The Rise in Zero-Click Searches: A Deep-Dive

Ever searched for something on Google and felt like the results did not quite match what you were looking for? You're not alone, and it's not just your imagination.

Search behavior has shifted... and the data backs it up. A Semrush study analyzing over 200,000 keywords found that queries triggering AI Overviews have higher zero-click rates on average, and that AI Overviews peaked at appearing on nearly 25% of all queries in July 2025 before settling back to around 16% by November. The majority of users are no longer reliably clicking through to websites; they're getting their answers before they ever have the chance.

At the same time, more information is being pushed directly to the top of the results page. The most valuable real estate on the search engine results page (SERP) is no longer the list of blue links; it is the answers that appear before them. Featured snippets, knowledge panels, and AI Overviews are designed to give users what they need instantly, often removing the need to click at all.

Now the experience itself is changing further. In March 2025, Google introduced AI Mode within its search platform, enabling users to input complex, multi-part queries and receive comprehensive, AI-generated responses powered by its Gemini model. Launched broadly in the United States in May 2025, AI Mode transforms how users interact with search; rather than returning a list of links, it provides a complete answer within the AI interface, supplemented by relevant sources and follow-up suggestions. What used to be a clear transition from search to website is becoming a more contained interaction. According to a Seer Interactive analysis of over 25 million impressions, organic click-through rates for queries featuring AI Overviews dropped 61% between mid-2024 and September 2025, and even queries without AI Overviews saw organic CTRs fall 41% over the same period.

User behavior is changing alongside it. People are not just relying on Google anymore. Platforms like Reddit and TikTok have become go-to sources for quick, experience-driven answers. And as voices like Rand Fishkin have long pointed out, zero-click search is not new, but AI is aggressively accelerating a trend that has been quietly eroding organic visibility for years.

The result is more noise, not less. Instead of answering questions clearly, search often pushes users into refining, re-searching, and second-guessing their queries. And even when users do click, they are not always leaving the search experience in the way they once did. Google's April 2026 upgrades to AI Mode in Chrome mean that clicking a link now opens the webpage side-by-side with AI Mode, rather than taking users away from search entirely... keeping discovery, comparison, and follow-up questions contained within a single, continuous experience.

Google's response to this growing complexity is clear. The search results page is maturing again, this time designed not just to answer questions, but to handle the entire research experience from start to finish.

Users are getting more direct answers in search results, but at a price to marketers: a decrease in organic sessions known as “zero-click SEO” or “zero-click searches.” Zero-click SEO is when a user conducts a search, finds the answer within the search engine results page, and does not click through to a website; thus, the name, “zero-click SEO”.

What is AI Overviews?

Google launched AI Overviews on May 14, 2024: one of the most significant changes to the search results page in years. This feature uses AI to provide quick, synthesized answers directly within search results, pulling from multiple sources rather than pointing users to a single link. Google's branding at launch framed it simply: "Generative AI in Search: Let Google do the searching for you."

The purpose of AI Overviews is to improve user experience by delivering answers faster and surfacing organizations and brands that are genuinely seen as experts in their field. But for marketers, the feature introduced a new challenge... users getting what they need without ever clicking through to a website.

As AI Overviews continue to change and adapt to search intent, digital marketers see an inverse relationship with their organic sessions. A once highly valued metric now has digital marketers questioning, “Are my traffic KPIs relevant? Is SEO dead? How do we adapt to a zero-click landscape?” Here at Workshop Digital, we don’t feel SEO is dead, but the old guard is. Let’s talk more about why zero-click SEO matters and the recommendations we have based on data collected from a variety of industries.

A majority of Google searches (58.5% in the U.S. and 59.7% in the EU) end without a single click, according to a SparkToro study based on Datos clickstream data. Seems like a high number? Consider that five years ago, roughly 25% of searches ended without a click. That near-doubling reflects a deliberate shift in how Google is building its results page. Searches that trigger AI Overviews now show an average zero-click rate of 83%, compared to around 60% for traditional queries without AI Overviews. These statistics show that Google is increasingly prioritizing SERP features, including featured snippets, knowledge panels, People Also Ask, and AI Overviews, that answer questions before users ever reach a website.

