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Google AI Overviews are causing websites to lose between 17% and 79% of their organic traffic, depending on the industry.
These AI-generated summaries appear at the top of search results, before traditional links. Their presence reduces the click-through rate (CTR) of the first organic result from 7.3% to 2.6%, significantly decreasing visibility. All business types are affected—news media, e-commerce sites, service providers, and even the healthcare sector.
This guide presents the latest data on the impact of Google AI Overviews, with industry-specific insights, summary tables, and clear next steps to adjust your strategy. It’s structured and data-driven to help you understand the real consequences for your site’s visibility.
What is Google AI Overview
Google AI Overview is a feature that shows an AI-generated summary at the top of the search results page. It pulls information from various sources to automatically answer the query—often without requiring the user to click anything.
For many queries, this summary replaces the first organic results, leading to fewer visits to sites that appear lower on the page.
General data: drops in traffic and clicks
- CTR of the first organic link drops from 7.3% to 2.6% when an AI Overview is present (SevenAtoms).
- Ahrefs reports a 34.5% drop in CTR on position 1 results (Search Engine Land).
- Amsive finds an average drop of 15.49%, with peaks of up to 37% (Amsive).
- BrightEdge reports a 49% increase in impressions but a 30% drop in CTR (Search Engine Land).
User behavior
- When an AI Overview is shown, only 8% of users click on a link.
- 26% end their search completely, compared to 16% when no summary is shown.
- Source: Pew Research Center
Fast growth of Google AI Overviews
- Present in 13.14% of queries in March 2025 (up from 6.49% in January).
- 88% of affected queries are informational.
- Source: Semrush
Sector-specific impacts
Media and news
- Traffic dropped from 2.3 billion to less than 1.7 billion monthly visits between mid-2024 and May 2025 (NYPost).
- Zero-click searches rose from 56% to 69%.
- Traffic losses by site:
- Forbes, HuffPost: –40%
- CNN: –28%
- Wall Street Journal: –17%
- One publisher lost up to 79% of their organic traffic (The Guardian).
E-commerce and SaaS
- Average drop of 15.49% for SaaS websites (Amsive).
- Mail Online saw a 56.1% CTR drop on desktop, 48.2% on mobile (Lengow).
- Some e-commerce sites lost 20–40% of their traffic (WordStream).
Healthcare
Healthcare websites were included in Amsive’s analysis. Their losses are comparable to other industries. No data suggests they are spared.
Professional services
According to Temerity Digital, local businesses like lawyers and plumbers are less affected, as users still need to click to call, compare, or locate services. However, metrics like time on site and page views may still drop.
Summary table
| Industry | Observed impact |
|---|---|
| Media and news | Very high (–17% to –79%) |
| Blogs, informational SEO content | High (–15% to –37%) |
| E-commerce and SaaS | Significant (–20% to –40%) |
| Healthcare | Similar to other sectors |
| Professional services | Moderate, with decreased engagement |
What you can do next
- Track your site’s presence in Google AI Overviews and other generative engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity.
- Optimize for GEO (Generative Engine Optimization):
- Use informational titles and answer-first formats
- Write short, well-structured paragraphs
- Use verifiable data and trusted sources
- Implement Schema.org structured data
- Diversify your visibility: email, social media, citations on platforms indexed by AI tools.
Next step: check if your site is visible in AI-generated answers
Is your website mentioned in Google AI Overviews, or cited by ChatGPT or Perplexity? If not, you could be losing leads without realizing it.
Explore our SEO services for traditional search, or learn about our GEO strategies to be cited by AI engines.
Contact our team to discuss your visibility goals.
