Your organic website click-throughs may be dropping
…and it’s all the fault of AI search summaries. Here’s why NOT to panic, and what you can do to cover your butts.
With tech companies shoehorning AI-assisted functions into, well, basically everything, we’re starting to see some of the longer-term effects of that–particularly in web searches.
A 2025 report from Growth SRC found that organic click-throughs to top-ranking Google search results had dropped by a pretty significant 32%. As the report points out, AI overviews are being offered with increasing frequency when you search online.
This is pretty apparent when you look at the data: in August 2024, AI only offered "helpful" summaries roughly 10,000 times in that month. Fast-forward to May 2025, and AI summaries supported 172,000 searches. That's a big jump in a relatively short amount of time!
If you run a business–or really, any type of organization–you know that getting website visits is a major pathway to connect with your audience! What does fewer website click-throughs from search mean for business owners who rely on them? Is organic search ruined forever?!
The short answer is: don’t panic.
Lower-ranked search results may be benefitting
No, being on page 8 of Google is still not going to be your ticket to stardom in 2026. Still, one of the more interesting findings in the Growth SRC report was that, on Page 1 Google results, they saw a 30.63% increase in click-throughs for positions 6 through 10 compared to the previous year. So, ranking on page 1 of search results can still bring in some big benefits, even–or perhaps especially–if you’re not in the top spot.
It's also encouraging to see those results when you consider why they’re happening: users are landing in the back half of Page 1 results precisely because they’re scrolling past AI search summaries. So, there’s clear evidence that not everyone is just relying on the information AI spits out at them.
Not all organic searches are created equal
One detail that’s notably absent from the report is what types of searches are seeing the most decline in organic click-throughs. Googling That Guy in the movie you’re watching comes with a different set of behaviors than, say, using organic search to find a local plumber.
The type of search where someone is casting about for information is more likely to be satisfied by an AI-assisted search summary. The AI summary is often plopped at the top of the page, so if the AI summary offers a reasonable answer to what you’re looking for, you may just take the path of least resistance.
If you’re seeking something like a product or service, however, you’re coming at it from a different place. Even if an AI-assisted search summary offers you the Top 10 plumbers in your area, you may not trust that quite so easily. You’ll have to click through to their websites and learn more about them to find out what makes them the best–and most of all, what makes them the best choice for you.
What should we do if we rely on organic search?
Considering how many of us are just waiting for the AI bubble to burst (myself included), it's hard to say for sure what we can expect. Based on what we’re seeing so far, though, I’d suggest a couple of potential adjustments, if you’ve been seeing decreased website traffic:
- Adjust the key search terms you use in your SEO. If AI summaries are taking traffic from information-based queries, you may see a dip in traffic on blog posts or pages that answer questions or offer how-tos. So, rather than trying to rank for terms like, “how to fix a leaky pipe,” you may want to look towards something more like, “best plumbers in portland oregon.”
- Diversify your sources for leads and clients: having multiple pathways to your door is always a solid practice. Instead of putting all of your eggs in the SEO basket, make sure you have other channels to reach your audience, whether it’s email marketing, social media, or even just strengthening your referral network.
- Track other metrics besides website clicks. Hopefully you’re doing this anyway, but keeping track of bookings, referral sources, and revenue can all help you paint a more detailed picture of how folks are experiencing your website, and what’s getting them to the finish line.
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