AI search summaries reduce link clicks for Google users

A comprehensive analysis of one month of browsing data from 900 U.S. adults reveals significant changes in search behavior as Google's AI Overviews increasingly replace traditional search result interactions. According to the Pew Research Center study published May 23, 2025, users who encountered an AI summary clicked on traditional search result links in only 8% of visits, compared to 15% for searches without AI summaries.

The data, collected during March 2025, examined 68,879 Google searches and found that 18% of all searches produced an AI summary. Among study participants, 58% conducted at least one search that generated an AI-generated summary alongside traditional results.

"Google users who encountered an AI summary clicked on a traditional search result link in 8% of all visits. Those who did not encounter an AI summary clicked on a search result nearly twice as often (15% of visits)," the research stated.

Users demonstrated even less engagement with the AI summaries themselves. Only 1% of visits to pages containing AI summaries resulted in clicks on links within the summary content.

The findings provide empirical evidence for concerns that have emerged across the digital marketing industry since Google began expanding AI Overviews. Studies published on PPC Land in February 2025 showed organic click-through rates dropping from 1.41% to 0.64% year-over-year when AI Overviews appear, marking a 54.6% decrease.

According to the Pew data, Google users are more likely to end their browsing session entirely after visiting a search page with an AI summary. This occurred on 26% of pages with AI summaries, compared with 16% of pages containing only traditional search results.

Regardless of AI summary presence, approximately two-thirds of all searches resulted in users either browsing elsewhere on Google or leaving the site entirely without clicking any links in the search results.

The study found that searches containing more words, questions, or full sentences tend to produce AI summaries more frequently. Only 8% of one- or two-word searches resulted in an AI summary, while 53% of searches with 10 words or more generated these features.

"Searches that form questions: 60% of search queries that began with question words such as 'who,' 'what,' 'when' or 'why' resulted in an AI summary," the researchers documented.

Content sources favor major platforms

The analysis identified the most frequently cited sources in both Google AI summaries and standard search results as Wikipedia, YouTube, and Reddit. These three sites collectively accounted for 15% of sources listed in AI summaries and 17% of sources in standard search results.

Government websites appeared more commonly in AI summaries than in standard search results, representing 6% of AI summary sources compared to 2% for traditional results. News websites maintained equal representation at 5% in both formats.

The typical AI summary examined was 67 words long, though length varied significantly. The shortest summary contained seven words while the longest reached 369 words. The vast majority of summaries (88%) cited three or more sources, with only 1% relying on a single source.

Broader implications for web content consumption

The research revealed that 93% of study participants visited at least one page mentioning artificial intelligence during March 2025, though most references were brief or unrelated to the page's main focus. Only 49% visited pages where AI was a primary topic, typically visiting just three such pages during the month.

Among specific AI interactions, 13% of respondents visited websites for AI tools such as chatbots or image generators. One-in-ten conducted searches directly related to AI topics, with common queries involving combinations of "AI" and "ChatGPT."

The study documented that 52% of participants visited news websites mentioning AI, but most articles only referenced the technology incidentally. Just 8% visited news articles where AI was discussed substantially or served as the primary focus.

Shopping websites showed significant AI integration, with 54% of participants encountering AI references on major e-commerce platforms. These mentions frequently involved AI-powered product features or AI-generated customer review summaries, with Amazon.com accounting for a large portion due to its automated review summarization system.

Marketing industry faces adaptation challenges

The findings arrive as the digital marketing community grapples with fundamental changes to search-driven traffic patterns. Recent data from PPC Land shows major publishers experiencing measurable impacts, with Dotdash Meredith reporting AI Overviews appearing on roughly one-third of search results related to their content.

Google has begun integrating advertising directly into AI-generated search responses, creating new monetization opportunities while potentially offsetting traditional organic traffic losses. The company launched ads within AI Overviews for mobile users in the United States, with executives reporting careful testing of ad integration over several months.

PPC Land reported AI Overviews now reach over 1.5 billion users monthly, with Google maintaining comparable monetization rates despite concerns about reduced external link clicks.

The study's methodology involved analyzing browsing data from 900 U.S. adults who agreed to share their March 2025 web activity through the KnowledgePanel Digital online panel. Researchers examined approximately 2.5 million webpage visits to 1.1 million unique URLs, with AI-related content identified through keyword matching and machine learning classification.

Industry experts anticipate continued adaptation as AI search features become more prevalent across multiple search engines. Microsoft has reported similar engagement patterns with its AI-powered search capabilities, while emerging platforms demonstrate varying approaches to balancing AI-generated content with traditional web linking.

Timeline

• May 23, 2025: Pew Research Center publishes "What Web Browsing Data Tells Us About How AI Appears Online" study
• July 22, 2025: Pew Research releases follow-up analysis "Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results"
• March 2025: Data collection period covering 68,879 Google searches from 900 U.S. adults
• February 2025: Independent research shows 54.6% decline in organic click-through rates when AI Overviews appear
• May 2025: Dotdash Meredith reports AI Overviews affecting one-third of search results for publisher content
• April 2025: Google Q1 earnings reveal AI Overviews reaching 1.5 billion users monthly
• May 2025: SEO professionals report significant spam problems affecting AI Overview accuracy
• June 2025: Google executives defend AI search features amid mounting publisher traffic concerns
• July 2025: Google claims AI Overview clicks are "higher quality" despite continued traffic decline reports

Summary

Who: 900 U.S. adults participating in Pew Research Center study, representing broader Google search user population affected by AI Overviews feature implementation.

