majority of users (58%) conducted at least one Google search in March that triggered an AI summary.
Users clicked on a traditional result in just 8% of searches with an AI summary, nearly half the 15% click rate on pages without one.
Clicking on links within the summaries was even rarer: 1% of all visits.
Users were more likely to abandon browsing after visiting a page with a summary (26%) than without one (16%).
Why we care. Publishers have blamed AI Overviews for declining traffic. Pew’s data suggests these summaries keep people on Google longer, or it results in the end of their sessions, rather than sending traffic to the open web.
What else. Pew also found that:
About 18% of all Google searches in March 2025 triggered an AI Overview.
Summaries were typically 67 words long and usually cited multiple sources (88% included more than three).
Wikipedia, YouTube and Reddit were the most cited sites and accounted for 15% of links in summaries.
Government (.gov) sites made up 6% of links in AI summaries vs. 2% in standard results. News sites appeared equally (5%) in both.
AI Overview triggers. Pew also found that:
Longer or more natural-language queries are more likely to trigger summaries.
8% of one- or two-word searches got a summary, versus 53% of 10+ word searches.
Question-based searches (“who,” “what,” “why”) generated AI summaries 60% of the time.
Full-sentence searches (with a noun and verb) did so 36% of the time.
The big picture. Roughly two-thirds of all Google searches, with or without AI, end with users browsing elsewhere on Google or leaving entirely without clicking any result. However, when AI Overviews show up, click-through rates fall, and sessions end more often.
Dig deeper. New data: Google AI Overviews are hurting click-through rates
Google’s response. A Google spokesperson shared this statement with Search Engine Land:
“People are gravitating to AI-powered experiences, and AI features in Search enable people to ask even more questions, creating new opportunities for people to connect with websites. This study uses a flawed methodology and skewed queryset that is not representative of Search traffic. We consistently direct billions of clicks to websites daily and have not observed significant drops in aggregate web traffic as is being suggested.”
Yes, but. Google has yet to share any evidence that Google AI Overviews are sending more traffic to the open web – and they seem to have no intention of sharing any filtered data with us via Google Search Console (it’s all lumped together). They just continue to discuss how much AI Overviews are helping Google, such as in Google’s Q2 earnings call last night when CEO Sundar Pichai shared:
“They are now driving over 10% more queries globally for the types of queries that show them.”
Well that’s great for Google. However, an increase in Google queries doesn’t necessarily mean publishers and brands are getting more traffic.
Dig deeper. Shocking 56% CTR drop: AI Overviews gut MailOnline’s search traffic
The report. Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results
Google’s AI Overviews, the AI-generated summaries that often appear over organic search results, are cutting into how often users click on links to websites, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of 900 U.S. adults’ browsing data.
By the numbers. The majority of users (58%) conducted at least one Google search in March that triggered an AI summary.
- Users clicked on a traditional result in just 8% of searches with an AI summary, nearly half the 15% click rate on pages without one.
- Clicking on links within the summaries was even rarer: 1% of all visits.
- Users were more likely to abandon browsing after visiting a page with a summary (26%) than without one (16%).
Why we care. Publishers have blamed AI Overviews for declining traffic. Pew’s data suggests these summaries keep people on Google longer, or it results in the end of their sessions, rather than sending traffic to the open web.
What else. Pew also found that:
- About 18% of all Google searches in March 2025 triggered an AI Overview.
- Summaries were typically 67 words long and usually cited multiple sources (88% included more than three).
- Wikipedia, YouTube and Reddit were the most cited sites and accounted for 15% of links in summaries.
- Government (.gov) sites made up 6% of links in AI summaries vs. 2% in standard results. News sites appeared equally (5%) in both.
AI Overview triggers. Pew also found that:
- Longer or more natural-language queries are more likely to trigger summaries.
- 8% of one- or two-word searches got a summary, versus 53% of 10+ word searches.
- Question-based searches (“who,” “what,” “why”) generated AI summaries 60% of the time.
- Full-sentence searches (with a noun and verb) did so 36% of the time.
The big picture. Roughly two-thirds of all Google searches, with or without AI, end with users browsing elsewhere on Google or leaving entirely without clicking any result. However, when AI Overviews show up, click-through rates fall, and sessions end more often.
Dig deeper. New data: Google AI Overviews are hurting click-through rates
Google’s response. A Google spokesperson shared this statement with Search Engine Land:
- “People are gravitating to AI-powered experiences, and AI features in Search enable people to ask even more questions, creating new opportunities for people to connect with websites. This study uses a flawed methodology and skewed queryset that is not representative of Search traffic. We consistently direct billions of clicks to websites daily and have not observed significant drops in aggregate web traffic as is being suggested.”
Yes, but. Google has yet to share any evidence that Google AI Overviews are sending more traffic to the open web – and they seem to have no intention of sharing any filtered data with us via Google Search Console (it’s all lumped together). They just continue to discuss how much AI Overviews are helping Google, such as in Google’s Q2 earnings call last night when CEO Sundar Pichai shared:
- “They are now driving over 10% more queries globally for the types of queries that show them.”
Well that’s great for Google. However, an increase in Google queries doesn’t necessarily mean publishers and brands are getting more traffic.
Dig deeper. Shocking 56% CTR drop: AI Overviews gut MailOnline’s search traffic
The report. Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results
Google’s AI Overviews slash clicks, with users abandoning searches more often and not visiting websites, Pew data shows.
