Paid click through rate fell 78.4% on queries where an AI Overview appeared and the advertiser was not cited, according to Seer Interactive. This page collects the studies on how AI Overviews, zero click search, mobile behavior and local intent are changing what a paid click is worth, with each figure linked to its source and weaker figures labeled.

78.4%fall in paid CTR with an AI Overview and brand not cited, Q3 2025 (Seer Interactive)
58.5%of US Google searches ended with no click in 2024 (SparkToro)
8% vs 15%traditional link click rate with versus without an AI summary (Pew Research)

Key Takeaways

  • AI summaries cut clicks: Pew found 8% of visits clicked a traditional result with an AI summary versus 15% without (Pew Research).
  • Paid clicks fall too. Seer measured paid CTR at 4.14% with an AI Overview and no brand citation, 7.89% when the brand was cited and 13.88% with no AI Overview (Seer).
  • Being cited helps: Seer reports cited brands earned 35% more organic and 91% more paid clicks.
  • Google ads now appear in AI Mode and AI Overviews, and advertisers using Performance Max, broad match or AI Max are included automatically (EMARKETER).
  • Local intent holds up: 46% of consumers always or often add near me to searches, and 97% read local reviews (BrightLocal).
How we compiled these statistics. Every figure on this page comes from a published report or platform disclosure including Seer Interactive, SparkToro, Pew Research Center and Semrush. Each number links to its original source in the text, and the full list sits under Sources and Further Reading. Page last updated .

How Often Do AI Overviews Appear?

Short answer: Semrush found AI Overviews on 13.14% of searches in March 2025, and they appear far more on informational queries (47%) than transactional ones (8%).

13.14%of searches showed an AI Overview in March 2025, up from 6.49% in January 2025 (Semrush)
12.7%of US results showed one in June 2024, per Advanced Web Ranking cited by SparkToro
7%of the paid dataset in earlier Seer data from 2024 (Seer)
30%of US queries in March 2026 per a Searchlab compilation of Semrush Sensor data (Searchlab)
47% vs 8%of informational versus transactional queries trigger one, per BrightEdge and Ahrefs data cited by Searchlab
100+countries where AI Overviews are available, per Google I/O 2025 as cited by Searchlab
Data Note

The Searchlab page compiles figures from several vendors without exact publication dates and shows some internal inconsistencies, so we use it only for prevalence and direction. Prevalence differs by query type: informational queries trigger AI Overviews far more than transactional ones, which is why paid search for buying intent is hit less than informational content.

How Do AI Overviews Change Click Through Rates?

Short answer: In Seer Interactive's Q3 2025 data, paid click through rate was 13.88% on queries without an AI Overview versus 4.14% when one appeared and the brand was not cited.

Seer Interactive tracked 3,119 queries across 42 organizations from June 2024 to September 2025, covering 25.1 million organic and 1.1 million paid impressions.

Q3 2025 click through rate by AI Overview status

Query groupPaid CTRChangeOrganic CTRChange
AI Overview, brand not cited4.14%down 78.4%0.52%down 65.2%
AI Overview, brand cited7.89%down 53.9%0.70%down 49.4%
No AI Overview13.88%down 20.1%1.45%down 46.2%
Source: Seer Interactive, September 2025 update. Changes are against the earlier period in the study, and the article has internal inconsistencies, so treat percentages as approximate.

Paid CTR by AI Overview status, Q3 2025 (percent)

No AI Overview
13.88%
AI Overview, brand cited
7.89%
AI Overview, brand not cited
4.14%
Source: Seer Interactive.
9.87% vs 21.27%paid CTR with versus without an AI Overview in Seer earlier 2024 data (Seer)
35%more organic clicks for cited brands (Seer)
91%more paid clicks for cited brands (Seer)
nearly 30%fall in traditional search result click through rates over the past year, per The Guardian as cited by EMARKETER)

Organic click through rate by position, per a Searchlab compilation

PositionWithout AI OverviewWith AI OverviewChange
Position 131.7%23.4%down 26%
Position 214.6%9.8%down 33%
Informational, position 135%23%down 34%
Transactional queries28%25%down 12%
Source: Searchlab, citing Seer Interactive, Authoritas, Backlinko and Ahrefs. Secondary compilation, not verified against the originals.

What Share of Searches End Without a Click?

Short answer: SparkToro found 58.5% of US Google searches in 2024 ended without a click to the open web, and Pew found users clicked a result on 8% of visits with an AI summary versus 15% without.

