The news: Google claimed that its AI summaries do not impact referral traffic from search after a Pew Research report showed that AI Overviews cut the number of users who clicked on links from overall search results by nearly half.

• Google stated in a blog post that, despite “third-party reports,” organic click volume from search to websites has remained consistent YoY.
• Google further stated that average click quality is increasing, with more quality clicks—ones where users don’t immediately click back—than a year ago.
• The company said critical studies used flawed methodologies and isolated samples. The Pew report, which studied 68,879 searches from 900 US adults, stated that only 8% of users with searches that triggered AI Overviews clicked on a link, compared with 15% who clicked on links when they weren’t served AI summaries.
• Pew Research also found that pages with AI summaries made users more likely to end browsing sessions (26% compared with 16% who ended sessions without AI summaries) and less likely to continue searching Google to find brand content (32% for searches with AI summaries versus 35% without).

Yes, but: While 900 is small in comparison with Google’s billions of users and searches, Pew Research isn’t alone in calling out AI Overviews for its adverse effect on publishers and brands.

• An Ahrefs study found that AI Overviews decrease clickthrough rates (CTRs) by a significant 34.5%.
• A study from Seer Interactive indicated this problem could be even worse, noting a 70% drop in organic CTRs in search results with AI Overviews.
• An analysis from analytics company Authoritas cited by The Guardian found that sites previously ranked first in search results could lose around 79% of traffic for results that fall below AI Overviews.

Our take: Despite Google’s objections, AI Overviews inevitably harm sites that rely on search results and SEO for visibility. But with AI summaries showing no signs of going away, what matters is how brands adapt.

Traditional keyword strategies are no longer sufficient in the age of AI. Staying visible means brands need to structure content around user questions and optimize for AI retrieval to increase the odds of being cited in summaries. And as less traffic is now to be expected, advertisers should focus on targeting strategies that maximize value from fewer, but high-intent, users.