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

Falling click rates: The challenge for website operators

Google Ai Overviews change the digital landscape fundamentally by providing a visual summaries for more and more search queries directly in the search results. Numerous studies now show that this development leads to a significant decline in click rates (CTR) on websites, with values ​​between 14% and 55% depending on the study and context. Informative searches and websites with lower ranking positions are particularly affected, while user confidence -worthy sources and brand -related search queries have fewer losses. For website operators, this development means a fundamental change in their SEO and content strategies, whereby authority and trust as important factors are putting in the foreground.

Suitable for:

• Geo and AEO: The development of SEO for AI search engine optimization in the age of artificial intelligence

Distribution of Google Ai Overviews

Google Ai Overviews, also referred to in Germany as a “AI overview”, are AI generated summaries that appear directly in the Google search results and bundle relevant information about a search query. This function represents a further development of the former SGE (Search Generative Experience) and uses generative AI to process complex information from various sources and to present them concisely. The AI ​​generated overviews appear above the organic search results and increasingly displace them down, which reduces their visibility. Since March 2025, this function has also been available in Germany, Austria and Switzerland after it has already been introduced in the United States from May 2024.

The spread of AI overviews is constantly increasing, which is proven by several studies. An investigation by Brightedge shows that the number of impressions has increased by 49 percent since AI Overviews was introduced. This is not only due to a general increase in search queries, but also due to stronger user engagement with a larger range of keywords, especially those that trigger AI overviews. For some subject areas, AI overviews are now shown almost on all search results, which underlines the dominance of this new function. The Google Ki overviews are also continuously greater and more prominent, which further increases their importance in the search landscape.

Effects on the click rates

The introduction of Google Ai Overviews has led to a significant drop in click rates on external websites, which has significant consequences for site operators. According to the Brightedge study, the CTR for search results has dropped by almost 30 percent by AI overviews, while at the same time the impressions have increased significantly. This indicates a paradoxical phenomenon: more visibility with less interaction at the same time, since users obtain the required information directly from the AI ​​overviews without clicking on external links.

Other studies confirm this trend with different numbers. An investigation by Wordsmattr.io has an average decline in clicks by 17.8 percent and a reduction in CTR by 14 percent. Seer Interactive, with a decline in organic CTR for search queries with AI overlooks between January 2024 and January 2025, delivers even more drastic numbers. A meta-analysis of different studies shows an average CTR decline of 40 percent, with the range between an increase of 19 percent and a decrease of up to 85 percent.

Differences according to usage context

The effects of AI overviews on the click rates vary greatly depending on the usage context, device and search type. A detailed analysis shows significant differences between desktop and mobile devices: On desktop computers, the CTR can collapse by two thirds (from 28 to 11 percent), while it drops by about half on mobile devices (from 38 to 21 percent). This discrepancy could be due to different usage habits and display properties, although mobile users may be more willing to click on despite AI overviews.

The ranking position also plays a crucial role in the extent of the CTR loss. According to Amsive, keywords outside of the top 3 positions experience an average CTR decline of 27.04 percent. If AI overviews appear together with featured snippets, the CTR loss can even be up to 37.04 percent. This means that pages with lower rankings are disproportionately affected by the introduction of AI overviews, which increases the challenges for smaller websites and new market participants.

Further differences are shown when looking at different keyword types and industries. Non-brand keywords have an average of 19.98 percent, while brand-related search queries are less affected and, in some cases, even benefit from AI overviews. In the case of informative searches (e.g. “what is…”, “How works…”), the decline is particularly pronounced, since users can already find the desired information in the AI ​​overviews. Interesting patterns are also shown in industry-specific: In some of the right and policy areas, even higher click rates were achieved, especially when the corresponding pages were cited in the AI ​​overviews, while websites from science and career areas listed in spite of good ranking click installments.

From local to global: SMEs conquer the global market with clever strategies - Image: Xpert.Digital

At a time when a company's digital presence determines its success, the challenge is how to make this presence authentic, individual and far-reaching. Xpert.Digital offers an innovative solution that positions itself as an intersection between an industry hub, a blog and a brand ambassador. It combines the advantages of communication and sales channels in a single platform and enables publication in 18 different languages. The cooperation with partner portals and the possibility of publishing articles on Google News and a press distribution list with around 8,000 journalists and readers maximize the reach and visibility of the content. This represents an essential factor in external sales & marketing (SMarketing).

More about it here:

• Authentic. Individually. Global: The Xpert.Digital strategy for your company

Usage behavior at AI Overviews

The user behavior in connection with Google Ai Overviews shows characteristic patterns that are of great importance for website operators and SEO experts. The data proves that most users consider AI overviews primarily as a summary for quick reading, although outgoing traffic is more of an exception than the rule. The scroll behavior is particularly striking: Most users break off after the upper third of an AI overview, with a median scroll depth of only 30 percent. This happens, even though in 88 percent of the cases it was clicked on “more ads” to expand an AI overview-but only a few users reach the end of the text.