58.5%of US Google searches had no click to the open web in 2024 (SparkToro)
59.7%zero click share in the EU (SparkToro)
360clicks per 1,000 US searches reached a non Google property (SparkToro)
374clicks per 1,000 EU searches reached the open web (SparkToro)
about 30%of US clicks go to Google owned properties (SparkToro)
about 1%of all clicks go to paid ads, with an estimated 5% or more CTR when ads are visible (SparkToro)

Pew Research Center, March 2025

MeasureWith AI summaryWithout AI summary
Clicked a traditional result link8% of visits15% of visits
Ended the browsing session26% of visits16% of visits
Clicked a link inside the summary1% of visitsnot applicable
Source: Pew Research Center. 900 US adults, 68,879 unique Google searches, 12,593 (18%) with an AI summary, and 58% of respondents had at least one such search.

About two thirds of all searches in the Pew sample ended with the user searching again or leaving to browse elsewhere, without clicking a result link.

Ads in AI Mode and AI Overviews

May 2025AI Mode ads rolled out to US desktop and mobile after a March beta (EMARKETER)
200+ marketsand 40 plus languages planned for AI Overviews ads (EMARKETER)
28markets testing ads inside AI Overviews, per a Searchlab compilation (Searchlab)
$40Bprojected ad revenue via AI Overview integrations by 2027, a forecast cited by Searchlab

Advertisers using Performance Max, broad match for Search or Shopping, or AI Max for Search are included in these placements automatically, per EMARKETER. Google has not published ad performance figures for AI Mode or AI Overviews, and AI Mode traffic cannot yet be separated in analytics, because clicks show as Direct or Unknown. Learn more in our Performance Max and Smart Bidding statistics.

73%higher click through rate for Microsoft Copilot ads versus traditional search ads in August 2025 research (PPC Land)
16%stronger conversion rate for Copilot ads in the same research (PPC Land)
1 billionmonthly active users on Bing for the first time (PPC Land)
Data Note

The Copilot figures are Microsoft research reported through press coverage, so they come from the platform selling the ads. Independent replication would strengthen them.

Mobile Search Behavior

63%of US Google searches and 64.7% in the EU are on mobile, per Sistrix cited by SparkToro
almost halfof mobile searches end the session, more than twice the desktop rate (SparkToro)
over 60%of US searches are on mobile, per Statista 2022 cited by Semrush
29% vs 21%AI Overview CTR drop on mobile versus desktop, per BrightEdge cited by Searchlab

Mobile search benchmarks, WordStream 2018 data

MetricMobile SearchMobile Display
Click through rate4.10%0.60%
Cost per click$2.67$0.60
Conversion rate3.48%0.72%
Cost per acquisition$80.89$148.68
Source: Instapage, citing WordStream. Sample of 20,000 plus US accounts. This is 2018 data and is the only published mobile split we could verify, so use it as history rather than a current benchmark.

Local Search and Home Services

46%of consumers always or often add near me to local searches (BrightLocal, 2025)
97%read reviews for local businesses (BrightLocal, 2026)
71%use Google to read local reviews
67%often or always look at reviews after a local search
65%of consumers who rejected a business did so for a review related reason
42%of searchers click Map Pack results for local queries, per Backlinko 2024 cited by BrightLocal
35%of small businesses have a Google Business Profile (BrightLocal SMB report)
2.7xmore likely to consider a business reputable with a complete profile, per Google as cited by BrightLocal

Home services Google Ads benchmarks

MetricHome servicesSource note
Average cost per click$6.55Roofing and Gutter highest at $11.13
Average cost per lead$66.02Roofers highest at $186.79, Pool and Spa lowest at $29.08
Average click through rate4.8%Plumbing lowest at 3.34%
Average conversion rate10.22%versus 6.6% across all industries
Source: Hatch, summarizing the LocaliQ Home Services benchmarks, summarized February 2024. The report year is not stated on the page.

For current all industry numbers see the LocaliQ benchmarks and our conversion rate statistics. Local advertisers have a structural advantage in this data: review volume and a complete profile are free, and they convert paid clicks the same way they convert organic ones.

Why Paid Search Is Still Growing

Even as organic clicks fall, search revenue keeps rising. Google Search and other revenue grew 17% to $63.073 billion in Q4 2025 (Alphabet). That suggests advertisers are paying more for a smaller pool of clicks, which is why waste matters more than ever. See our PPC statistics for market size, our Google Ads statistics for benchmarks, and our guide to why cost per lead runs so high for how to respond.

Sources and Further Reading

Every statistic on this page links to its original source. Figures were checked on October 24, 2026. Where sources disagree, we show both and say so.

Is AI Search Changing Your Paid Results?

Growth Architech audits your Google Ads account, checks how AI placements affect your clicks and shows you what to change, with no contract.

Get Your Free PPC Audit →