Google Ai Overviews: Increasing spread leads to significant decline in the click rates

Declining click-through rates: The challenge for website operators

Google AI Overviews are fundamentally changing the digital landscape by providing AI-generated summaries directly in search results for an increasing number of queries. Numerous studies now show that this development is leading to a significant decline in click-through rates (CTR) on websites, with values ​​ranging from 14% to 55% depending on the study and context. Informative search queries and websites with lower ranking positions are particularly affected, while users seeking trusted sources and brand-related searches experience less of a decline. For website operators, this development means a fundamental shift in their SEO and content strategies, with authority and trust becoming increasingly important factors.

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Distribution of Google AI Overviews

Google AI Overviews, also known as "AI Overview" in Germany, are AI-generated summaries that appear directly in Google search results, bundling relevant information for a search query. This feature represents an evolution of the earlier Search Generative Experience (SGE) and uses generative AI to process complex information from various sources and present it concisely. The AI-generated overviews appear above the organic search results, increasingly pushing them down and thus reducing their visibility. This feature has been available in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland since March 2025, having been introduced in the US in May 2024.

The prevalence of AI Overviews is steadily increasing, as evidenced by several studies. A study by BrightEdge shows that the number of impressions has risen by 49 percent since the introduction of AI Overviews. This is due not only to a general increase in search queries but also to greater user engagement with a wider range of keywords, especially those that trigger AI Overviews. For some topics, AI Overviews are now displayed on almost all search results pages, underscoring the dominance of this new feature. Furthermore, Google's AI Overviews are continuously being made larger and more prominent, further reinforcing their importance in the search landscape.

Impact on click rates

The introduction of Google AI Overviews has led to a significant decrease in click-through rates to external websites, with considerable consequences for website operators. According to a BrightEdge study, the click-through rate (CTR) for search results has dropped by almost 30 percent due to AI Overviews, while impressions have increased significantly. This suggests a paradoxical phenomenon: increased visibility with less interaction, as users obtain the information they need directly from the AI ​​Overviews without clicking on external links.

Other studies confirm this trend, albeit with varying figures. A study by Wordsmattr.io reports an average decline in clicks of 17.8 percent and a 14 percent decrease in click-through rate (CTR). Seer Interactive reports even more drastic figures, with a drop in organic CTR for search queries with AI insights of up to 55 percent between January 2024 and January 2025. The Ahrefs study reports a decrease in the average CTR for position 1 from 7.3 percent in March 2024 to 2.6 percent in March 2025—a decline of approximately 34.5 percent. A meta-analysis of various studies shows an average CTR decline of 40 percent, with a range from an increase of 19 percent to a decrease of up to 85 percent.

Differences depending on the context of use

The impact of AI Overviews on click-through rates varies significantly depending on the usage context, device, and search query type. A detailed analysis reveals significant differences between desktop and mobile devices: On desktop computers, the CTR can plummet by two-thirds (from 28 to 11 percent), while on mobile devices it drops by about half (from 38 to 21 percent). This discrepancy could be due to differing usage patterns and display characteristics, with mobile users potentially being more willing to click through despite AI Overviews.

Ranking position also plays a crucial role in the extent of the CTR loss. According to Amsive, keywords outside the top 3 positions experience an average CTR decline of 27.04 percent. When AI Overviews appear alongside Featured Snippets, the CTR loss can even reach 37.04 percent. This means that pages with lower rankings are disproportionately affected by the introduction of AI Overviews, exacerbating the challenges for smaller websites and new market entrants.

Further differences emerge when examining various keyword types and industries. Non-brand-related keywords experience an average CTR decline of 19.98 percent, while brand-related search queries are less affected and, in some cases, can even benefit from AI Overviews. The decline is particularly pronounced for informational search queries (e.g., "What is…", "How does… work…"), as users can already find the desired information in the AI ​​Overviews. Interesting industry-specific patterns also emerge: In legal and political fields, higher click-through rates were sometimes achieved, especially when the corresponding pages were cited in the AI ​​Overviews, while websites in scientific and career fields experienced click-through rate declines despite good rankings.

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Usage behavior at AI Overviews

User behavior related to Google AI Overviews reveals characteristic patterns that are of great importance to website operators and SEO experts. The data shows that most users primarily view AI Overviews as summaries for quick reading, with outbound traffic being the exception rather than the rule. Scrolling behavior is particularly striking: most users stop reading after only the top third of an AI Overview, with a median scroll depth of just 30 percent. This occurs even though 88 percent of users clicked "See more" to expand the AI ​​Overview – yet very few actually reach the end of the text.

