Google’s Q2: Precise Revenue Figures, Click Claims You Can’t Check

Alphabet shared its Q2 earnings this week, displaying that Google Search & Different income elevated by 17% 12 months over 12 months to succeed in $63.27 billion. For all the small print, take a look at our earnings brief, together with how the expansion price has slowed from 19% in Q1, marking the primary slowdown after 4 quarters of accelerating progress.

The numbers additionally pass over a part of the story. Alphabet gives an in depth breakdown of Search enterprise earnings in its securities submitting, whereas Google describes what the net will get again in broad assurances. Each views at the moment are a part of each quarter, and the space between them is the story.

What The Quarter Established

The income side of Search gives all the things you’d hope for from an information supply. Alphabet offered clear numbers, comparisons year-over-year, and constant definitions throughout quarters, making it simple to comply with the progress.

The trajectory is checkable: Search & Different progress went from 10% in Q1 2025 to 12%, then 15%, 17%, and reaching 19% in Q1 2026, earlier than easing again to 17% this quarter.

In its earnings launch, CEO Sundar Pichai linked these outcomes to AI, saying the corporate’s “in style AI options are driving Search question progress.” Chief Enterprise Officer Philipp Schindler identified strengths throughout completely different industries, with retail main the best way, adopted by finance, know-how, media, and leisure, and credited the Gemini integration inside Google’s promoting programs. Nonetheless, Google didn’t specify the precise contribution of every vertical.

The spending facet received the identical exact therapy. Roger Montti covered this, together with the capital expenditures that led to damaging free money movement for the quarter.

That stated, none of this detailed monetary knowledge addresses a very powerful query for companies: the variety of clicks to web sites. Neither the Q4 2025 nor Q1 2026 reviews we coated provided this info. Google’s broader claims about outbound visitors come from different sources like weblog posts, interviews, and social media updates from its executives.

3 Varieties Of Claims About The Internet

Google’s public statements about web site visitors may be grouped into three classes. By organizing them this manner, we see what sort of knowledge each would should be testable.

The primary group consists of utilization claims. In April, Pichai talked about that “queries are at an all-time high” and repeated the query-growth hyperlink on this week’s launch. In July, Nick Fox, senior vice chairman of Data and Data, famous that Search reached its highest usage on record throughout a World Cup match. These claims spotlight superlatives with out offering particular counts. Having extra queries doesn’t imply extra clicks leaving Google.

The second group includes quantity claims. Fox shared in a July LinkedIn post that AI options in Search ship billions of clicks to web sites weekly. He additionally talked about the earlier day by day determine: “Truly, as we’ve shared earlier than, we proceed to ship billions of clicks to the net daily by Search.” Nonetheless, each numbers solely specify “billions,” with out precise figures. Since one is day by day and the opposite weekly, it’s unclear how the AI-related click on depend compares to total clicks or what portion of Search visitors comes from AI surfaces.

The third group focuses on high quality claims. Liz Reid, Google’s head of Search, acknowledged that AI Overviews primarily take away “bounce clicks,” visits the place customers shortly discover a truth and go away. In an August 2025 blog post, Reid talked about that the whole natural click on quantity has been “comparatively secure” year-over-year, with a rise in common click on high quality. She additionally defined that Google is directing barely extra “high quality clicks” to web sites than a 12 months earlier. Reid defines high quality clicks as visits the place customers don’t swiftly return to the outcomes web page. The put up additionally challenged third-party reviews of sharp visitors drops, attributing them to flawed strategies and remoted instances. These statements are directional comparisons with out a revealed baseline or measurement.

General, all three classes lack exact counts, constant definitions over time, splits between conventional outcomes, AI Overviews, and AI Mode, and site-level click on reporting for AI options. Our evaluate of Google’s weblog posts and govt statements earlier than mid-July, as coated in our Fox evaluation, exhibits no breakdown of click on figures by AI options. As of publication, that hasn’t modified. Search Console’s generative AI reports, accessible to some web sites, present impressions without clicks, together with particulars by web page, nation, and gadget sort, however no click-through charges.

Evaluate this to the income reviews Alphabet filed this month. One facet gives an in depth time collection, whereas the opposite gives three forms of assurance.

What Outdoors Measurement Can And Can not Check

Whereas unbiased knowledge might help fill in some gaps, every supply measures various things and doesn’t absolutely change Google’s total knowledge. Since Google has challenged exterior measurements, it’s useful to grasp the constraints of every dataset.

