Research Report · AI Search
AI Search & Zero-Click: A 60-Domain Longitudinal Study.
AI Overviews, ChatGPT search, Perplexity, and Claude have been accused of destroying publisher traffic. The data is mixed, the panic is loud, and most reporting is anecdotal.
We tracked 60 client domains across SaaS, DTC, media, and local services for 18 months to see what AI search actually did to traffic — and which strategies are working for domains gaining share despite the shift.
Domains that primarily published general informational content ("What is X?", "How to Y") saw significant traffic declines. Median: -34% on affected pages over 12 months. AI Overviews are good at summarizing well-covered topics without clicks required.
Three content types showed stable or growing traffic:
Branded search grew across the dataset. The theory: AI assistants expose users to specific brand names in their summaries, which drives branded searches to the site. Clients investing in brand marketing saw this effect disproportionately.
Of the 60 domains, 11 significantly grew their share of citations in AI Overviews. Common characteristics:
Methodology note: We used Google Search Console click/impression data plus third-party AI Overview visibility tracking (Semrush AIO coverage). Causality is partially inferred — we can observe that CTR dropped on queries where AI Overviews now appear, but can't fully isolate AI Overviews as the cause from other SERP changes.
Book a 30-minute working session. We'll audit your current funnel, model realistic upside across channels, and tell you honestly whether we're the right partner.