A year after AI Overviews reached most searches, the click data is clear enough to draw some lines. We looked at 3,200 pages across 60 sites that we track.
The average hides two groups
Across all pages, clicks from search fell by 18%. That number is nearly useless on its own, because it blends two very different results.
- Pages that were cited inside an overview gained 22% more clicks than the year before
- Pages that ranked on page one but were not cited lost 34%
Why cited pages gain
The overview answers the simple part of the question. The people who still click want depth, and they click the sources shown. They arrive later in their decision and convert at a higher rate.
What the cited pages have in common
- A direct answer in the first hundred words
- Original numbers or first-hand detail
- A named author with a visible record
- An update inside the last year
Informational pages are hit hardest
Definitions and simple how-to pages lost the most. Comparison, pricing and product pages held up, because the overview sends buyers on to check.
Being on page one is no longer the win. Being one of the three sources is.
What we changed for clients
We stopped reporting clicks alone and now report citation rate next to it. Then we rebuilt the uncited pages that mattered most, starting with the opening paragraph. In most cases the page was restored to the overview inside two months, and its clicks followed. The gap between the two groups is still widening, which makes waiting the expensive choice.
