How Do I Know If AI Overviews Are Taking Clicks From My Site And What Can I Do About It? – Ask An SEO

There are a variety of assumptions being made concerning the impression of AI platforms on search engine optimisation site visitors and conversions. Nevertheless, how a lot Google AI Overviews do have an effect on your web site’s efficiency goes to rely on particular person components, like the kind of content material in your web site, the key phrases you might be focusing on, and your viewers.

Though Google has lately launched a Generative AI options efficiency report in Google Search Console, it does not give the level of detail needed to establish the place AI Overviews are changing a person’s must click on via to a webpage. The truth is, there may be presently no easy reporting performance, both provided by Google or a 3rd celebration, that determines precisely how a lot site visitors has been misplaced as customers get the knowledge they want immediately from the search engine outcomes pages.

A recent study by researchers on the Indian College of Enterprise and Carnegie Mellon College suggests AI Overviews may very well be lowering clicks out to webpages by as a lot as 38%.

Tips on how to Determine How A lot of a Website’s Visitors Is Being Misplaced Because of AI Overviews

Given the impression {that a} discount in clicks may have on search engine optimisation efficiency, it’s crucial that we develop a method to establish how a lot of a web site’s site visitors is being misplaced as a result of presence on Google’s AI Overviews.

Determine Which Key phrases Set off AIOs

Step one in figuring out how a lot of your web site’s site visitors is misplaced as a result of presence of AI Overviews is seeing which of your beforehand high-traffic-generating key phrases are actually triggering AIOs to look.

There are a few methods you are able to do this.

You possibly can manually search a few of your key phrases, utilizing a VPN to find out what the SERPs appear like in your goal geographies.

Or you need to use your key phrase monitoring software program – a lot of which offer element on the sorts of SERP options which might be triggered for a selected key phrase.

The secret’s to establish a gaggle of key phrases which might be of an analogous subject and search curiosity that do and don’t set off AI Overviews.

For instance:

Decide What the Key Click on Metrics Have been Earlier than and After the AIO Began Showing

After you have your listing of key phrases that set off AI Overviews you must look to see what the click-through price, impressions quantity and common rankings have been each earlier than and after the AI Overview started showing.

In the event you haven’t been repeatedly monitoring the SERP options triggered to your goal key phrases, chances are you’ll must enlist your key phrase monitoring device once more to find out when the AIOs started showing. Lots of the key phrase trackers will let you view snapshots of the SERPs over set durations in time. This can provide help to get an concept of when the AIOs first confirmed up to your key phrases.

From there, use Google Search Console to establish the typical click-through price for every of these key phrases earlier than and after the AIOs started. You’ll solely have the ability to return 16 months in Google Search Console, so take into account a shorter time interval of comparability – maybe a month earlier than and after the AIOs first started being triggered for that key phrase. [Note: Google confirmed Search Console over-reported impressions from May 2025 through April 2026 and this needs to be considered when reviewing impression differences.]

If You Can’t Decide When the AIOs Began Showing

In the event you wouldn’t have entry to software program that may present you when the AI Overviews started being triggered to your key phrases, you may as an alternative evaluate the typical CTR of the key phrases you’ve gathered that do set off AI Overviews, and the similarly-themed ones that don’t. From there, you may evaluate the 2 cohorts’ key metrics, ideally between key phrases which have related impression ranges and common rating positions.

Search for the Telltale Indicators of AIO Click on-Loss

After you have acquired information both evaluating the identical key phrases’ metrics earlier than and after AIOs started showing, or an analogous cohort of key phrases that do and don’t set off AI Overviews, you may search for indicators of click-loss.

Primarily, the signal that your web site is shedding clicks as a result of presence of AI Overviews is that rankings and impressions are stable, however click-through price has declined.

In case you are evaluating the 2 cohorts of key phrases, it is possible for you to to establish click-loss when measuring the CTR of key phrases with related common impressions and positions over the interval, however the key phrases that set off AIOs have a decrease click-through price.

What You Can Do About It

In case you are seeing indicators of click-loss attributable to AI Overviews, all (together with the site visitors!) shouldn’t be misplaced.

You could possibly get better a number of the clicks from these key phrases, and certainly, chances are you’ll uncover that you simply don’t truly wish to get better the site visitors from a few of them.

Categorize the Key phrases

Step one to find out what to do about click on loss is to separate your key phrases affected by the AIOs into three teams.

Key phrases to Defend

These are any key phrases that led to commercially necessary pages. These are traditionally your conversion-driving or aiding clicks. Solely put key phrases on this bucket if there are nonetheless clicks available – that’s, the AIOs are linking to webpages just like yours. For instance, the AIO for “greatest cat meals bowls for moist meals” mentions merchandise and cites webpages the place they are often bought from, giving direct entry to conversion pages from the SERPs.

