Google says AI Overviews increase clicks. Cold, hard logic disagrees, and so does our research.
We analyzed 300,000 keywords and found that the presence of an AI Overview in the search results correlated with a 34.5% lower average clickthrough rate (CTR) for the top-ranking page, compared to similar informational keywords without an AI Overview.
Thanks to our data scientist, Xibeijia Guan, for pulling the data for this analysis.
“In fact, if you put content and links within AI Overviews, they get higher clickthrough rates than if you put it outside of AI Overviews.”
We used aggregated GSC data to get each keyword’s average desktop clickthrough rate (CTR) per month (sum of clicks/sum of impressions). We then compared the clickthrough rates for both samples for March 2024 (before the US rollout of AI overviews) and March 2025 (after).
See where AI Overviews appear for your rankings
You can use the SERP features filter to see exactly where AI Overviews are triggering for your keyword rankings. Head to Ahrefs’ Site Explorer, navigate to the Organic keywords report, and select AI Overview from the SERP features filter.
In March 2024, the average position one CTR for informational keywords was 0.056. In March 2025, this had dropped to 0.031:
In March 2024, the average position one CTR for AI Overview keywords was 0.073. In March 2025, this had dropped to 0.026:
Sidenote.
“AI Overview keywords” refer to keywords that triggered an AI Overview in March 2025. In March 2024, before the US rollout of AI Overviews, these keywords did not trigger an AI Overview.
We can use the drop in CTR for informational keywords to predict the CTR for our sample of AI Overview keywords, assuming AI Overviews had not rolled out. This forecasted CTR is 0.040 (0.073*(0.031/0.056)).
Calculating the difference between the forecasted and actual CTR for AI Overview keywords suggests that the presence of AI Overviews reduces the click-through rate for position 1 by ~34.5% ((0.026-0.040)/0.040):
Final thoughts
This isn’t surprising. I have seen anecdata suggesting that some websites have seen clicks reduce by 20–40% since the rollout of AI overviews.
It seems possible. AI Overviews function in a similar way to Featured Snippets, by trying to resolve the searcher’s query directly in the SERP—likely contributing to more zero-click searches. And although AI Overviews often contain citation links, there can be many of these links cited, making it less likely for any single link to earn the lion’s share of clicks.
It’s also telling that despite Google’s optimistic claim that “links included in AI Overviews get more clicks than if the page had appeared as a traditional web listing for that query”, there is still no way to disambiguate AI Overview clicks and impressions from the rest of your Search Console data.
It seems that Google doesn’t want us to see the clickthrough rate for AI Overviews.
Assuming AI Overviews stay in this current form, this is also likely the highest the CTR will be. As the novelty wears off and the law of shitty clickthroughs kicks in, I would expect to see clicks reduce further.
Further reading
Similar Posts
How to Audit Brand Mentions for Modern SEO
Brand mentions are to AI search what backlinks are to traditional SEO. Links tell Google who to trust; mentions tell AI systems who you are. Auditing your brand’s mentions is how you uncover: How the public sees your brand What misinformation might be feeding AI systems Which topics and entities are most strongly connected to you Think of…
Search Engine Ads Explained in 10 Minutes (with Expert Tips)
Search engine advertising (also called pay-per-click, PPC or SEA) offers a direct path to website visitors, but is it the right choice for you? This guide breaks down what beginners need to know before investing in search ads. SEO), which take time to build, search ads appear almost instantly at the top of search results…
8.64% of AI Overviews Appear Outside Position #1 (And as Low as Position #6)
Get the week’s best marketing content AI Overviews aren’t always in the first position in the SERPs. For example, here’s an AI Overview in the 2nd position. See where AI Overviews appear outside of position 1 You can use the SERP features filter along with the Position filter to find some of the AI Overviews outside…
LLMO Is in Its Black Hat Era
We’ve seen this before. A new technology rises. Visibility becomes a new currency. And people—ahem, SEOs—rush to game the system. That’s where we are with optimizing for visibility in LLMs (LLMO), and we need more experts to call out this behavior in our industry, like Lily Ray has done in this post: If you’re tricking, sculpting,…
5 Stages of Team Development: What You Need to Know
The five stages of team development—originally proposed by Bruce Tuckman in 1965—outline the natural progression that teams undergo to achieve high performance. Understanding these stages helps leaders and team members navigate challenges, build trust, and foster collaboration. Here’s a detailed look at each stage, along with tips for successfully guiding a team through them. 1….