The dominance of SERP features on search results pages impacts websites’ clickthrough rates. Check out these results for the query “Why should I hire a cleaner”:

The first half of the search results page doesn’t even have the regular “blue link”. In fact, there is another search feature after the first blue link:

These elements answer users’ queries as quickly and easily as possible, but it’s detrimental to marketers who focus on traditional methods and aim to appear just as blue links. Overall, search features answer the user’s question on the same page, instead of having to click through to a website. This is helpful for users searching! However, for marketers, it makes it harder to track activity and whether or not their content is performing well and improving conversions or leads.

As we said, zero-click searches are a huge conversation in the SEO world. We have continued to see differing trends from past years in terms of traffic and the number of SERP features, so we decided to analyze a variety of industries to see what the common trends were (and which ones stood out). Our overall hypothesis was that if search features continue to grow, organic traffic will be affected.

For our analysis, we pulled quarter-over-quarter keyword data for six different clients in different industries, including healthcare, staffing, e-commerce, travel, moving services, and even our own digital marketing data. An important note is that these websites have been optimized for SEO purposes.

We first looked at what the top appearing SERP features were:

We then did a deep dive into how many keywords appeared for different SERP features, what kinds of keywords appeared where, and what industries have been affected the most. We finally compiled overall recommendations based on our analysis. Overall, our analysis included over 160,000 keywords and almost 1 million SERP features.

After a lengthy data review process, several overarching themes emerged. Overall, our initial hypothesis was confirmed: search features are becoming more prevalent, and organic traffic is negatively affected. However, not all searches and queries are created equal, so we were able to divide findings into user intent and content type.

The four largest takeaways from our analysis:

1. AI overviews are expanding, but it doesn’t mean traffic is
2. Informational queries dominate AI Overviews, but that's changing fast
3. Transactional and commercial keywords emphasize E-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness) signals
4. Visual content is on the rise

Now, let’s walk through each of these critical takeaways of zero-click SEO below.

1. AI Overviews Are Expanding, But It Doesn’t Mean Traffic Is

   When reviewing our quarter-over-quarter data, we observed a growth in the number of keywords triggering AI Overviews across all analyzed businesses. AI Overviews, which launched in May, began appearing in more searches as the algorithm was continuously updated. The increase in keywords associated with our analyzed businesses is logical, as AI Overviews became more prevalent in search results, leading to more frequent visibility for our clients. Organic users weren’t necessarily searching for more informational queries more often, but rather, Google was understanding search intent and rendering the type of SERP feature that it thought would be helpful for users.

   One important note: Just because you appeared in AI Overviews does not mean you are guaranteed to get more website visits. If Google answers a user’s question, users don’t necessarily need to click through to your website. This is where brand management and authority on related topics come into play, to encourage users who are in the awareness stage to click through to your website and learn more about related questions they may have.

   For a majority of the businesses we reviewed, a minimum of 8-12% of their total organic keywords appear in a SERP feature, reducing direct website visits. Certain industries, such as healthcare and digital marketing, are seeing more informational queries featured in AI Overviews. Transactional and commercial keywords are featured less often for an e-commerce manufacturing business, as these answers are often not as concise or direct as what users are researching.

   
   

2. Informational Queries Dominate AI Overviews

   Digging further into AI Overviews, 80% of the keywords where an overview appears are informational, with the remaining 20% being a mix of transactional and commercial. This shows that Google prioritizes direct answers to appear in AI Overviews, instead of sales-based content or even transactional content.

   
   
   

   This raises the question: Is appearing in AI Overviews important if you may not even get a click from it? Absolutely. This SERP feature is imperative from a brand awareness standpoint for users and share of voice for search engines. It also lets you establish yourself as the “go-to” source for any information regarding the topic and the industry as a whole. Think about “old” SEO. You may have had a blog that covered top-of-funnel keywords, such as “What’s the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes?” What was your goal? To appear at the top of the search results for that query and get someone to click on it. However, was the goal to make people convert? Probably not (although it would be great if they did!). Instead, you were building brand awareness and showing that you are the number one source of information regarding that topic. It’s the same story with AI Overviews; people searching for informational queries may not be ready to convert, but seeing your company appear in AI Overviews helps put your brand in their minds.

