Google’s AI Overviews Impacting Click Rates: A Pew Study

A recent analysis by the Pew Research Center sheds light on how Google’s AI-generated summaries, known as AI Overviews, are affecting user engagement with search results. This study, based on browsing data from 900 U.S. adults, reveals some striking statistics.

Key Findings

• Prevalence: In March, over half of the users (58%) searched on Google and encountered an AI summary.
• Click Rates: Traditional search results saw a click rate of only 8% when an AI summary was present. This is nearly halved from the 15% click rate when no AI summary was shown.
• Summary Engagement: Users clicking links in these summaries is an even rarer occurrence, with a mere 1% of all visits originating from them.
• Session Abandonment: After viewing a page with an AI summary, 26% of users exited their browsing session compared to just 16% for pages without.

Why It Matters

Publishers are sounding the alarm about dropping web traffic, and Pew’s findings indicate that these AI Overviews are prolonging users’ stay within Google instead of directing them to external sites. Essentially, users might find themselves trapped in a loop of browsing Google without venturing out to other websites.

Additional Insights

Pew’s analysis also highlights:

• AI Overview Triggers: In March 2025, approximately 18% of Google searches activated an AI Overview.
• Summary Length: These summaries averaged around 67 words and typically referenced multiple sources, with 88% citing more than three.
• Top Sources: The most frequently mentioned sites in summaries included Wikipedia, YouTube, and Reddit, which contributed to 15% of the links. Government (.gov) sites represented 6%, while news sites held a steady 5% in both cases.

What Triggers AI Overviews?

Woodenly, longer and more conversational queries significantly prompted AI summaries:

• Only 8% of one- or two-word searches received a summary.
• Conversely, 53% of searches containing ten or more words did.
• Searches framed as questions (like “who,” “what,” “why”) generated AI summaries 60% of the time.
• Full-sentence searches (comprised of a noun and verb) resulted in a 36% summary generation.

The Bigger Picture

Around 66% of Google searches, whether with AI or not, typically conclude with users either further browsing on Google or leaving altogether without clicking on any results. Adding AI Overviews appears to exacerbate this trend by lowering click-through rates and increasing session drop-offs.

A Response from Google

In a statement provided to Search Engine Land, a Google spokesperson commented: “People are increasingly attracted to AI-powered experiences. AI features in Search allow individuals to explore more questions, creating additional pathways to connect with websites. However, this study relies on flawed methodology and a skewed queryset, failing to represent our overall search traffic. Daily, we direct billions of clicks to websites and have seen no noteworthy declines in overall web traffic.”

A Counterpoint

Despite Google’s assurances, there’s a lack of transparent evidence that AI Overviews boost traffic to external websites. They appear more focused on showcasing how AI benefits Google itself, such as during the Q2 earnings call when CEO Sundar Pichai noted: “AI Overviews are driving over 10% more queries globally.” Yet, simply increasing queries doesn’t guarantee that publishers and brands are receiving a boost in web traffic.

Conclusion

The report indicates that the presence of AI Overviews in Google search results discourages clicks on traditional links, leading to a potential traffic decline for publishers and a paradigm shift in how users interact with search engines.