Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results
Google's AI Overviews feature, which provides AI-generated summaries at the top of search results, has been linked to a decrease in web traffic for online publishers, as users often rely on these summaries instead of clicking through to source websites. A Pew Research Center analysis found that users encountering AI summaries are less likely to click on traditional search result links, with only 8% doing so compared to 15% when no AI summary is present, and are more likely to end their browsing session after viewing a page with an AI summary.