Key phrases to Adapt

These are the key phrases which may not have the ability to get better clicks, however are nonetheless commercially necessary to the enterprise. These key phrases are triggering AIOs which now not cite sources like your content material, or certainly ship a lot site visitors to webpages in any respect. The solutions are very a lot supplied within the AIOs with little cause or alternative for customers to click on away to a webpage for extra data. They could nonetheless present mentions that support in model discovery. For instance, “what sort of meals for aged cats” triggers an AIO which particulars sorts of meals, and even mentions some manufacturers however hyperlinks out very sometimes to these manufacturers.

Key phrases to Depreciate

These are key phrases which set off solutions that may be simply answered by AIOs without having to click on anyplace else. They’re key phrases that have been driving very top-of-the-funnel, information-seeking site visitors. There actually isn’t a lot want for the AI Overviews to quote or evaluate manufacturers. For instance, “greatest method to feed an aged cat.” This key phrase triggers an AI Overview response that comprises useful data, suggestions, and recommendations however few hyperlinks or model mentions. This site visitors, earlier than AIOs, was unlikely to transform rapidly attributable to being to this point on the exploration, answer-seeking stage and never essentially searching for services or products.

Methods for Every Key phrase Kind

After you have sorted your key phrases which might be experiencing click on loss attributable to AIOs into these three classes, you may create methods for every group.

Key phrases to Defend

For essentially the most commercially necessary key phrases, the technique is about reclaiming clicks the place attainable. It is because these key phrases have been recognized as high-converting, high-risk key phrases. It isn’t sufficient to simply be talked about in an AI Overview; these are the key phrases you have been beforehand seeing prospects convert from.

You’ll possible wish to nonetheless intention for inclusion of your model or merchandise inside the AI overviews themselves. There are nonetheless alternatives for clicks out available for this key phrase group. In case your web site already seems within the AIOs however you’ve gotten nonetheless observed a drop in clicks, the core intention is to provide reasons for the searchers to want to click to your site.

Giving users a reason to leave Google consists of providing them content material that can’t be replicated on the SERPs. This consists of instruments, calculators, downloads. Primarily, there must be one thing in your webpage that can’t be changed by the knowledge supplied within the AI Overview. For the cat-food instance earlier, chances are you’ll wish to present a device that calculates the optimum quantity of meals to feed your cat primarily based on their age, weight, intercourse, and consuming habits. You possibly can then provide them the precise feeding bowls wanted for his or her pet’s feeding necessities. This goes past the extra commonplace data Google will present within the AI Overviews, and hyperlinks personalised suggestions to your merchandise.

More and more necessary in our AI-focused surroundings is bettering model loyalty. This implies working holistically in your model in order that relatively than counting on an AI Overview to supply solutions, searchers could particularly look to your model mentions, or go to the citations for that data. This may be so simple as gating distinctive content material behind membership logins, so the AI overviews can’t presumably scrape and current it themselves. It may very well be extra subtle, within the type of loyalty applications and monetary incentives for visiting your model over stockists or associates.

Primarily, the objective is to work with the AI Overviews, getting your model citations and mentions in them the place attainable, but in addition to entice customers on to your web site for the conversions.

Key phrases to Adapt

These key phrases provide a chance for better visibility within the SERPs, however don’t essentially must get better the misplaced site visitors.

The intention for this key phrase group is to improve your chances of being cited or mentioned. This implies offering content material that’s distinctive to your web site, and ideally underpinned by first-party information – primarily giving Google the rationale to quote your web site.

Look to develop content material that solutions the subsequent query, past the one which the AIO solutions. Because of this though chances are you’ll not get the press from the preliminary key phrase or query, because the person continues of their dialog with the AI Overview, your model has one other probability to be cited.

Key phrases to Depreciate

These key phrases aren’t that commercially necessary to what you are promoting, and will not warrant time or sources invested to regain the clicks misplaced.

One key side of those key phrases is that it would be best to quantify how useful, or not, the site visitors that used to reach in your web site from them truly was. It will be prudent to have a look at the standard person journeys from customers touchdown on the pages these key phrases used to drive site visitors to. The chances are they have been typically arriving on the location for data, and never participating additional with it.

Suppose Holistically

In essence, figuring out whether or not your web site is shedding clicks to AI Overviews is only one a part of the equation. The secret’s figuring out whether or not that misplaced site visitors was truly that necessary to what you are promoting. If it was, then regaining it may be attainable, and ought to be the main target. If it was however the clicks are unlikely to be recovered, then focus extra on using the AI Overview to your benefit – gaining visibility through mentions.

Lastly, not all misplaced site visitors was useful to what you are promoting. Be certain that to quantify this, as it might be the important thing to allaying the fears of frightened stakeholders whenever you subsequent ship spherical a report displaying a drop in site visitors.

Extra Assets:

Featured Picture: Paulo Bobita/Search Engine Journal