How
AI-Generated Summaries Are Impacting
CTR & Website Traffic
Google AI Overviews are fundamentally reshaping how users interact with search results.
Organic CTR for informational queries featuring Google AI Overviews fell 61% since mid-2024,
while paid CTRs on those same queries plunged 68%, according to Seer Interactive's
September 2025 analysis. Understanding how
Google AI Overviews work and how to approach ranking in ai overviews is now essential for any
brand that relies on search visibility.
AI Overviews changing the game? Let's build a strategy that works in this new landscape.
Paid CTR fell from 19.7% to 6.34% on queries with AI Overviews
What Are Google AI Overviews and How Do They
Work
Google AI Overviews are generative answers placed at the top of the results page. They
provide an AI synthesized summary using information drawn from multiple sources, reducing the
need for users to scroll down and click traditional links. They are the next evolution of google
sge, which began as the google search generative experience in 2023 before being productized
as AI Overviews in 2024.
As generative ai in google search expands, these summaries influence how people search and
where traffic flows. Google reports higher task satisfaction when AI Overviews appear, while
external studies show lower CTR to websites.
How AI Overviews Function
Use Gemini AI to synthesize multiple sources
Push organic listings down 1,562-1,630 pixels on average
AI Overview triggers doubled to 13.14% in Q1 2025
88.1% of queries that trigger an AI Overview are informational
Include clickable source links, but users find answers without clicking
GEO and SEO must work together for full visibility
Understanding how Google AI Overviews work is now a core SEO skill
Brands that want to stay visible must learn how to prepare content for both traditional rankings
and ranking in ai overviews, which increasingly dominate the upper section of results for high
intent questions.
The Scale of AI Overviews Adoption Today
AI Overviews have expanded far beyond early testing phases and are now a core feature of the
google search generative experience. Adoption is accelerating faster than most brands
expected, reshaping how often users encounter AI-generated summaries and how frequently
traditional results receive clicks.
Key Adoption Metrics Across Major Studies
AI Overviews now appear on 13.14% of all U.S. desktop searches, up from 6.49% in
January 2025. This represents over 100% growth in only two months, highlighting how quickly
Google is scaling generative results across query types..
More than 88.1% of AI Overview triggers come from informational queries, which
explains why high-funnel content is the first to experience noticeable traffic decline as
AI-generated summaries expand.
AI Overviews appear most frequently on non-branded informational searches,
particularly across healthcare, finance, education and other high-authority topics. A study of
around 700,000 keywords shows strong adoption in these categories.
Zero-click behavior continues to rise as AI-powered formats expand, reducing the
number of search sessions that lead to website visits. Between May 2024 and mid-2025,
zero-click searches increased across multiple content categories.
AI Overviews are no longer experimental. They are now an embedded component of the google
search generative experience. Brands that rely heavily on top funnel traffic are the first to feel
the impact, because most AIO appearances occur on knowledge oriented content.
Understanding generative ai in google search and preparing content for extraction helps protect
visibility as adoption continues to scale.
AI Search Readiness Assessment (Quiz)
Use this quick assessment to evaluate whether your content is prepared for generative search.
AI Search Readiness Assessment
Answer Yes or No to assess how prepared your content is for AI-powered search.
Result:
Optimizing Content for Visibility in AI Powered
Search
Generative ai in google search reads and evaluates content differently from traditional ranking
systems. Visibility now depends on how well your pages can be interpreted, extracted, and cited
by AI systems that rely on natural language, factual clarity, and structured information.
SEO for AI Search Engines
AI search engines prioritize meaning over keywords. They evaluate whether your content
answers the question directly, whether it is easy to understand, and whether it comes from a
trusted source.
Use natural language that reflects how users ask questions
Include clear definitional statements at the top of your page
Strengthen E E A T signals through citations, expertise, and authorship
Maintain fast, mobile first pages with clean technical structure
Add schema markup to help AI interpret your content correctly
Content Signals AI Overviews Prioritize
Google AI Overviews favor content that is clear, factual, and easy for AI systems to extract and understand. Pages are more likely to be cited when they demonstrate strong signals such as:
Information broken into structured formats like lists, steps, and bullet points
Accurate statistics supported by reputable citations
Regular content updates that keep pages current
Schema markup such as FAQ, How To, and Article
Natural, conversational phrasing that matches user queries
Generative Search Best Practices
Strong performance in generative AI in Google Search requires content that is clear, well-structured, and easy for AI systems to understand, process, and reuse effectively. Effective practices include:
Optimizing content around real user questions
Refreshing key pages quarterly with updated insights
Structuring each section so it can be extracted independently
Avoiding vague, filler, or overly complex explanations
Providing enough topical depth to signal authority
Zero-Click Search Behavior and AI Overviews
The rise of zero-click searches represents one of the most significant behavioral shifts tied to
generative ai in google search.
