The short answer
Google shows AI Overviews above some results. When the summary answers the question, some people stop there and never click.
If your clicks fell while impressions held steady, mostly on question-style searches, that is a sign this may be part of the cause. It is not proof, so check the pattern before you change your plans.
What changed on the results page
For some searches, Google now writes a short answer at the top of the page and links to a few sources beside or below it.
- Quick facts: searchers who only wanted a quick fact may get it there.
- Compare, buy or get in touch: these searchers still need to click.
- So the effect tends to be uneven: simple "what is" and "how do I" questions are the most exposed; searches for a named business or a specific service much less so.
How to check it in Search Console
- Compare like with like. In Search Console, open Performance and compare the same weeks this year and last year, or two equal periods either side of the drop, so seasons do not mislead you.
- Look at clicks and impressions together. If impressions held steady while clicks fell, people still saw you in results but clicked less. If impressions fell too, the cause is more likely rankings, demand or a technical problem.
- Split by the kind of query. Filter queries that ask a question (who, what, how, best, vs). A fall concentrated there, with brand and service searches steady, fits the pattern of answers being given on the results page.
- Search the queries yourself. Search the top affected queries in a private window. Note whether an AI Overview appears, and whether your site is one of the linked sources.
- Check the pages behind the queries. Open the pages that lost clicks. Does each one answer its question plainly near the top, with facts and dates a summary could use and link to?
Write down what you find for your top twenty affected queries: whether an AI Overview showed, whether you were a linked source, and which sites were. That record is more useful than any single chart, and it gives you a baseline to re-check against.
What to do about it
- Be a source worth linking to. Answer the question in the first lines, then give the detail a summary cannot: examples, prices, steps, local knowledge. Our guide to writing pages AI can quote shows how.
- Lead every answer page to an action. If a page only answers a question, it is exposed. If it also helps the reader take the next step with you, it still earns its keep.
- Measure more than clicks. Track enquiries and sales by landing page, and check whether assistants name you, not only whether Google sends visits. Rank tracking vs AI visibility explains the difference.
- Look beyond Google. The same questions are now asked of ChatGPT, Gemini and others. The method in GEO vs SEO covers both.
Honest limits
- No exact split. We cannot tell you how much of a drop is due to AI Overviews, and nobody outside Google can measure it exactly for your site.
- What our tools do. GEO Agency's tools run on Google Gemini and estimate how usable your pages are for AI answers; they do not read your Search Console data or Google's results page.
- No promises. We do not promise rankings, clicks or a place in any AI summary.
Common questions
Can I see AI Overview clicks separately in Search Console?
Not as a separate report at the time of writing, as far as we know. Clicks and impressions from these features are counted within the normal web search figures, which is why you have to infer from patterns.
Does falling clicks with steady impressions prove it was AI Overviews?
No. It is a sign worth investigating, not proof. Other features on the results page, a new competitor or a change in how people search can all produce the same pattern.
Can I stop my site appearing in AI Overviews?
Google offers controls such as nosnippet, but they also limit how your pages appear in ordinary results. For most businesses, blocking costs more than it saves. Read Google's current documentation before changing anything.
Should I stop writing informational content?
Not necessarily. Pages that answer questions well can still be shown and linked as sources. Shift effort towards pages that lead to an enquiry or a sale, and make informational pages clearly lead there.