AI Overviews Disrupt Click-Through Rates Across Search Types—Study Challenges Conventional Wisdom
Emerging SEO research reveals that AI Overviews (AIOs) are dramatically reshaping search behavior, slashing CTR for both informational and commercial queries—contradicting the widespread belief that only informational searches are affected.
CTR Takes a Major Hit
A detailed analysis by Ahrefs, examining 300,000 informational keywords, found that CTR dropped by an average of 34.5% when AI Overviews appeared—reducing the average clickthrough from ~5.6% to ~3.1% for top-ranking pages.
Highlighting a broader impact, Amsive’s study across 700,000 keywords spanning multiple industries revealed an average CTR decline of –15.49%, with non-branded searches suffering nearly –20% drop. Intriguingly, branded queries saw a +18.7% CTR boost when accompanied by AI Overviews.
Not Just Informational Queries at Risk
Data from seo.com shows that while AIOs are most common for informational queries (appearing in 38.7% of all such searches), they also affect commercial (21.3%) and even transactional (15.8%) queries—especially when queries are longer than 8 words.
Once more, the assumption that commercial content escapes disruption is outdated: AIOs are visibly expanding their footprint into commercial intent queries.
Mobile and Desktop: Both Feel the Pinch
Roketto’s overview highlights stark drops in clicks: –33% on mobile, –50% on desktop when AI Overviews are present.
Real-World Impact on News Publishers
Publishers are already bearing the consequences. Since Google rolled out AI Overviews in May 2024, top U.S. news sites have reported steep traffic declines—some as much as 40%, according to SimilarWeb (e.g., Forbes and HuffPost down 40%, CNN down 28%).
New Study Upsets Prevailing Belief
A growing body of evidence dismantles the common belief that only informational queries feel the brunt of AIOs. The findings show:
Query Type
AIO Appearance Rate
CTR Impact
Informational
Highest (~38.7%)
Up to –34.5%
Commercial/Transactional
Moderate (~15–21%)
Significant negative impact
Branded
Low (~4.8%)
CTR increases when AIO appears
This mixed landscape means SEO strategies must evolve. Brands can no longer assume their commercial content is safe from AI-driven displacement.
What This Means for SEO Practitioners
Adapt Content Strategy: Optimize not only for informational but also commercial and transactional queries when AIOs can appear—especially for content structured to be useful and directly answer user needs.
Favor Branded Queries: Since branded searches benefit from AIO inclusion, investing in branding and domain authority remains crucial.
Leverage Alternative Content Assets: Tools like calculators, interactive widgets, original reports, or gated insights can encourage clicks that AI Overviews can’t replicate.
Double Down on Featured Snippets: These still offer prime SERP real estate and can help mitigate AIO suppression.
Conclusion
AI Overviews are not limited in scope—they’re impacting informational, commercial, and transactional queries alike.
Clickthrough rates are falling sharply, cutting across devices and industries.
Publisher and brand strategies must evolve to remain visible and retain engagement.
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