Google AI Mode and AI Overviews: Traffic Impact in 2026

A dated timeline of Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode announcements, what Pew and Ahrefs data show about lost clicks, Google's counter view, and a 60-day action plan for brands.

SSquarebase
Published 1 Oct 2026 · 8 min read

Quick answer: Google AI Overviews and AI Mode answer many queries directly on the results page, so fewer searchers click through. Independent studies found click-through rates fall sharply when an AI summary appears, while Google says overall organic clicks are stable and higher quality. Brands should protect high-intent pages, write answer-first content, earn citations and track AI visibility in Search Console.

Google AI Mode and AI Overviews have changed how organic traffic behaves. Since 2025, Google has moved from showing a short AI summary on some queries to offering a full conversational search mode used by more than a billion people a month.

This article sets out what Google has actually announced, with dates, what reputable independent data shows about clicks, and what brands should do now. Where Google’s view and third-party data disagree, we show both.

Key takeaways

Google reported in July 2025 that AI Overviews had over 2 billion monthly users, and in May 2026 that AI Mode had passed 1 billion monthly users.
Pew Research found users clicked a result in 8% of visits with an AI summary, against 15% without one (March 2025 data).
Ahrefs reported in February 2026 that AI Overviews cut the top-ranking page’s click-through rate by 58%.
Google says total organic click volume is relatively stable year on year and that click quality has improved.
Google says no special optimisation is needed for AI features. Standard SEO, clear answers and strong brand signals still decide who gets cited.

What are AI Overviews and AI Mode?

AI Overviews are AI-generated summaries that appear above or among regular results for some queries, with links to sources. AI Mode is a separate, conversational search experience for longer and more complex questions, where users can ask follow-ups.

Google’s documentation on AI features explains that both may use a “query fan-out” technique, issuing multiple related searches across subtopics to find supporting pages. Google says this can surface a wider and more diverse set of links than a classic results page.

What has Google announced, and when?

Date	Announcement	Source
20 May 2025	AI Mode starts rolling out to all users in the US with no Labs sign-up. Google says AI Overviews drive over 10% more usage of Google for the types of queries that show them in markets such as the US and India. A custom Gemini 2.5 model comes to AI Mode and AI Overviews in the US.	Google blog
23 July 2025	Q2 2025 earnings: AI Overviews have over 2 billion monthly users across more than 200 countries and territories and 40 languages. AI Mode has launched in the US and India and has over 100 million monthly active users there.	Alphabet CEO remarks
6 August 2025	Google says total organic click volume from Search to websites has been relatively stable year on year, with slightly more “quality clicks” than a year earlier.	Google blog, Liz Reid
20 May 2026	At I/O 2026, Google says AI Mode has passed 1 billion monthly users, Gemini 3.5 Flash becomes the default model, and AI Overviews and AI Mode are brought into one AI Search experience worldwide.	Google I/O 2026 roundup
3 June 2026	Google announces generative AI performance reports in Search Console, showing impressions from AI features, initially for a subset of sites.	Google Search Central blog, reported by PPC Land

Sources: Google, May 2025, Alphabet Q2 2025 remarks, Google, August 2025 and Google I/O 2026 announcements.

What happened to organic clicks?

Independent data

Pew Research Center analysed the browsing of 900 US adults in March 2025, covering 68,879 Google searches. About 18% of searches produced an AI summary. Users clicked a traditional result in 8% of visits when a summary appeared, against 15% when it did not. Links inside the summary were clicked in about 1% of visits, and sessions were more likely to end after a summary page (26% against 16%).

Ahrefs compared Search Console data for 300,000 keywords between December 2023 and December 2025. Published in February 2026, it found AI Overviews reduced the click-through rate of the top-ranking page by 58%, up from 34.5% in its April 2025 study. Position 2 fell by 50.8% and position 10 by 19.4%.

Google’s position

Google disputes the idea of a general traffic collapse. In August 2025, Head of Search Liz Reid wrote that total organic click volume had been relatively stable year on year and that Google was sending slightly more quality clicks, defined as clicks where users do not quickly return. She also said user interest is shifting towards forums, videos, podcasts and first-hand perspectives, which helps some sites and hurts others.

How to read both

Both can be true at once. Total clicks across the web can hold steady while specific page types lose a large share of theirs. The pages most exposed are those answering simple informational questions: definitions, quick how-tos and fact lookups. Pages built around decisions, comparisons, local intent, products and first-hand experience tend to hold up better.

Why does this matter for Indian brands?

India has been an early market for both features. Google named India alongside the US when it reported that AI Overviews drive more usage for the queries that show them, and AI Mode launched in the US and India before its wider rollout, according to Alphabet’s July 2025 remarks.