The average length of stay in the AI ​​overviews is between 30 and 45 seconds, which indicates overflowing of the text than a deep argument. This underlines the function of the AI ​​overviews as a quick source of information and partially explains the decline in clicks to external websites. Interestingly, the traditional model of the user decision, in which results are mainly selected after relevance, has changed fundamentally - trust is now the most important criterion when choosing search results.

Users apply a quick two-step filter: "Do I trust this result?" Followed by “it answered my question?”. A high authority of the source, recognizable by known brands, .gov- or .edu domains, led to more than half of the cases that such results were first selected. This shift towards trust-based decision criteria represents a fundamental change in user behavior and has far-reaching implications for SEO strategies and the design of web content.

Suitable for:

• Building sales partnerships in Germany and Europe (reading time: 64 min / no advertising / no paywall)

Effects on SEO and website operator

The introduction of Google Ai Overviews brings with it profound changes for SEO strategies and website operators. One of the most striking developments is to change the ranking mechanisms: the AI ​​overviews sometimes show pages that would only appear in the classic search results from position 12. In theory, this opens up new opportunities for previously less attention websites, but at the same time makes planning for SEO experts more difficult because the feature is very personalized and is based on the individual search behavior of the users. The quotes in AI OverViews often come from websites that do not rank in the traditional top 10, which breaks through the established SEO hierarchy.

Local factors and recently visited websites receive more weight in the new search landscape, while current content is also more often included. This underlines the increasing personalization and context dependence of the search results. The importance of authority and trust as ranking factors increases significantly, which requires a strategic realignment for many website operators. Google's AI Overviews thus creates new requirements in the “SEO Game” for marketing, content and SEO teams and questions existing business models.

Online publishers who sell through targeted online marketing or refinance themselves by advertisements or are billed by impressions or clicks are particularly affected. Without a new strategy, the visibility and organic reach of topics and product descriptions is at risk, which can have existential effects. The development leads to a fundamental change in the importance of search results: Visibility will be more important in the future than just the search traffic, since the presence in AI overviews can build brand awareness and trust without direct clicks.

Strategies for adapting to AI overviews

In view of the changed search landscape through Google AI Overviews, website operators and SEO experts have to develop new strategies in order to obtain their visibility and relevance. A central challenge is to create side -specific, user -specific content that stands out from the mass and is found in the AI ​​overviews by tailor -made answers. The optimization should be geared towards trust factors, as this has become the primary decision criterion for users.

Improving the authority of a website becomes a decisive factor in order to be cited in AI overviews. Well -known brands, official and scientific sources have a natural advantage here that other websites have to compensate for by building expertise and credibility. The presence on trustworthy platforms such as Reddit and YouTube is also becoming more important, since they act as “trust channels” and increase the likelihood of being cited in AI overviews.

Local factors and the topicality of the content should be taken into account more, since they get more weight in the new ranking algorithms. The personalization of the content is becoming increasingly important in order to meet the individual search needs of the users. At the same time, website operators should diversify their strategy and not only rely on Google traffic to minimize risks. While some experts recommend optimizing specifically for AI overviews, others emphasize the importance of high-quality, profound content, which goes beyond the superficial information that can be shown in AI summary.

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 the click rates between 14 and 55 percent presents many established business models with existential challenges and requires a fundamental realignment of content and SEO strategies. At the same time, the changed ranking mechanisms open up new opportunities for previously less attention websites if they meet the right criteria and be cited by the AI ​​overviews.

The development of Google to a answer machine that not only provides links but also provides information directly will probably continue and intensify. The AI ​​overviews will probably be further optimized and rolled out for even more search queries. Website operators must therefore continuously adapt their strategies in order to be successful in this new environment. The focus should be increasingly on building trust, authority and brand awareness, while at the same time deeper insights and exclusive information are offered that go beyond what can be presented in a AI summary.

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

☑️ SME support in strategy, consulting, planning and implementation

☑️ Creation or realignment of the digital strategy and digitalization

☑️ Expansion and optimization of international sales processes

☑️ Global & Digital B2B trading platforms

☑️ Pioneer Business Development

Konrad Wolfenstein

I would be happy to serve as your personal advisor.

You can contact me by filling out the contact form below or simply call me on +49 89 89 674 804 (Munich) .

I'm looking forward to our joint project.

Xpert.Digital is a hub for industry with a focus on digitalization, mechanical engineering, logistics/intralogistics and photovoltaics.

With our 360° business development solution, we support well-known companies from new business to after sales.

Market intelligence, smarketing, marketing automation, content development, PR, mail campaigns, personalized social media and lead nurturing are part of our digital tools.

You can find out more at: www.xpert.digital - www.xpert.solar - www.xpert.plus