How AI Overviews Are Impacting Search Behavior and What You Can Do About It

By Jordan Thomas

For marketers, some of the biggest effects AI has had are on the search landscape and website traffic. As AI overviews (AIOs) have risen, so too have zero-click searches, leading to dips in traffic. A recent study found that click-through rates (CTRs) for top-ranking Google results dropped 32% after the roll out of AIOs.

So what does it all mean and how should you adjust your content strategy to respond? We have some ideas.

Here, we cover:

• What Are AI Overviews?
• How Are Zero-Click Search Features Changing Search Behavior?
• How Are AI Overviews Impacting Search Traffic?
• How Should You Optimize Content for AI Overviews?
• How Can You Measure Success in a Zero-Click Environment?

What Are AI Overviews?

You’ve no doubt seen these. Plug a search term into Google and there’s a high chance you’ll be met with an AI-generated response that aggregates content from across the internet to answer your query. The overview displays prominently on the search engine results page (SERP), usually taking the form of a listicle or bulleted list that often dissuades users from clicking through to a search result.

AIOs are different from standard SERP features like featured snippets and knowledge panels, which pull short phrases directly from a single website to quickly answer simple questions. Instead, AIOs are designed to comprehensively answer a user’s query, compiling information from multiple sources (about four or five on average). AIOs can also cite videos and forum discussions as sources.

Advanced Web Ranking’s real-time data tool shows that, as of August 2025, AIOs were appearing in about 54% of searches, specifically for those related to health, safety, technology and law. And they’re more common for top-of-the-funnel, informational queries, where users are in the information gathering phase. For example, the search query “what is an AC1 test” produces an AIO, while a commercial-based search like “best multivitamins for diabetics” does not (yet).

How Are Zero-Click Search Features Changing Search Behavior?

Advanced Web Ranking estimates that, on average, the AIO panel takes up over 400 pixels, or about 50% of a standard mobile screen, when first displayed. The length of AIO results is growing over time too, now reaching an average word count of almost 350 words, up from 150 words in March 2025.

Combined with SERP features like images, video suggestions and People Also Ask snippets, the increasing prominence and comprehensiveness of these results means that users can have their questions answered without even needing to scroll, much less click through to a website.

How Are AI Overviews Impacting Search Traffic?

Obviously, fewer clicks mean that organic traffic is seeing a decline. That means lower organic impressions and of course, lower CTRs. A recent analysis from Search Engine Journal found that organic CTRs for top-ranking search results have fallen by 32% since AIOs expanded in the last year.

There have also been implications for paid search, a tactic that brands rely on to boost search visibility when organic competition is fierce. Ads now must compete with AIOs for space on the search results page, often appearing at the bottom of the page (or not at all) in favor of an AI result. Advertisers across industries are seeing drops in impression share and clicks, and this impact is especially pronounced for campaigns that target high-funnel search terms where AI is most likely to appear.

To complicate matters, users are increasingly turning to other channels like TikTok, voice search and ChatGPT for search. The loss of traffic is not something any marketer wants to see, but there is value in having your website sourced in AIOs to reinforce your brand, build awareness and potentially gain a click.

How Should You Optimize Content for AI Overviews?

The good news is that a lot of the same rules apply when it comes to content creation and SEO in the age of AIOs, but traditional SEO tactics aren’t enough anymore in this new zero-click world. Learn the steps you should take to adapt your SEO strategy for AI-driven search.

1. Keep up with your SEO. Content that ranks highly on traditional search is more likely to be referenced by AI. Continue all the usual best practices like including tags, meta descriptions and on-page elements such as headings and internal linking to make it easier for AI to determine your content’s focus.
2. Prioritize quality, expert content. AI values “helpful, reliable, people-first content.” The top-cited domains in AIOs include Investopedia, NerdWallet, Mayo Clinic and Progressive, reflecting AI’s preference for industry-specific, authoritative sources. Demonstrate that you are an authority in your field with these AI content optimization strategies.
   • Keep content topics relevant to your specialty and expertise.
   • Consider credibility-building tactics like author bios and customer testimonials.
   • Make sure the content you’re creating is original, high quality and includes expert voices.
   • Follow Google E-E-A-T principles.
3. Ensure content is well-structured and easy to read. Be thoughtful when it comes to the structure of your content and include strong headings, bullets and concise paragraphs. Consider including a table of contents when relevant. This will make it easier for users to scan your content as well as for Google and AI tools to extract information from it.
4. Answer questions. Your content should seek to respond to real queries from real people. Google frequently pulls content from answers to common questions. In fact, searches containing the question ‘How’ trigger AIOs more frequently than any other search type. Look to long-tail keyword research to help guide your content planning.
5. Create content clusters and pillar pages. This is nothing new — content clusters and pillar pages have long been an SEO best practice. But AI driven search has changed the approach to clustering. Make sure you’re creating pillar pages that cover all aspects of specific topics and then link off to more in-depth cluster content. This approach is beneficial for AI systems because it allows for improved understanding of the content, better information retrieval and enhanced content generation.
6. Implement schema markup to give Google a path to your content. Schema markup is structured data that tells search engines what the content is, not what it is about. The most common schema markup for AIOs are FAQs, articles, how tos and products.
7. Target longtail and niche keywords. Longtail keywords have long been an SEO secret weapon and now they can help get you sourced in AIOs. Longtail keywords signal strong intent and provide specific detail around what the user is searching, which results in more AIO results.
8. Keep your content fresh. Search engines have always favored up-to-date content and AI systems are no different when it comes to prioritizing relevance. Conduct regular content audits and make a plan to refresh outdated or underperforming pages. Even small updates can make a difference.
9. Keep an eye on your website’s technical performance. Poor site speed and load time can impact visibility and create a poor user experience. Check Core Web Vitals in Google Search Console to uncover possible issues and run site speed tests on an ongoing basis. Review Google’s Search Essentials Guide to make sure your site checks all the boxes.
10. Optimize for conversions. Take advantage of the traffic that is coming to your site by incorporating strong CTAs and intuitive paths to other relevant content.
11. Don’t overlook the importance of channel diversification. While organic traffic is important, you shouldn’t focus all your efforts on one channel. With AI evaluating social proof and human-driven authority in its ranking decisions, it’s more important than ever for brands to have a strong online presence and maximize awareness. A diversified content distribution strategy can ensure your content is getting in front of your audiences, no matter how or where they’re searching. Think: Paid search, native ads, organic and paid social, email and even print.

How Can You Measure Success in a Zero-Click Environment?

Traditional organic search metrics no longer tell the full story of how your content marketing efforts are performing now that many searches end without a click. While traffic remains a very important KPI, marketers need to rethink how they measure success to paint a better picture of their search presence.

1. Monitor your visibility in AIOs. Track your presence and growth in AIOs using a tool like SEMrush. This will help illustrate your brand’s visibility.
2. Segment your metrics by the user journey. One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to measuring success throughout the user journey. Build out specific metrics for each phase: awareness, consideration/engagement and conversion.
3. Track branded search term volume. Brand search volume is a good indicator of awareness. Track branded search term volume growth in Google Search Console to identify if you’ve had an increase in searches and awareness related to AIO citations.
4. Keep an eye on traffic from other AI platforms, too. As more people use generative AI to find information, understanding how much AI traffic you’re getting and where AI users go on your site can help you optimize your content strategy for AI search appearance. Set up a custom report in Google Analytics to track sessions from popular tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google Gemini and Microsoft CoPilot.