The study
Pew analysed 68,879 Google searches from March 2025. About 18% produced an AI summary. Pew compared what users did on those pages with what they did on pages without one.
| Item | No AI summary | With AI summary |
|---|---|---|
| Clicked a search result | 15% | 8% |
| Ended the browsing session | 16% | 26% |
Which searches trigger summaries
Summaries are rare on short, navigational searches and common on long questions. Those long questions are the informational queries that many content strategies were built on.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 1 to 2 word searches | 8% |
| Searches with a noun and a verb | 36% |
| 10+ word searches | 53% |
| Questions (who, what, when, why) | 60% |
Who gets cited
Wikipedia, YouTube and Reddit were the most cited sources, making up 15% of all links in AI summaries. Government sites appeared three times as often in summaries (6%) as in standard results (2%). Being a trusted, quotable source matters more than ranking tenth for a keyword.
What I recommend
- Answer the question in the first two sentences of a page, then go deeper.
- Publish on YouTube and take part in forums. They are among the most cited sources.
- Report impressions, branded searches and leads, not only organic clicks.
- Focus on commercial and local searches, where users still need to visit a site.
- Improve conversion rates. Fewer visitors means each one is worth more.
Frequently asked questions
Do Google AI Overviews reduce website clicks?
Yes. Pew Research found users clicked a search result on 8% of visits when an AI summary appeared, versus 15% without one.
Which searches trigger Google AI summaries?
In Pew's data, 60% of question searches (who, what, when, why) and 53% of searches with 10 or more words produced an AI summary, compared with 8% of one or two word searches.
How do I get my content cited in AI search answers?
Answer questions directly in the first sentences of a page, cite sources, use clear structure and schema markup, and build presence on platforms AI often cites, such as YouTube and Reddit.