   From a search engine perspective, creating content that demonstrates your expertise can help improve your site’s overall rankings. For example, showcasing your expertise in Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes could drive more traffic to your Diabetes Treatment page. Overall, E-E-A-T is imperative at every stage of the funnel, which leads us to our next finding.

   
   

3. Transactional and Commercial Keywords Emphasize E-E-A-T Signals

   Informational search trends are on the rise with AI Overviews, while transactional and commercial keywords are not featured as prominently. The purpose of AI Overviews and other related SERP features is to provide more concise answers to user queries. Users with transactional search intent, they are researching their options, meaning they are more likely to click through to websites and conduct additional research before making a decision. For the clients that offer a service, we saw that Google is rendering content for research-based service queries more often in AI Overviews, while product-focused businesses had almost no AI Overview visibility.

   The commercial queries that performed best for AI Overviews were focused on comparisons, aligning with the intent to provide more direct answers to users in the Consideration stage of the user journey. This indicates that users who find answers to their questions and click through to a website for more information are higher-quality leads or potential customers.

   Despite not having a strong presence in AI Overviews, transactional and commercial searches appear more often in related searches, reviews, and video content. Search engines rely more heavily on E-E-A-T signals, such as reviews and testimonials, to evaluate the credibility of content in these categories. Google has continued to update its content guidelines to place a stronger emphasis on E-E-A-T when grading content quality and assigning scores. Businesses that demonstrate strong E-E-A-T signals are more likely to see transactional and commercial keywords surface in SERP features.

   
   

4. Visual Content is On the Rise

   Out of all the search features appearing for each keyword analyzed, video was the third most popular, behind related searches and People Also Ask. Video and video packs are appearing more frequently across search results, and that trend has continued to accelerate.

   What does this mean? Google favors visual content more and more, including video reviews, product demonstrations, and testimonials. For example, when someone searches for a specific query like "how to install a generator interlock kit," they are likely looking for a step-by-step guide. A video is an ideal format to provide this information because it allows users to visually follow the process, making it more helpful and engaging. Video is also showing up for commercial intent searches, not just informational ones, making it an increasingly important content format regardless of where a potential customer is in the buying journey.

   
   
   

   The increase in video presence across all keyword intents could align with increased traffic to other platforms, such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and more. We continue to see growth in all channels for video content for organic search, and it is a holistic approach to growing your site’s reputation and online presence.

   
   

   💡 Quick Tip: Check your referral traffic in GA4 to see if your traffic from YouTube and other platforms has increased with the changes to SERPs. See if people are navigating to your website after viewing your video on another platform, and then figure out the best user journey for those users to convert.

We have talked about what is happening with zero-click SEO and why it matters, but this leads to arguably the most important question: what is next? Our team has identified winning SEO themes to strengthen your organic search visibility and grow your share of voice in the age of AI Overviews and the forever-changing SERP landscape:

• Implementing structured data: Ensuring that your website has structured data helps Google pull the correct and highly desirable takeaways for your business into SERPs. Our team recently saw a roughly 190% increase in organic applications via Featured Snippets in just six months after recommending an updated structured data format. Make sure that your video content has video-structured data too, as this increases the likelihood of appearing in video packs and featured video results.

• Answering questions directly: Part of Google's justification for introducing AI Overviews was to refine search and make information more accessible. Providing concise, direct answers in your content will help search engines deliver a positive experience in SERPs by rendering your content, and users will benefit from finding answers faster than they would previously.

• Optimizing for AI Overview citations: Appearing in an AI Overview is now a specific, measurable goal, not just a byproduct of good SEO. Research shows that brands cited in AI Overviews earn significantly more organic clicks than those that are not. To improve your chances of being cited, focus on clear, authoritative answers to common questions in your industry, use structured formatting, and build topical authority across your content. Track your AI Overview citation rate using platforms like Semrush, which now offer dedicated AI visibility reporting.