For Indian D2C and B2B brands, that means the shift in click patterns is not a distant US trend. If your category relies on informational content to attract first-time buyers, check your own Search Console data now rather than waiting for industry averages.

Which types of pages are most affected?

Most exposed: glossary and definition pages, simple how-to articles, generic listicles and pages that restate widely available facts.
Moderately exposed: broad buying guides and “best of” articles, where AI answers summarise options but users still click to compare.
Least exposed: product and category pages, pricing and booking pages, original research, tools and calculators, and content with clear first-hand expertise.

What should brands do now?

1. Re-baseline your organic reporting

Compare clicks, impressions and click-through rate by page type, not just site-wide. Rising impressions with falling clicks on informational pages is the typical AI Overview pattern. Google’s documentation confirms that AI Overview and AI Mode traffic is counted in the Search Console Performance report under the Web search type.

2. Use the new Search Console AI reports

Google announced Search generative AI performance reports on 3 June 2026, showing how often your pages appear in AI Overviews and AI Mode, with page, country, device and date views. According to PPC Land’s coverage, Google is rolling them out to a subset of sites first, and the reports show impressions rather than clicks.

3. Make your pages the obvious source to cite

Put a short, self-contained answer at the top of each key page, phrase headings as questions, use tables for comparisons and add dated, sourced facts. Google says there are no extra technical requirements for AI features beyond being indexed and eligible for a snippet.

4. Shift effort towards decision-stage and original content

Reduce investment in thin informational posts that an AI summary can replace. Invest in comparison pages, case studies with numbers, original surveys, product detail and expert commentary that AI answers will cite rather than replace.

5. Strengthen brand demand and off-site signals

Branded searches and direct visits are less exposed to AI summaries. Digital PR, reviews and accurate listings also feed the sources AI systems draw on. Google lists keeping Merchant Center and Business Profile information current among its best practices for AI features.

6. Diversify traffic sources

Do not rely on one channel. Build email and WhatsApp lists, community, YouTube and paid search alongside organic, so a change in Google’s interface does not decide your quarter.

Checklist for the next 60 days

Segment Search Console data by page type and compare the last 12 months.
List the 20 pages that lost the most clicks while impressions held or grew.
Check which of those queries now show an AI Overview.
Rewrite those pages answer-first, with sources, tables and FAQs, or merge thin ones.
Confirm robots.txt, CDN rules and noindex settings are not blocking important pages.
Review nosnippet and max-snippet settings, which also control use in AI features.
Update Merchant Center feeds and Google Business Profile details.
Check whether the Search Console generative AI report is available for your property.
Plan one original data asset or case study per quarter.

Controls, with care. Google says nosnippet, data-nosnippet, max-snippet and noindex can limit how your content appears in AI features. These also affect regular snippets and rankings, so use them only on content you genuinely want to restrict.

How Squarebase can help

Squarebase audits how AI Overviews and AI Mode affect your organic traffic, then rebuilds priority pages and reporting around it. Learn more about our search engine optimisation services, or pair organic recovery with performance marketing to protect revenue while traffic patterns shift.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Google AI Overviews and AI Mode?

AI Overviews are AI-generated summaries shown on the regular results page for some queries, with source links. AI Mode is a separate conversational search experience for complex questions with follow-ups. At I/O in May 2026, Google said it was bringing both into one AI Search experience.

Do AI Overviews reduce website traffic?

Independent studies say yes for many queries. Pew Research found clicks on results fell from 15% to 8% of visits when an AI summary appeared, and Ahrefs reported a 58% lower click-through rate for top-ranking pages. Google says overall organic click volume has stayed relatively stable.

How many people use Google AI Mode?

Google said at I/O on 20 May 2026 that AI Mode had passed 1 billion monthly users. In July 2025 it had reported over 100 million monthly active users in the US and India, and over 2 billion monthly users for AI Overviews.

Can I see AI Overview traffic in Google Search Console?

Yes. Google says clicks and impressions from AI Overviews and AI Mode are included in the Performance report under the Web search type. In June 2026 Google also announced dedicated generative AI performance reports showing impressions, rolling out first to a subset of sites.

Do I need to change my SEO for AI Mode?

Google says there are no additional requirements or special optimisations for AI Overviews or AI Mode. Pages must be indexed and eligible for a snippet. In practice, answer-first structure, sourced facts, strong decision-stage content and consistent brand information improve your chances of being cited.

Sources

Written by Squarebase, Squarebase

Squarebase is a 360° marketing agency, founded in 2017, working on performance marketing, Shopify, websites and SEO, AEO and GEO for brands in India, the USA, the UK, Germany and Australia.