The SEO impact of Google’s AI Overviews explained
In May 2024, Google launched one of its most ambitious changes to search yet: AI Overviews. Positioned as a way to deliver “quicker, more helpful answers,” these AI-generated summaries now appear at the top of many search engine results pages (SERPs), pushing traditional organic listings further down—or out of sight entirely.
While this may feel like a win for users seeking instant answers, it’s sparked serious concern across the SEO and digital marketing community. A new June 2024 report :Ahrefs study confirms what many SEOs feared: AI Overviews are significantly reducing clicks to organic search results.
According to the data, websites are losing 24% of their organic traffic on average, and in some cases, up to 45%. For anyone who works in content marketing, SEO, or web analytics, this isn’t just a trend—it’s a paradigm shift.
So, what does this mean for the future of organic search? And more importantly, how can digital professionals adapt?
What are AI Overviews?
AI Overviews—formerly known as Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE)—are Google’s way of integrating generative AI directly into the SERP. When triggered by certain queries, they appear as a large box at the top of the results page, summarizing content from across the web in a conversational, AI-generated snippet.
These overviews often include:
- A multi-paragraph summary written in natural language.
- Links to the sources used in the summary (though not always).
- Suggested follow-up questions.
- Carousels or inline citations for further exploration.
While this may seem like a helpful feature on the surface, for publishers and SEOs, it’s a nightmare scenario. Why? Because these AI Overviews effectively “satisfy” the user’s query right on the SERP—meaning they don’t need to click through to your site.
In traditional search, the blue links were the gateway to traffic. With AI Overviews, Google becomes the destination itself.
This shift fundamentally changes how users interact with the search engine—and it’s already measurable.
The core findings from Ahrefs’ study
To understand the true impact of AI Overviews, the team at Ahrefs analyzed over 100,000 keywords and compared click-through data before and after AI Overviews were introduced. The results were staggering.
Here are the top takeaways from their June 2024 report:
- Average drop in organic clicks: 24.37%
- Worst-case drop in clicks: 45.12%
- Search features most affected: Informational and how-to queries
- Clicks to top-ranking organic result: Down from 28.5% to 18.5%
What does this mean in real terms? If your site was previously earning 10,000 clicks a month from a single high-volume keyword, you might now be seeing only 7,600—or worse, 5,500—without dropping a single position in the rankings.
The study also showed that AI Overviews don't always link to the top-ranking pages. In fact, only 12% of Overviews link to the #1 result. This breaks the long-standing relationship between search position and traffic, leaving many marketers scrambling to figure out what now determines visibility.
Moreover, the nature of the query plays a major role. For example:
- Navigational queries (e.g. “Facebook login”) are largely unaffected.
- Transactional queries (e.g. “buy sneakers online”) see moderate impact.
- Informational queries (e.g. “how to fix a flat tire”) are the most disrupted, with Overviews dominating the page.
The impact on SEO strategy
For years, SEO strategy revolved around one main goal: get to the top of the SERP. Being #1 in organic results was the holy grail. But AI Overviews are now breaking that model. Ranking first no longer guarantees clicks—because users might never scroll past the AI box.
This changes how we evaluate keywords, create content, and define success.
Let’s start with keyword strategy. Traditionally, marketers would pursue high-volume keywords with clear search intent. Now, we must ask a new question: Is this query likely to trigger an AI Overview? If the answer is yes, it may not be worth the investment. The traffic potential could be far lower than expected—even if we manage to rank on page one.
Content creation is also affected. Google’s AI prefers concise, factual, and structured content it can easily digest and summarize. This may lead to a surge in templated content optimized for AI extraction, rather than for human depth and engagement.
Then there’s reporting. CTR (click-through rate) is collapsing across many verticals, but not because SEOs are doing a worse job. The top-ranking page might still be doing everything right—yet losing traffic to the AI Overview. That creates friction between marketing teams and clients or executives, especially when expectations are based on outdated SERP models.
The shift is subtle but profound: SEO is becoming less about ranking, and more about visibility—within AI summaries, featured snippets, carousels, and even zero-click moments.
How publishers and businesses are responding
The industry’s reaction to AI Overviews has ranged from cautious experimentation to outright frustration. Many independent publishers, especially those in ad-supported verticals like news, health, and tutorials, are already seeing revenue declines due to traffic loss.
