Google AI Overviews Cut Organic CTR by 61%—What Smart Brands Are Doing About It

Let's talk about the elephant in the search results.

Google's AI Overviews (AIOs) now appear on roughly 47% of all search queries in the US. For some categories—health, finance, software comparisons—that number is closer to 70%. And the impact on organic click-through rates has been brutal.

The Numbers That Should Worry You

According to multiple studies tracking millions of queries through 2025:

• Organic CTR dropped 61% on queries where AI Overviews appear (Dataslayer analysis of 10M+ search sessions)
• Zero-click searches rose from 56% to 69% in under 18 months (Stackmatix)
• Paid ad CTR fell 49% for those same queries (PPC.land)

That last one is interesting—this isn't just an organic problem. Even Google's own ad business is feeling the squeeze.

The user behavior shift is straightforward: people read the AI-generated summary and leave. They got their answer. Why click?

But Here's the Plot Twist

While most brands are losing clicks, a specific group is gaining them.

Brands that get cited as sources within AI Overviews are seeing a +35% increase in click-through rates compared to their pre-AIO baseline. The Digital Bloom tracked this across 200+ brands and the pattern was consistent.

Why? Because being cited by Google's AI is the ultimate trust signal. It's like getting a personal recommendation from the search engine itself. Users think: "If Google's AI specifically references this source, it must be worth reading."

The New Search Landscape

Here's how to think about what's happening:

Old model: 10 blue links → users pick one → click → visit site

New model: AI summary answers the question → users satisfied → no click UNLESS the AI specifically mentions a source worth exploring

This means there are now two types of brands:

1. The replaced — your content answered the question, Google's AI summarized it, users never visit you
2. The cited — your brand is specifically referenced as a source, and you get more qualified traffic than ever

The gap between these two groups is enormous and growing.

What Gets You Cited (Not Just Scraped)

After analyzing hundreds of AI Overview citations, here's what the cited brands have in common:

1. Original data and research

AI Overviews love citing specific numbers. If your content says "email marketing has good ROI," you get scraped. If it says "email marketing returns $36 for every $1 spent (DMA 2025 report)," you get cited.

The brands winning are the ones producing original research, surveys, and data analyses that AI can't summarize away—because the source IS the value.

2. Strong entity recognition

Google's AI needs to understand what you are before it can cite you. Brands with clear, consistent entity signals—structured data, Knowledge Graph presence, consistent NAP information—get cited more frequently.

3. Topical authority in specific niches

Generalist content gets summarized. Specialist content gets cited. If you're THE source for a specific subtopic, AI Overviews will reference you because there's no way to summarize your expertise without attribution.

The Strategic Response

Here's what smart brands are doing right now:

Stop chasing informational keywords you can't own. If your strategy is ranking for "what is [topic]" queries, AI Overviews will eat your lunch. Those queries are now answered directly in search results.

Double down on original research. Commission studies. Run surveys. Publish proprietary data. This is content that AI must cite because the data doesn't exist anywhere else.

Optimize for AI citation, not just ranking. This means structured content with clear claims, specific data points, and authoritative sourcing. Make it easy for AI to quote you.

Build your brand outside of Google. This is the bigger strategic shift. If Google is going to intermediate your relationship with searchers, you need direct channels—email lists, communities, social presence—that don't depend on search clicks.

The Uncomfortable Truth

The 61% CTR drop isn't going to reverse. AI Overviews are expanding, not contracting. Google has committed to this direction.

But the +35% citation bonus is real too. The question isn't whether AI Overviews will affect you—they already have. The question is whether you'll be in the "replaced" group or the "cited" group.

The window to establish yourself as a citeable source is right now. Once AI models solidify their preferred sources for your topic area, breaking in gets exponentially harder.

Originally published on GeoBuddy Blog.

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