AI Overviews Linked to Fewer Clicks

A recent study has challenged one of Google’s key arguments about the impact of AI Overviews on website traffic. While the research confirms that AI-generated summaries reduce the number of organic clicks websites receive, it found little evidence that the missing visitors would have been lower-quality users.

The updated research builds on an earlier experiment that examined how Google’s AI Overviews influence user behaviour during search. Researchers expanded the study to include additional analysis of click quality, visitor engagement and different types of search queries.

The findings suggest that although AI Overviews continue to reduce the number of people clicking through to external websites, the visitors who no longer arrive would likely have been just as valuable as those who still click.

During the experiment, researchers compared search results that included AI Overviews with results where the summaries had been removed. They observed a significant reduction in organic clicks whenever AI-generated summaries appeared at the top of the search page.

The updated data showed that websites received almost 40% fewer organic clicks on searches where AI Overviews were displayed. Because these summaries appeared on a substantial proportion of searches, the overall reduction in outbound traffic was noticeable across the wider search experience.

To better understand whether these lost visitors were of lower quality, the researchers analysed several engagement signals after users arrived on websites.

They examined how often visitors quickly returned to Google’s search results, how many sessions ended within the first few seconds without meaningful interaction, and the overall amount of time users spent browsing the destination website.

Across all of these measures, the study found virtually no meaningful difference between visitors who clicked through when AI Overviews were shown and those who visited when the summaries were removed.

Around four in ten visitors returned to the search results in both groups, while approximately one in five visits ended within ten seconds. Time spent on websites also remained broadly consistent regardless of whether AI Overviews were present.

These findings differ from Google’s previous suggestion that AI Overviews primarily remove what it has described as lower-value or “bounce” clicks. According to the study, the evidence does not support the idea that the lost traffic consists mainly of visitors who would have quickly left anyway.

The researchers also strengthened their findings by reversing the experimental groups during the study. Participants who previously saw AI Overviews were later shown standard search results, while those without AI Overviews began receiving them.

The pattern remained consistent. When AI Overviews appeared, outbound website clicks declined. When the summaries were removed, external traffic increased again, reinforcing the reliability of the original results.

The study also explored how different types of searches were affected. Informational searches experienced the largest reduction in website traffic, as AI Overviews appeared most frequently for these queries.

By comparison, navigational searches and transactional queries showed little measurable impact. Since AI-generated summaries appear less often for these search types, researchers found only limited changes in click behaviour.

Another interesting finding was that the highest-ranking search results benefited most when AI Overviews were removed. In some cases, the website occupying the number one organic position received almost twice as many clicks without the AI summary appearing above it.

The researchers believe these findings raise important questions for publishers and website owners who rely on search traffic. If AI Overviews continue to expand across more search queries, the cumulative reduction in organic visits could become increasingly significant.

Although the study has not yet completed the peer-review process, it contributes valuable evidence to the ongoing debate surrounding AI-powered search. As Google continues to develop AI Overviews, businesses, publishers and SEO professionals will be watching closely to see whether future research supports or challenges these latest conclusions.