[IN THE NEWS]
AI
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FEBRUARY 9, 2026 — Fast Company cited original Seer research on AI Overviews in a recent article about what the author calls the AI search paradox: the suppression of mass, AI-generated content and rising preference for human-made content. The Fast Company article also mentioned other research from Seer Interactive on optimizing content for AI search.
What We Found
In our updated study on the presence of AI Overviews and corresponding click-through rates, we found a decline of 61% for organic click-through rates and a 68% decline in paid ad engagement.
The Bigger Picture
By now most marketers recognize that AI is impacting how users search and whether they click on links. What's interesting is our analysis found that even queries without AIOs are experiencing declines in click-through rates. In short, brands can no longer rely on traditional marketing tactics to drive web traffic — and corresponding KPIs like traffic volume are themselves becoming an outdated way to measure success.
Our Take: What This Means for Marketers
To survive these fundamental shifts, brands will need to diversify their strategies and start putting marketing dollars behind optimizing for AI. While things are moving quickly, our study shows that having your brand cited in AIOs leads to 35% higher organic click-through rates and 91% higher ad engagement. The Seer team has shifted our own KPIs and how we evaluate success, focusing on share of voice, branded search, and other off-site interactions that influence conversions.
Also from our study: "People do not have less questions. The data suggests that users are changing how and where they ask questions both in google and in LLMs. So, your SEO strategy cannot rely on changing your targeting to avoid AIOs, you’ll need a strategy that reframes your KPI as maintaining your share and visibility, rather than simply driving traffic.
Resources
Check out the Fast Company article: Machines Are Starting to Prefer Human Thought
Review our original AIO research: AIO Impact on Google CTR: September 2025 update
Read the other cited Seer study about content optimization: Optimizing Content for Generative Search Engines Resulted in 40% More Visibility