AI Overview CTR Fell 61%, But Clicks Didn’t Collapse

Model-cited AI Overview CTR fell 61% from Q3 to This autumn, in keeping with a new report from Seer Interactive, however the clicks on these pages barely moved.

The drop seems to be alarming on a dashboard, although it isn’t fairly what it appears. Seer’s evaluation of 5.47 million queries throughout 53 manufacturers clearly reveals what’s taking place

What Occurred In This autumn

In September, brand-cited pages in AI Overviews acquired 15.8 million impressions and 398,798 clicks, with a CTR of two.52%.

In October, impressions doubled to 33.1 million, and clicks elevated barely to 400,271, however CTR dropped to 1.21% as fast impression development outpaced clicks.

This isn’t a efficiency collapse however a math challenge brought on by quicker impression development than clicks.

November Is A Completely different Story

November’s impressions rose to 39.5 million, however clicks dropped to 301,783, and CTR fell to 0.76%.

One thing pulled clicks down whereas visibility elevated, and Seer’s information can’t clarify why. For This autumn, each patterns mix right into a 61% determine, displaying it’s essential to research months individually in Search Console information.

What Seer Can’t Inform You

The company is obvious on one restrict: it could possibly’t decide whether or not the October impression surge was as a consequence of Google serving AI Overviews for extra queries the place manufacturers had been already cited, or as a result of the manufacturers earned citations by way of their search engine marketing. Each explanations match, and neither will be confirmed and not using a detailed evaluation of the account.

Web sites with related information face the identical ambiguity. Rising impressions are good if earned, however noise in the event that they end result from Google’s choices. Your dashboard won’t make clear this with out account-level question evaluation.

How This Matches With Previous AIO CTR Protection

A number of research present decrease CTRs when AI Overviews seem. Ahrefs analyzed 146 million outcomes and located a 20.5% AIO set off price, which was larger for informational and query queries.

A SISTRIX analysis in Germany reported a 59% drop in CTR at place one with AIOs, and Pew Research discovered that U.S. customers clicked 8% of the time with AIOs versus 15% with out.

Seer’s October information raises the query of whether or not a falling CTR on cited pages all the time means fewer clicks or can point out larger visibility with the identical click on depend.

Different Findings Price Noting

Model-cited pages get about 120% extra clicks per impression than uncited pages on AIO SERPs, however cited pages lag behind no-AIO pages by 38%. A quotation helps, however it doesn’t restore earlier rankings.

Seer experiences that natural CTR on AIO SERPs rose from 1.3% in December 2025 to 2.4% in February 2026, however calls this a leveling off relatively than a restoration and advises in opposition to forecasting primarily based on two months’ information.

Why This Issues

A falling CTR in your This autumn information doesn’t essentially imply you’re shedding clicks; verify impressions for a similar interval earlier than assuming there’s an issue.

Benchmarks present common tendencies, however your information tells your particular story. If clicks keep flat or develop quicker than impressions, it’s a unique challenge than precise decline.

Wanting Forward

The primary factor to observe is whether or not added AI Overview visibility begins driving extra clicks, or whether or not cited pages proceed absorbing extra impressions with out a lot visitors upside.

If that sample holds, the worth of being cited might look totally different from what CTR alone suggests. It’s possible you’ll must separate visibility, clicks, and quotation protection earlier than deciding whether or not AI Overview publicity helps or just altering how efficiency will get measured

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