The average time spent viewing AI overviews is between 30 and 45 seconds, suggesting users are skimming the text rather than engaging with it in depth. This underscores the function of AI overviews as a quick source of information and partially explains the decline in clicks to external websites. Interestingly, the traditional model of user choice, where results are primarily selected based on relevance, has fundamentally changed – trust is now the most important criterion in selecting search results.

Users apply a quick two-step filter: “Do I trust this result?” followed by “Does it answer my question?” High source authority, recognizable by well-known brands, .gov or .edu domains, led to such results being selected first in more than half of the cases. This shift toward trust-based decision criteria represents a fundamental change in user behavior and has far-reaching implications for SEO strategies and web content creation.

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Impact on SEO and website operators

The introduction of Google AI Overviews brings profound changes to SEO strategies and website operators. One of the most striking developments is the shift in ranking mechanisms: the AI ​​overviews sometimes show pages that would only appear in position 12 or higher in traditional search results. Theoretically, this opens up new opportunities for previously overlooked websites, but simultaneously makes planning more difficult for SEO experts, as the feature is highly personalized and geared towards individual user search behavior. The citations in AI Overviews often come from websites that don't rank in the traditional top 10, thus disrupting the established SEO hierarchy.

Local factors and recently visited websites are given more weight in the new search landscape, while current content is also more frequently included. This underscores the increasing personalization and context-dependency of search results. The importance of authority and trust as ranking factors is increasing significantly, necessitating a strategic realignment for many website operators. Google's AI Overviews thus creates new conditions in the "SEO game" for marketing, content, and SEO teams and challenges existing business models.

Online publishers who sell through targeted online marketing or finance themselves through advertising, or who are billed based on impressions or clicks, are particularly affected. Without a new strategy, the visibility and organic reach of topics and product descriptions are at risk, which can have existential consequences. This development is leading to a fundamental shift in the importance of search results: visibility will be more important than just search traffic in the future, as a presence in AI overviews can build brand awareness and trust even without direct clicks.

Strategies for adapting to AI Overviews

Given the changed search landscape brought about by Google AI Overviews, website operators and SEO experts must develop new strategies to maintain their visibility and relevance. A key challenge is creating page-specific, user-specific content that stands out from the crowd and is found through tailored answers in the AI ​​Overviews. Optimization should focus on trust factors, as these have become the primary decision-making criterion for users.

Improving a website's authority is becoming a crucial factor for being cited in AI overviews. Well-known brands, government agencies, and academic sources have a natural advantage here, which other websites must overcome by building expertise and credibility. A presence on trusted platforms like Reddit and YouTube is also gaining importance, as these act as "trust channels" and increase the likelihood of being cited in AI overviews.

Local factors and the timeliness of content should be given greater consideration, as these carry more weight in the new ranking algorithms. Content personalization is becoming increasingly important to meet the individual search needs of users. At the same time, website operators should diversify their strategy and not rely solely on Google traffic to minimize risks. While some experts recommend optimizing specifically for AI Overviews, others emphasize the importance of high-quality, in-depth content that goes beyond the superficial information that can be presented in AI summaries.

The future of web search: Strategies for a new digital ecosystem

Google AI Overviews mark a paradigm shift in the search landscape with far-reaching consequences for website operators, SEO experts, and internet users. The significant decrease in click-through rates, ranging from 14 to 55 percent, poses existential challenges to many established business models and necessitates a fundamental realignment of content and SEO strategies. At the same time, the altered ranking mechanisms open up new opportunities for previously overlooked websites, provided they meet the right criteria and are cited by the AI ​​Overviews.

Google's evolution into an answer engine that not only provides links but also delivers direct information is expected to continue and intensify. AI summaries will likely be further optimized and rolled out for even more search queries. Website operators must therefore continuously adapt their strategies to succeed in this new environment. The focus should increasingly be on building trust, authority, and brand awareness, while simultaneously offering deeper insights and exclusive information that goes beyond what can be presented in an AI summary.

The long-term effects of this development on the web ecosystem are not yet fully foreseeable, but could lead to a fundamental restructuring of digital value chains. For users, this development means faster access to information on the one hand, but also potentially less variety and depth if fewer websites are visited directly. Balancing access to information with the economic sustainability of content providers will be one of the central challenges in this new era of web search.

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