What: Significant reduction in traditional search result clicks when AI-generated summaries appear, with only 8% of users clicking through to websites compared to 15% without AI summaries present. Users rarely engage with links within AI summaries themselves, clicking them in just 1% of visits.

When: Data collected during March 2025, with results published by Pew Research Center on July 22, 2025. The findings reflect search behavior approximately one year after Google began rolling out AI Overviews to U.S. users.

Where: Analysis focused on Google search behavior in the United States, though AI Overviews now operate globally across 200 countries and 40 languages, affecting search patterns worldwide.

Why: Google's substantial artificial intelligence infrastructure investments and business model evolution drive the shift toward providing direct answers within search results, reducing user need to visit external websites while creating new advertising opportunities within AI-generated content.

Key Terms Explained

Click-Through Rate (CTR) Click-through rate measures the percentage of users who click on a specific link after viewing it in search results or advertisements. CTR serves as a fundamental metric for evaluating search result effectiveness and user engagement patterns. The Pew Research data demonstrates how AI Overviews significantly impact CTR metrics, with traditional search results experiencing a 47% reduction in clicks when AI summaries appear. Changes in CTR directly affect website traffic volumes and indicate shifts in user behavior, making this metric crucial for measuring the business impact of AI search features.

AI Overviews AI Overviews represent Google's artificial intelligence-generated summaries that appear at the top of search result pages, synthesizing information from multiple sources to provide direct answers to user queries. These features now reach over 1.5 billion users monthly and appear in 18% of all Google searches according to the Pew data. AI Overviews fundamentally change how users interact with search results by reducing the need to click through to external websites, creating new challenges for content creators while opening opportunities for integrated advertising placements.

Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) Search Engine Results Pages contain the organic listings, advertisements, and special features displayed by search engines in response to user queries. SERP composition has fundamentally changed with AI Overview integration, creating new visibility dynamics where traditional organic results compete with AI-generated summaries for user attention. The research shows that 26% of users end their browsing sessions entirely after encountering AI summaries, compared to 16% with traditional SERPs, indicating substantial behavioral shifts in search consumption patterns.

Organic Traffic Organic traffic refers to visitors who arrive at websites through unpaid search engine results, representing a crucial revenue source for content creators and publishers. The Pew findings provide empirical evidence for industry concerns about AI Overviews reducing organic traffic, with users clicking traditional search results 47% less frequently when AI summaries appear. Major publishers like Dotdash Meredith have reported measurable declines in organic sessions, highlighting the significant business implications of this traffic reduction for advertising-dependent websites.

Zero-Click Searches Zero-click searches occur when users find answers directly within search results without clicking through to external websites. The phenomenon has intensified with AI Overview implementation, with industry data showing zero-click searches increasing from 56% to nearly 69% since the feature launched. The Pew research reinforces this trend, documenting that approximately two-thirds of all searches result in users either browsing elsewhere on Google or leaving the site entirely without clicking any external links.

Search Behavior Search behavior encompasses how users interact with search engines, including query formulation, result evaluation, and clicking patterns. The research reveals fundamental changes in search behavior, with longer queries (10+ words) generating AI summaries 53% of the time compared to 8% for shorter searches. Question-based searches produce AI summaries 60% of the time, indicating users increasingly rely on search engines for direct answers rather than website exploration, fundamentally altering the traditional search-to-website traffic model.

Digital Marketing Digital marketing encompasses online strategies for reaching and engaging audiences through various digital channels, with search engine optimization and paid advertising forming core components. The marketing industry faces significant adaptation challenges as AI search features reshape traffic patterns and user engagement metrics. Marketers must now develop strategies that account for reduced organic visibility while exploring new opportunities in AI-integrated advertising placements and content optimization for AI summary inclusion.

Content Strategy Content strategy involves planning, developing, and managing content to achieve specific business objectives and audience engagement goals. The emergence of AI Overviews requires content creators to reconsider traditional SEO approaches, as search engines increasingly extract and synthesize information rather than directing users to source websites. The research shows that only 8% of news articles visited by participants discussed AI as a primary focus, suggesting content creators may need to develop more substantial, in-depth coverage to maintain relevance in an AI-summarized search environment.

User Engagement User engagement measures how actively and meaningfully users interact with digital content, websites, and search results. The Pew data reveals decreased engagement with traditional search results when AI summaries are present, with users more likely to terminate browsing sessions entirely. However, Google claims that clicks from AI Overviews deliver higher engagement quality despite reduced volume, creating a tension between traditional traffic metrics and evolving user interaction patterns that marketers must navigate.

Search Monetization Search monetization refers to methods of generating revenue from search engine activities, primarily through advertising placements and user data collection. Google's integration of advertisements within AI Overviews represents a new monetization approach, maintaining comparable revenue rates despite reduced external link clicks. The company reported careful testing of ad integration over several months, suggesting AI-powered search features can preserve advertising effectiveness while fundamentally changing how users consume search information, creating both challenges and opportunities for digital advertisers.