AI Overviews now answer many searches before anyone scrolls to the blue links, and fewer people click through. You cannot switch them off, but you can make your pages the ones the AI cites and give searchers a reason to visit.
If your Search Console shows impressions holding steady while clicks drop, AI Overviews are the likely reason. This post explains what has changed in 2026 and what a small site can do about it.
What the numbers say
An Ahrefs study published in February 2026 found that when an AI Overview appears, the click-through rate for the top-ranking page is about 58% lower. The same team measured a 34.5% drop in April 2025, so the effect has nearly doubled in a year.
Google has made some changes that help publishers. In May 2026 it added a “further exploration” section of links at the end of AI Overviews and began labelling links from news sites a user subscribes to. At the same time, more links inside AI Overviews now lead to AI Mode, Google’s chat-style search, rather than to websites.
Seven ways to keep getting clicks
1. Answer the question in your first two sentences
AI systems pull short, direct answers. Put a clear one or two sentence answer at the top of the page, then explain it. Our guide to answer engine optimization shows how.
2. Offer what a summary cannot
A summary can explain what something is. It cannot replace your screenshots, templates, calculators, local prices or your own test results. Add at least one of these to every important page, and say so near the top.
3. Target searches that need a visit
“What is a meta description” is fully answered by an AI Overview. “Meta description examples for a dental clinic” or “SEO agency in Hyderabad” still send clicks. Look for searches where people want to compare, download, book or buy.
4. Get cited, not just ranked
AI Overviews list the pages they drew from. Pages with clear headings, facts with sources, and up-to-date dates are cited more often. Read how to get cited by ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity for a checklist.
5. Build searches for your own brand
When people search “SyncNeck SEO tips” instead of “SEO tips”, they come to you. Newsletters, YouTube, LinkedIn and being quoted by others all build brand searches.
6. Grow an email list
Search traffic will keep changing. An email list is an audience no algorithm can take away. Put a simple sign-up box on every post.
7. Measure the right thing
Watch impressions and your average position alongside clicks in Search Console. If impressions are steady and positions hold, your content is still winning; the click drop is the AI layer, not a ranking problem.
The short version
- Clicks to top results fall by about 58% when an AI Overview appears (Ahrefs, February 2026).
- Answer first, then add something a summary cannot copy.
- Aim for searches with buying or doing intent.
- Build your brand and your email list so you depend less on any one channel.
New to all this? Start with our SEO guide for beginners.