What is zero-click search?
The plain-English definition, what a large 2025 study found, and what it changes for a business that wants to be found.
A zero-click search is a search that ends without the person clicking through to any website, because the answer is already on the results page. AI summaries make this more common: in a 2025 Pew Research Center study, Google users clicked a result 8% of the time when an AI summary appeared, versus 15% without one.
What does the research say about clicks and AI summaries?
The Pew Research Center studied the real browsing of 900 U.S. adults who agreed to share it, across 68,879 unique Google searches in March 2025. Of those searches, 18% produced an AI summary.
| What Pew measured | With an AI summary | Without one |
|---|---|---|
| Visits where the user clicked a traditional search result | 8% | 15% |
| Visits where the user clicked a link inside the AI summary | 1% | — |
| Pages where the user ended their browsing session | 26% | 16% |
In short: when Google answered at the top, people clicked less and more often simply stopped.
Does zero-click search mean SEO is dead?
No. The answer on the page still comes from somewhere. Google says AI Overviews and AI Mode link to pages that are indexed and eligible for a snippet in normal Search. Google Search Central Good SEO is still the way in.
What changes is what you count. If fewer people click, being named in the answer is worth more:
- Track mentions, not only visits. Measure your AI share of voice — how often answers name you versus competitors.
- Put the answer first. In our experience, short, direct statements are what summaries lift.
- Make your name the answer. For example, a buyer who reads "try Smith Roofing" can search for you directly, even without clicking a link.
You won't see this in Search Console alone. Google counts AI feature traffic inside the normal Web search type. Google Search Central
Sources
- Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results — Pew Research Center. Read Sep 24, 2026.
- AI features and your website — Google Search Central. Read Sep 24, 2026.
Common questions
Do AI summaries appear on every Google search?
No. In Pew's March 2025 data, 18% of the Google searches studied produced an AI summary.
Where does the 1% figure come from?
Pew Research Center's July 2025 study: users clicked a link inside the AI summary in 1% of visits to pages that had one.
How do I know if zero-click search is hurting me?
Compare your Search Console impressions with clicks over time, then check whether AI answers name you for your key questions. Our free check shows the second part.
Related pages.
See what AI says about your business.
Enter your domain and the free AI visibility check shows where ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI answers mention you — and where they don't.