Seer Interactive Research Featured in Inc. Analysis of CTR and AI Overviews

NOVEMBER 5, 2025 — Inc. featured our AI Overviews research in a recent post about the impact of Google's AIOs on click-through rates — and we love to see it! The same research was also highlighted in several marketing publications: Digital Information World, Marketing4eCommerce, and Search Engine Roundtable.

What We Found

For queries shown with AI Overviews, our research revealed a 61% drop in organic click-through rates and a 68% drop for paid click-through rates. However, our findings also showed that websites cited within AI Overviews saw a 35% higher organic CTR and a 91% higher paid CTR. This analysis was performed on 3.1k+ queries from June 2024 to September 2025. 

The Bigger Picture

We're not alone in these findings — Pew Research, Ahrefs, and others are showing the same drastic declines in click-through rates when AI Overviews are present. We've been tracking our AIO data for 15 months, and the continued downward trend suggests little chance of a rebound. All signs indicate a fundamental shift in how and where users are asking questions.

Our Take: What This Means for Marketers

This shift in user behavior should prompt brands to think less about traditional rankings and traffic and focus more on authority and brand visibility. Marketers should be looking at how their brand can build its presence in Google's AI Overviews. Diversify your paid strategy and test alternative channels like social and direct traffic programs. Consider phasing out KPIs around traffic and clicks and swapping them for share of voice in AI citations, branded search lift, and assisted conversions.

Inc. also cited study lead Tracy McDonald: "We cannot definitively prove that citation causes higher CTRs; it’s equally possible that brands with stronger authority and higher baseline CTRs are simply more likely to be cited by Google’s AI. What we can say with confidence is that queries where you’re cited consistently outperform those where you’re not, regardless of the causal direction."

Resources

Read the Inc. analysis: Google’s AI Overviews Are Killing Search. A New Study Shows the Best Way to Protect Your Traffic

Check out our original research: AIO Impact on Google CTR: September 2025 Update

View the Digital Information World post: Clicks Fall 61% on Google Searches With AI Answers, 41% Even Without Them

See the post from Marketing4eCommerce: Why Organic CTR Has Decreased by 61% in Just 15 Months as a Cause of AI Overviews

Read more from Search Engine Roundtable: Report: Google AI Overviews Continue to Drive CTR Downwards