Do AI Overviews reduce clicks to your website?
By the Pickgap team · Updated Oct 15, 2026 · 1 min read
For many searches, yes: people click regular results less often when an AI Overview answers the question. A 2025 Pew Research Center study found clicks on regular results dropped from 15% to 8% of visits when an AI summary appeared. For local businesses, the bigger question is whether the AI names you, because a customer who reads your name may call or visit without clicking at all.
What the research shows
A Pew Research Center analysis of US adults' browsing in 2025 found that when a Google search showed an AI summary, people clicked a regular search result in 8% of visits, compared with 15% when no summary appeared. Clicks on the links inside the summary itself were rare. Google has disputed reports of falling traffic and says overall clicks from Search have been relatively stable.
Whatever the exact size, the direction is clear for informational questions: when Google answers the question on the page, fewer people need to click.
Why local businesses are affected differently
Publishers live on clicks. Local businesses live on calls, bookings and visits. For a question like "emergency plumber in Mesa open now", what matters is:
- Whether the AI Overview, or the list of places beside it, names your business.
- Whether the searcher can call or get directions straight from the result.
A customer who reads your name in an AI answer and taps your phone number never visits your site, and that's fine. So clicks are a weaker measure of local success than they used to be.
What to do
- Measure mentions, not just clicks. Track how often AI surfaces name you. See how to track AI visibility.
- Make your Google profile work as a landing page: hours, services, phone, booking link, photos. See the Business Profile guide.
- Track calls and bookings, not only website visits, and ask new customers how they found you.
- Keep your website for the clicks that remain: the people who want details before choosing are high-intent visitors.