Click on-through price (CTR) on outcomes pages with AI Overviews gives the clearest perception. Seer Interactive’s analysis discovered that natural CTR for queries with AI Overviews dropped from 1.76% in 2024 to simply 0.61% in 2025. Equally, Pew Research Center’s data exhibits customers clicked outcomes 8% of the time when AI Overviews appeared, in comparison with 15% with out them. Each units of information are particular to the queries and panels they examined. Seer notes AI Overview queries are typically informational, which naturally have decrease CTRs.

position-level CTR throughout all queries gives a unique perspective. Advanced Web Ranking’s Q1 data signifies that CTRs improved for the highest 5 desktop positions however declined for the highest cellular place. Nonetheless, since this knowledge doesn’t particularly isolate AI Overview queries, it will probably’t definitively assist or problem the bounce-clicks rationalization.

One other perspective is assistant referrals. SE Ranking’s data exhibits that referral visitors from Gemini elevated after the Gemini 3 releases. Take into accout, this measures a unique product than clicks from AI Overviews or AI Mode inside Search.

Lastly, there’s downstream habits. A Similarweb report discovered that manufacturers advisable by ChatGPT solutions have been 2.5 instances extra more likely to obtain a web site go to inside per week. Of that visitors, 55.9% got here from branded searches. This implies AI suggestions can result in visits by oblique routes, though it doesn’t instantly take a look at Google’s claims about clicks from AI options inside Search.

Collectively, these exterior knowledge factors present that whereas there may be some click on strain on particular surfaces that Google’s assurances don’t absolutely tackle, there are additionally oblique advantages elsewhere. This makes it difficult to attract an easy conclusion a couple of loss. In the end, no single dataset can seize the complete image. Google’s claims seek advice from total clicks throughout Search and AI options, however each exterior measurement focuses on a particular panel, key phrase set, or referral path. The 2 can’t be reconciled with what’s publicly obtainable.

Why This Issues For Search Professionals

The Q2 numbers don’t settle the press debate, and also you shouldn’t anticipate any earnings report back to. They present us one thing a bit narrower: Search income can go up with out revealing whether or not natural visits elevated or decreased. The quarter added one other piece of proof to 1 facet of that query however doesn’t add readability to the opposite.

That’s the sensible problem with the general claims. Billions of weekly clicks present vital market context, however they don’t inform you in case your pages gained or misplaced guests as a result of each your web site’s efficiency and the general market may be true on the similar time. A single determine that describes everybody doesn’t actually describe anybody.

Your individual knowledge is the closest factor to a checkable click on quantity on your web site. Instruments like Search Console and analytics provide you with a transparent image of your visitors, even when they will’t all the time pinpoint which AI characteristic affected it. In the event you discover impressions are growing whereas clicks are dropping on informational queries, that sample is in keeping with what Seer discovered with AI Overview queries. Broader CTR knowledge stays blended throughout units and question varieties.

For publishers, the important thing indicators to look at are how referral shares from search change over time, and the way branded versus non-branded visitors compares. The sample from Similarweb means that AI suggestions would possibly result in branded search visits slightly than direct referrals, so seeing a decline in referrals alongside progress in branded searches can inform a unique story than a easy drop.

Make sure you hold paid search evaluation separate from the natural facet. Google’s increasing advert protection in AI experiences is especially about monetization, and it’s a separate monitor from natural visitors. A rise in AI advert stock just isn’t proof that natural clicks went up or down.

When purchasers ask if Google’s reassurances ought to affect their methods, reply is that the reassurances can’t be examined, however your personal knowledge can. Selections must be based mostly on the verifiable info you’ve gotten.

Wanting Forward

This quarter’s hole isn’t between Google’s claims and unbiased knowledge. It’s between two completely different disclosure requirements throughout the similar firm, with just one set of numbers that everybody can confirm.

To bridge this hole, we want some particular particulars: click on and CTR knowledge in Search Console’s generative AI reviews, a printed methodology behind the mixture claims, and detailed breakdowns by floor. As of now, these haven’t been shared.

Nonetheless, Alphabet’s upcoming quarterly report will supply a snapshot of income, no matter these lacking particulars. The earnings reviews from the previous three quarters haven’t included AI-feature visitors knowledge, and Google hasn’t prompt it should embrace this info sooner or later.

Extra Assets:

Featured Picture: Blue Titan/Shutterstock