Similarweb Says No Clicks From Google Grew From 56% to 69% Since AI Overviews

07/03/25
Source: Search Engine Roundtable by barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz). Read the original article

TL;DR Summary of The Impact of Google AI Overviews on Search Traffic and Clicks

Google AI Overviews have driven a significant increase in zero-click searches, rising from 56% to 69% within a year. This shift has caused a notable decline in organic traffic to news websites, dropping from 2.3 billion to under 1.7 billion visits. While some news publishers benefit from referrals via AI chat platforms like ChatGPT, many traditional outlets see reduced engagement. Despite this, Google maintains the narrative that the web is thriving, even as data reveals a growing disconnect between impressions and clicks.

Optimixed’s Overview: How Google AI Overviews Reshape Search Traffic and Publisher Engagement

Significant Growth in Zero-Click Searches

Since the introduction of Google AI Overviews in May 2024, zero-click searches—searches where users don’t click through to a website—have surged by 13 percentage points. This means that in May 2025, nearly 7 out of 10 searches ended without a click, highlighting a major shift in user behavior and search engine results page (SERP) dynamics.

Decline in Organic Traffic for News Websites

  • Organic visits to news publishers decreased sharply from over 2.3 billion at peak to under 1.7 billion in just one year.
  • This drop reflects the growing prevalence of AI-driven content summaries and answers directly on the search results page, reducing the need for users to visit the source websites.

Mixed Impact on News Publishers

  • Referrals from AI chat tools like ChatGPT to news publishers increased 25-fold year-over-year, benefiting outlets like Reuters, NY Post, and Business Insider.
  • However, some major news organizations such as CNN are notably absent from these referral gains, signaling uneven distribution of AI-driven traffic.

Google’s Position and Data Transparency

Despite these trends, Google executives continue to assert that the overall web ecosystem is thriving. Yet, publicly available data—including Google Search Console reports—show a clear divergence between impressions (how often content is shown) and clicks (user engagement).

Google has not disclosed detailed breakdowns separating traffic originating from traditional web search results versus AI Overviews and AI Mode, which limits full understanding of the AI impact on search traffic.