Study finds Google AI Overviews reduce publisher clicks by 39.8% with no user satisfaction gain

Summary

A randomized field experiment with 1,065 desktop Chrome users provides the first causal evidence that Google's AI Overviews significantly reduce clicks to publisher websites. The study found AI Overviews caused a 39.8% drop in outbound organic clicks and a 34.5% increase in zero-click searches, while sponsored clicks remained unchanged. Importantly, users reported no improvement in search satisfaction, raising regulatory concerns about Google's market power and the impact of AI-generated summaries on web traffic and publisher sustainability.

Source

bskyStudy finds Google AI Overviews reduce publisher clicks by 39.8% with no user satisfaction gainppc.land