Losing clicks
to AI Overviews?
Here is how to find out
Losing clicks
to AI Overviews?
Here is how to find out
- SEO
- How to find the pages losing clicks to AI Overviews
Many websites see impressions in Google rising while clicks stand still or fall. One important reason is AI Overviews, the answers Google shows at the top of the search results. The user gets the answer without clicking through. You can find out exactly which pages are affected, and it costs nothing: the answer is in Google Search Console.
How many clicks disappear?
Ahrefs analysed 300,000 keywords and compared click-through rates in December 2023 with December 2025. When the search shows an AI Overview, the click-through rate for position one is 58 percent lower than expected. The effect is greatest at the top and fades further down the page.
58% lower click-through rate for position one with an AI Overview
7.3 → 1.6% CTR in position 1 with an AI Overview (desktop)
7.6 → 3.9% CTR in position 1 without an AI Overview (desktop)
300,000 keywords in the Ahrefs analysis
For position one, the average desktop click-through rate fell from 7.3 to 1.6 percent on searches that got an AI Overview. Searches without an AI Overview also fell, from 7.6 to 3.9 percent. In other words, clicks are disappearing even where Google does not show an AI Overview.
Step 1: Compare two periods
Go to "Performance" in Search Console and select "Compare" under date. Use two periods of equal length, for example the last three months versus the same period last year. That way seasonal swings will not mislead you.
Turn on all four metrics: clicks, impressions, click-through rate (CTR) and average position.
Step 2: Look for the pattern
Open the "Pages" tab and sort by change in clicks. The pages you are looking for have this pattern:
Impressions are stable or rising.
Position is roughly unchanged.
Click-through rate has dropped clearly.
When the position holds and the clicks disappear, it is usually the search results around you that have changed.
Step 3: Check the queries behind the page
Click one of the pages and go to the "Queries" tab. See which keywords have lost clicks. Search for the most important ones yourself in an incognito window. Note whether an AI Overview appears, and whether your site is among the sources it links to.
Informational searches are hit hardest, for example "what is", "how to" and "how much does it cost". Commercial searches with clear purchase intent are less exposed.
Step 4: Sort the pages into three groups
Pages where you are cited in the AI Overview.Keep and strengthen them. Update figures and examples regularly.
Pages where others are cited.Look at how the sources Google uses are written. They often have a short, clear answer early, bullet points or a table. Rewrite the intro and put a concrete answer in the first paragraphs.
Pages that only explain a term.Here the clicks will probably not come back. Give the page a clearer job: connect it to a service, a tool, a calculator or a concrete next action.
Step 5: Move the goals from clicks to value
When informational searches deliver fewer clicks, it becomes more important to measure what the clicks you do get actually deliver. Connect Search Console to GA4, and track conversions per landing page as well as traffic. A drop in clicks on an article means little if enquiries via the service pages are increasing.
Need help with the analysis? We do this as part of anSEO audit, and at the same time look at yourAI visibility.
Questions about the article?