• Optimizing for Answer Engines: Search is no longer confined to Google. Users are increasingly turning to AI-powered platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Mode to find answers, recommendations, and comparisons. Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the practice of structuring your content so that these platforms surface and cite your brand in their responses. The same principles that help you rank in traditional search, clear structure, authoritative sourcing, and direct answers, also improve your visibility in AI-generated responses.

• Well-formatted content: Creating a clear, structured hierarchy on your website will help search engines identify the high-level takeaways that users often search for. A clear page structure helps users quickly navigate to the most relevant information when they click through to your website.

• Utilize FAQs: One of the largest themes of AI Overviews and the current SERP feature landscape is answering user questions directly. What better way to do this than to write down commonly asked questions from customers or prospective customers? We recommend asking your customer service or sales team for a list of questions leads often ask, as this highlights an opportunity to write unique content and earn trust in your brand. Don't have a team to provide these insights? Conducting a competitive analysis of what others in your industry are ranking for can highlight net new content opportunities for you and your broader industry.

• YouTube SEO: One of the largest themes we observed was an increase in video featured snippet visibility and user engagement. As engagement with video content increases and users visit more video-centric platforms, offering video content about your product, service, or tutorials is a great way to strengthen your search visibility. It also helps bolster E-E-A-T signals, earning trust from users in a highly competitive search space.

• Brand awareness: Part of improving your E-E-A-T signals includes maintaining a strong brand presence. This approach ensures that your organization is recognized as an industry expert, demonstrating experience, trustworthiness, and authority. Some quick wins to establish your brand's position include highlighting your brand in key information, optimizing your Google Business Profile listings where relevant, encouraging customer reviews, and engaging with users when they ask questions or leave testimonials.

• Diversify your traffic sources: With a growing share of searches ending without a click, relying solely on organic search traffic carries more risk than it once did. Building owned and direct channels, such as email newsletters, social communities, and branded content hubs, reduces your dependence on Google and ensures your audience has ways to find and engage with you outside of search. The brands best positioned for the next phase of search are those that treat organic visibility as one channel among many, not the only one.

• Analytics & Tracking: One of the most important steps after implementing changes is tracking your progress and visibility. Utilize keyword ranking data from a platform such as Semrush, Ahrefs, or STAT, and compare it with data from Google Analytics 4 to monitor organic search traffic, engagement, and conversions. Alongside traditional rank tracking, monitor your AI Overview citation rate and overall AI search visibility, as these metrics are becoming just as important as page-one rankings for understanding your true share of voice.

  • Tip: Semrush launched an AI Visibility tool that is very useful when it comes to AI search visibility. We have more information on what that tool entails and how to use it here.

Is SEO dead? No.

SEO is not dead, but the playing field has changed. Users are having a better search experience overall, and that does mean our roles as digital marketers have become increasingly more complex. Rather than admitting defeat, we as an industry can evolve alongside these changes. This is not the first time we have seen a drastic shift in the search landscape, and it certainly will not be the last.

What the data actually tells us is encouraging for those willing to adapt: users who click through despite the presence of AI Overviews or who engage with results inside AI Mode tend to be higher-intent, more informed, and closer to a decision. AI Mode in particular represents a new kind of search interaction, one where users are doing deeper research, comparing options, and following up with questions, all without leaving Google's ecosystem. Being the source that gets cited in that experience matters just as much as ranking on page one.

The goal is no longer just to rank. It is to be the trusted source that earns the click, the citation, or the mention.

To maintain relevancy and continue to see a positive ROI from your SEO strategies, focus on optimizing for the SERP features that still drive strong engagement for your business, continue to write clear, concise, and unique content, build your E-E-A-T signals, and diversify your traffic sources so your brand is not solely dependent on organic search.

Unsure of where to start or what will have the highest impact on your business? Our team is here to help. Contact us to hear more about how we provide customized strategies for your unique business. Not ready for a conversation? Feel free to follow our Shop Talk newsletter for updated information, tips and tricks, and insights to help you stay ahead of the latest trends in search and digital strategy.

This blog post was originally published on March 3, 2025, and was updated and republished on April 23, 2026.