How Google’s AI overviews are reshaping search results, crushing click-through rates, and what it means for your website’s traffic

If you’ve been wondering why your website traffic has been mysteriously declining lately, you’re not alone. Google’s AI overviews have quietly become one of the most significant changes to search results in years, and the data tells a story that every website owner needs to understand.

After analyzing over 55 million AI overviews across 590 million searches, researchers at Ahrefs have uncovered some eye-opening truths about how these AI-powered summaries are changing the game. Spoiler alert: it’s not great news for most websites, but there are ways to adapt and even thrive in this new landscape.

What exactly are AI overviews and why should you care?

Remember when Google started showing those little snippets of information at the top of search results? AI overviews are like those snippets on steroids. Instead of just pulling a paragraph from one website, Google’s AI reads multiple sources, synthesizes the information, and presents a comprehensive answer right in the search results.

The problem? When people get their answers without clicking, websites lose traffic. And according to the latest research, that’s exactly what’s happening on a massive scale.

The numbers don’t lie: AI overviews are exploding

Here’s where things get interesting. The growth of AI overviews hasn’t been gradual—it’s been explosive. Since Google’s March 2025 core update, AI overviews have more than doubled in frequency.

The growth breakdown:

• 116% increase between March 12th and May 6th, 2025
• Daily growth rate jumped from 0.47% to 2.12% after the March update
• AI overviews now appear in 16% of all US searches
• They account for over 54% of total search volume

What makes these numbers even more striking is the timing. This wasn’t a slow rollout—the most significant day-to-day change (6.26%) happened between March 12th and 13th, coinciding perfectly with Google’s core update launch.

Think about it this way: if you’re running a website that depends on search traffic, more than half of all Google searches now potentially show an AI-generated answer before users even see your listing.

The traffic killer: how AI overviews slash click-through rates

Now for the part that’ll make website owners cringe. AI overviews are absolutely devastating for click-through rates, and the research proves it with hard numbers.

The brutal reality:

• AI overviews reduce clicks by 34.5% for top-ranking pages
• Position 1 click-through rates dropped from 7.3% to 2.6% in just one year
• This affects informational queries most severely (which make up 97.7% of AI overview triggers)

To put this in perspective, imagine you’re ranking #1 for a keyword that gets 10,000 searches per month. Before AI overviews, you might have gotten 730 clicks. Now, you’re looking at just 260 clicks—a loss of 470 visitors every month from that single keyword.

The math is sobering, but it explains why so many content creators and businesses are seeing their organic traffic mysteriously evaporate.

Who’s winning and who’s losing in the AI overview game

Not all websites are suffering equally. In fact, some are thriving in this new landscape, while others are getting completely left behind.

The big winners

Reddit has become the undisputed champion of AI overviews. Before March, Reddit ranked 6th in AI overview citations. Today, it dominates with 5.5% of all AI overview mentions—a staggering 4.2% increase that translates to millions of new citations.

Why Reddit? The platform’s conversational, question-and-answer format aligns perfectly with how AI overviews work. When someone asks “What’s the best budget smartphone?” Google’s AI loves pulling from Reddit threads where real people share detailed experiences and recommendations.

Other major winners include:

• Quora (the only other site with significant growth)
• WebMD and health-focused sites
• Educational platforms like Brainly
• Government health sites (NIH, NHS)

The surprising losers

Here’s what might shock you: some of the internet’s most authoritative sites are actually losing ground in AI overviews.

Wikipedia, despite being the most cited domain overall, has lost 4.7% of its AI overview visibility. That’s more than any other major site. Other established authorities seeing declines include:

• Healthline (-2.6% reach)
• Mayo Clinic (-2.0% reach)
• Cleveland Clinic (-3.6% reach)
• Britannica (-1.9% reach)

The pattern is clear: conversational, community-driven content is winning, while traditional authoritative sources are losing ground.

The secret formula: what actually gets you into AI overviews

After analyzing 75,000 brands, researchers discovered that getting mentioned in AI overviews isn’t about what most people think it’s about.

The top factors (and their correlation scores)

1. Brand web mentions (0.664 correlation) This is the strongest predictor. The more your brand gets mentioned across the web—in articles, forums, social media, anywhere—the more likely AI overviews will reference you.

2. Branded anchor text (0.527 correlation) When other sites link to you using your brand name in the link text, it significantly boosts your AI overview visibility.

3. Branded search volume (0.392 correlation) The more people search for your brand specifically, the better your chances.

What doesn’t matter as much as you’d think

Traditional SEO metrics show surprisingly weak correlations:

• Domain rating: 0.326
• Number of backlinks: 0.218
• Organic traffic: 0.274
• Paid advertising: 0.216

This flips traditional SEO wisdom on its head. Building thousands of backlinks won’t help you as much as getting mentioned in conversations across the web.