Some have started updating their site content structure—adding more direct answers, subheadings, and schema markup—to increase the chance of being featured in an Overview.
Others are investing in brand-building and community channels to reduce reliance on Google altogether. Email lists, newsletters, Discord groups, and social followings are back in style—not because they’re trendy, but because they’re owned traffic. Unlike the SERP, no AI can filter them out.
A few bold players are even lobbying for regulatory action. If Google continues to summarize publisher content without reliably attributing traffic, it may face legal or antitrust challenges. This debate is already unfolding in the EU, and it’s only a matter of time before it heats up in the U.S.
Meanwhile, product and e-commerce businesses are turning to performance marketing. Paid ads offer predictable visibility—even if organic reach is becoming less dependable.
In short, everyone is recalibrating.
What you can do: adapting to the new SERP reality
If you’re an SEO or marketer wondering how to respond—don’t panic. Adapt.
Here are some strategic moves to consider:
- Prioritize AI-friendly formatting. Use bullet points, clear subheadings, concise definitions, and schema markup to increase your chances of being cited in Overviews.
- Reevaluate keyword intent. If a query is likely to trigger an Overview, be realistic about traffic potential and shift your focus to long-tail or brand-specific queries.
- Double down on brand terms. AI Overviews rarely show up for branded searches. Strong brand identity and search volume can protect you from visibility loss.
- Own your audience. Build email lists, create gated content, start a community. Google can’t summarize what happens in your inbox.
- Track SERP features. Use tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, or SERPWatcher to monitor which keywords trigger Overviews, how your rankings appear, and what content is being surfaced.
Most importantly, shift your KPIs. Don’t judge success only by organic traffic. Track engagement, retention, branded search growth, and owned channel expansion.
AI Overviews might shrink the size of the pie—but there are still smart ways to earn your slice.
Why hosting still matters more than ever
While AI Overviews are changing how users interact with search results, one thing hasn’t changed: website performance still matters—a lot.
In a world where every click is harder to win, making the most of each visit becomes critical. That’s where hosting comes in. Fast load times, uptime stability, and server responsiveness all contribute to better user experience, stronger engagement, and higher conversions.
Google still includes Core Web Vitals in its ranking factors—and even if you do appear in an AI Overview, slow performance can kill the user journey before it begins.
For marketers and SEOs dealing with shrinking organic traffic, technical performance is a lever you can still fully control. Speed matters. Reliability matters. And as more SEO efforts shift toward owned audiences and product-led growth, the infrastructure behind your site becomes a direct business asset.
Serverspace offers high-performance cloud infrastructure that’s ideal for content-heavy or high-traffic sites. With fast SSD-based servers, flexible scaling, and data centers in multiple regions, it’s a great option for businesses that want to keep their SEO efforts technically sound, no matter what Google throws next.
If organic traffic is now a privilege, don’t waste it on a slow site.
Looking ahead: the future of organic search
So, where is this all heading?
Google’s AI integration is clearly just the beginning. As generative models improve, we can expect more sophisticated answers, more predictive queries, and fewer clicks leaving Google-owned surfaces.
That raises questions about fairness, competition, and the open web. Publishers may push back harder. Regulators might intervene. Users themselves could begin to favor different platforms—or even turn to AI assistants directly, skipping search engines altogether.
There’s also an opportunity here. As the SEO landscape gets more volatile, differentiation becomes a superpower. Sites that offer unique data, expert voices, community contributions, or proprietary tools will still have value AI can’t replicate.
And while Google continues to test and tweak, marketers who stay agile will find new growth paths—sometimes through search, sometimes beyond it.
Conclusion
The data is clear: AI Overviews are shaking up the rules of search. According to Ahrefs, the average site is losing 24% of clicks—and in some cases, over 40%. That’s not just a dip—it’s a redefinition of visibility.
But this isn’t the end of SEO. It’s a new chapter.
Winning in this environment means understanding how AI reshapes the funnel, building resilience through performance and branding, and taking ownership of your audience wherever possible.
It also means staying informed, testing relentlessly, and not clinging to strategies that no longer work.
Google may be rewriting the SERP, but the smartest marketers are already rewriting the playbook.