Understanding what Google SGE and its evolution into AI Overviews makes clear: the search
experience has fundamentally transformed from link-based navigation to answer-based
consumption.
Current Zero-Click Statistics:
Overall Trends:
Zero-click searches increased from 56% to 69% between May 2024 and May 2025
(Similarweb)
58.5% of Google searches in the U.S. end without clicks on both phones and computers
Searches triggering AI Overviews show an average zero-click rate of 83%, while
traditional queries average around 60%
Only 8% of users clicked on website links when AI summaries appeared, versus 15%
without an AI Overview
How Psyke Helps You Respond to CTR Declines and
Traffic Loss from AI Overviews
What we do:
We help brands adapt their content strategy so it performs effectively even when AI Overviews reduce traditional clicks. Our approach focuses on making your pages easier for Generative AI in Google Search to extract, cite, and surface.
The outcome:
Your content becomes more extractable and significantly more likely to be featured inside AI Overviews, which is now where many users stop their search. This helps stabilize visibility even as CTR declines and traditional traffic patterns shift across the industry.
Our approach:
We restructure content for answer-first clarity and scannability. We strengthen E-E-A-T signals to build credibility and trust. We add the schema markup and technical elements that AI Overviews rely on. We build natural language content that aligns with how users actually search.
Why it matters:
AI Overviews divert attention away from both paid and organic results. Even high-ranking pages now receive fewer clicks than before. If your content isn't structured for generative AI extraction, you lose visibility the moment an AI Overview appears.
What to Expect Next as AI Overviews Expand Through
2026
AI Overviews will continue to reshape how users interact with Google Search. As generative ai
in google search becomes more deeply integrated across query types, CTR declines and zero
click behavior are expected to accelerate. AI generated summaries are becoming the default for
many Informational and How-to queries, and this shift will continue through 2026.
Key Expectations for 2026
Broader AI Overview coverage across more informational and how to queries
Higher zero click rates as summaries answer more complex questions on the page
Continued organic CTR decline, especially for high funnel content
Growth of AI Mode and conversational search experiences that reduce scrolling
Increasing influence of natural language queries and long form questions
More publisher traffic loss as users rely on AI summaries instead of website visits
Rising importance of GEO practices that support ranking in ai overviews
What This Means for Brands
Visibility will rely less on ranking and more on extractability. Pages that provide direct answers,
clear structure, and high factual reliability will have a greater chance of being referenced inside
AI Overviews. Traditional SEO remains essential, but it is no longer enough to protect traffic on
its own.
Brands that adapt early will be better prepared for a search landscape where most interactions
begin and end with an AI generated summary. Generative search is not a temporary feature. It
is the next evolution of the google search generative experience.
Want to protect your visibility as AI Overviews expand across Google Search?
AI Overviews provide complete answers at the top of the results page, which reduces the need
to scroll to organic or paid listings. Studies show organic CTR can drop by more than 60% when
an AI Overview appears. Users often complete their search on the page itself, which increases
zero click behavior and lowers traffic even for high ranking pages.
How do Google AI Overviews choose which content to cite?
Google selects content that is clear, factual, structured, and easy for generative ai in google
search to extract. Pages with answer first formatting, strong E E A T signals, natural language
phrasing, and proper schema markup have higher chances of ranking in ai overviews.
What is Google SGE and how is it related to AI Overviews?
How do I optimize for ranking in AI Overviews?
Can brands recover lost traffic from AI Overview disruption?
Google SGE was the experimental Search Generative Experience launched in 2023. It evolved
into AI Overviews in 2024 and now informs AI Mode, a more conversational search experience.
SGE is the foundation of today’s google search generative experience.
Ranking in ai overviews requires: answer-first content structure, strong E-E-A-T signals, proper
schema markup, natural language optimization, mobile-first design, fast page speed,
authoritative backlinks, and regular content updates. Websites ranking in the top 10 are 52%
more likely to appear in AI overviews.
Yes, but not through SEO alone. Traffic recovery depends on appearing inside the AI Overview
itself. This requires optimizing content for generative extraction, improving authority signals, and
aligning pages with how google ai overviews work. A combined SEO and GEO strategy gives
brands the best chance to maintain visibility as zero click behavior grows.