The winner-takes-all reality

Here’s the harsh truth: brands in the top 25% for web mentions average 169 AI overview citations. Brands in the next tier down? Just 14 mentions. If you’re in the bottom 50%, you’re essentially invisible with 0-3 mentions.

It’s not a gradual decline—it’s a cliff. Either you’re part of the conversation everywhere, or you’re nowhere.

The types of searches where AI overviews dominate

Understanding when AI overviews appear helps you predict their impact on your content strategy.

Where AI overviews love to appear

Informational queries (97.7% of AI overviews)

• “How to” questions
• “What is” definitions
• “Why does” explanations
• Health and medical information
• Educational content

Longer search queries The more words in a search query, the more likely it triggers an AI overview. This makes sense—longer queries often indicate complex questions that benefit from comprehensive answers.

High-volume searches Contrary to expectations, AI overviews appear more frequently on popular searches rather than obscure long-tail queries.

Where AI overviews rarely show up

Branded searches (only 19.97%) When people search for specific companies or products, they usually want to visit that brand’s website, not read an AI summary.

Local searches (only 6.85%) “Pizza near me” or “dentist in Chicago” queries rarely trigger AI overviews because people need location-specific, actionable results.

Commercial/transactional queries Shopping-related searches see fewer AI overviews, probably because Google makes money from ads on these searches.

The monetization mystery: why Google isn’t making money from AI overviews

Here’s something that should concern Google’s shareholders: 71.67% of searches with AI overviews have no advertising data associated with them. In other words, Google isn’t monetizing most AI overview queries.

This explains why many SEO professionals haven’t seen ads in AI overviews yet—Google is showing them primarily for informational queries that don’t generate ad revenue.

What this means:

• AI overviews mostly appear on searches where Google wasn’t making money anyway
• The traffic loss might hurt content creators more than Google’s bottom line
• Google may eventually need to find ways to monetize these results

How to adapt your strategy for the AI overview era

The data makes one thing clear: fighting AI overviews is futile. The smart move is adapting your strategy to work with them rather than against them.

Build your web presence beyond your website

Since web mentions correlate most strongly with AI overview inclusion, focus on:

Getting mentioned in conversations

• Contribute to industry forums and communities
• Engage in social media discussions in your niche
• Participate in podcasts and interviews
• Write guest posts on relevant sites

Encouraging branded mentions

• Launch PR campaigns that get journalists talking about your brand
• Create newsworthy content that naturally gets shared and discussed
• Build relationships with influencers who might mention you
• Sponsor or participate in industry events

Optimize for conversational content

Since platforms like Reddit and Quora dominate AI overviews, consider:

Creating Q&A content

• Build comprehensive FAQ sections
• Write content that directly answers common questions
• Use conversational language rather than formal business speak
• Structure content as problems and solutions

Encouraging user-generated content

• Build community forums on your site
• Encourage customer reviews and testimonials
• Create spaces for users to ask and answer questions
• Moderate discussions to maintain quality

Focus on brand building over traditional SEO

The correlation data suggests a fundamental shift in strategy:

Instead of just building backlinks, build brand awareness

• Invest in content marketing that gets shared and discussed
• Focus on thought leadership that establishes your expertise
• Create memorable, quotable content that people reference
• Build relationships with other brands and cross-promote

Track different metrics

• Monitor brand mention volume across the web
• Measure branded search volume growth
• Track social media mentions and engagement
• Focus on brand awareness surveys rather than just traffic

Industry-specific impacts and opportunities

Different industries are experiencing AI overview effects differently, creating unique challenges and opportunities.

Healthcare and medical content

Medical sites dominate AI overviews, but there’s a clear hierarchy. Government sites (NIH, CDC) and established medical institutions (Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic) get preference, while commercial health sites struggle more.

Opportunities:

• Partner with medical institutions for content collaboration
• Focus on specific, underserved medical topics
• Create patient education content that gets referenced
• Build relationships with healthcare professionals who might cite your content

Education and learning

Educational content performs well in AI overviews, especially when it’s practical and actionable.

Winning strategies:

• Create step-by-step tutorials and guides
• Develop comprehensive resource libraries
• Focus on practical applications rather than theoretical concepts
• Make content accessible to different learning levels

Technology and software

Tech content faces unique challenges because it becomes outdated quickly, but it also offers opportunities for establishing expertise.

Adaptation tactics:

• Keep content updated more frequently
• Focus on foundational concepts that don’t change
• Create comparison content that gets referenced in discussions
• Build tools and resources that become industry standards

The psychology behind AI overview success

Understanding why certain content gets selected for AI overviews reveals important psychological and technical patterns.

The conversational advantage

AI systems are essentially predicting what comes next in a conversation. Content that reads like natural dialogue between knowledgeable people performs better than formal, corporate-style writing.

Winning content characteristics:

• Uses natural, conversational language
• Addresses real questions people ask
• Provides specific, actionable answers
• Includes context and explanations, not just facts

The authority paradox

While traditional authority signals (like domain authority) correlate weakly with AI overview inclusion, perceived expertise within conversations matters enormously.

Building conversational authority:

• Share specific examples and case studies
• Admit limitations and provide balanced perspectives
• Reference other credible sources appropriately
• Use data and statistics to support claims

Future predictions: where AI overviews are heading

Based on current trends and Google’s announced plans, several developments seem likely.

Increased presence and sophistication

Google has indicated they’ll release core updates more frequently, and each update seems to expand AI overview coverage. Expect:

• AI overviews to appear for more query types
• More sophisticated answers that synthesize information better
• Integration with other Google services and data sources
• Possible expansion into commercial and transactional queries

Better monetization attempts

Google will eventually need to make money from AI overviews. Likely developments include:

• More ads integrated into AI overview results
• Sponsored content within AI summaries
• E-commerce integration for product-related queries
• Partnership opportunities for brands

The rise of AI-first SEO

Traditional SEO tactics will become less effective as AI overviews expand. The future belongs to:

• Brand-building over link-building
• Conversation participation over content creation
• Community engagement over keyword optimization
• Cross-platform presence over single-site focus

Common mistakes to avoid in the AI overview era

Many businesses are making predictable errors as they try to adapt to AI overviews.

Mistake #1: Ignoring the problem

Some website owners are hoping AI overviews will go away or that they won’t affect their sites. The data shows this is wishful thinking—AI overviews are expanding rapidly and aren’t reversing course.

Mistake #2: Focusing only on technical optimization

Traditional SEO tactics like improving page speed, optimizing meta tags, and building backlinks won’t significantly improve AI overview inclusion. The correlation data proves that brand-building activities matter more.

Mistake #3: Competing only within your website

The brands succeeding in AI overviews are those building presence across multiple platforms and communities. Limiting your efforts to your own website severely restricts your potential.

Mistake #4: Maintaining formal, corporate tone

AI overviews favor conversational, helpful content over formal business writing. Companies still writing in corporate speak are getting left behind.

The broader implications for content marketing

AI overviews represent a fundamental shift in how information flows from creators to consumers, with implications beyond just search traffic.

The democratization of authority

Traditional gatekeepers of information (major publishers, established institutions) are losing ground to conversational platforms where anyone can contribute valuable insights. This creates opportunities for smaller brands to build authority through helpful participation rather than institutional credibility.

The premiumization of attention

As AI overviews handle basic informational queries, human attention becomes reserved for more complex, nuanced, or entertainment-focused content. This pushes content creators toward:

• More sophisticated, in-depth analysis
• Unique perspectives and original research
• Interactive and engaging formats
• Personalized and niche-specific content

The community-first approach

Success increasingly depends on building and participating in communities rather than just publishing content. Brands that understand this shift are:

• Creating their own communities and forums
• Actively participating in existing communities
• Building relationships with community leaders and influencers
• Focusing on helpfulness over self-promotion

The psychological shift: from traffic to influence

Perhaps the most important change required in the AI overview era is psychological. For years, content marketers have focused on driving traffic to their websites. Success meant getting people to click through and visit your pages.

AI overviews change this fundamental assumption. Success now means being the source that AI systems reference and trust, even if people never visit your website. It’s a shift from traffic-focused thinking to influence-focused thinking.

This means:

• Your content’s value isn’t just in the clicks it generates
• Being referenced in AI overviews can build brand awareness even without visits
• Influence and authority matter more than individual page views
• Long-term brand building trumps short-term traffic tactics

Conclusion: embracing the new search landscape

The data from 55+ million AI overviews paints a clear picture: this isn’t a temporary experiment or passing trend. AI overviews are fundamentally reshaping how search works, and they’re here to stay.

The businesses and content creators who thrive in this new landscape will be those who understand that the rules have changed. Traditional SEO tactics focused on ranking individual pages for specific keywords are giving way to broader brand-building strategies focused on becoming a trusted source of information across the entire web.

The key takeaways:

• AI overviews are growing rapidly and reducing click-through rates significantly
• Brand mentions across the web matter more than traditional SEO metrics
• Conversational, community-driven content outperforms formal, corporate content
• Success requires building presence beyond your own website
• The focus must shift from traffic generation to influence building

The transition won’t be easy, especially for businesses heavily dependent on organic search traffic. But the data also shows opportunities for those willing to adapt. Brands that embrace community participation, focus on helpfulness over promotion, and build genuine authority through valuable contributions can find success in the AI overview era.

The question isn’t whether AI overviews will continue to grow—the research makes clear they will. The question is whether you’ll adapt your strategy to thrive in this new environment or continue using outdated tactics while watching your competitors pull ahead.

The choice is yours, but the window for adaptation is shrinking. The brands making these strategic shifts now will be the ones dominating AI overviews tomorrow.