Since Google introduced AI Overviews (AIOs) in May 2024, generative AI features have quickly become a hot topic among SEO enthusiasts and marketers. Needless to say, AIO impacted both organic and paid search similar to any other search engine update.
While AIOs benefit users by delivering direct answers without having to click, they are changing the very way users interact with search. This brings us some key questions:
- How does AIO influence organic and paid CTR?
- Does a brand’s mention in an AIO affect CTR?
- What types of searches commonly trigger AIOs?
- Should we start optimizing contents specifically for AIOs?
- How to develop an SEO strategy that tackle the impact of AI answers?
We started tracking AIOs for all our clients, covering over 500 search queries, to gauge their impact on SEM.
Let’s take a look at the stats:
- Paid ads CTR without AIO: 21.27%
- Paid ads CTR with AIO: 9.87%
- Organic CTR without AIO: 2.94%
- Organic CTR with AIO: 0.84%
- When a client is mentioned in AIO: 1.08% CTR
- Without the client mentioned in AIO: 0.6% CTR
- 31.6% of AIO-triggering queries are questions
- Only 9.7% of non-AIO queries are questions
- Queries with 4 or more words are more likely to show AIOs
Impact of AI Overviews on Click-Through Rates (CTR)
1. Paid CTR Falls 12% with AIOs in SERPs
With AI Overviews (AIOspresent on search results, paid CTR experiences significant drop
- Without AIO: 21.27% CTR
- With AIO: 9.87% CTR
AIOs currently only appear in around 7% of paid searches, representing about 2.2% of impressions. And still, it nearly halves paid ad CTRs.
This suggests that AIOs attract user attention that might have gone to paid ads otherwise.
2. Organic CTR Drops by ~70% in Presence of AIO
Organic CTR takes the most toll when an AIO is present:
- Without AIO: 2.94% CTR
- With AIO: 0.84% CTR
These results were noticed even when average organic position remained consistent, meaning the CTR drop is tied to AIO’s presence.
3. Organic CTR Boost for Brands Featured in AIOs
For brands included in AIOs, CTR sees a slight increase:
- Brand mentioned as AIO source: 1.08% CTR
- Brand not mentioned as AIO source: 0.6% CTR
Clearly, being featured as an AIO source offers an extra link, improving overall visibility and CTR.
Evolving SERP Dynamics and Content Strategy
Generative AI is being integrated into search experiences by major search engines including Google, Bing and Brave. This is direct strategy to encourage users to remain on SERPs longer.
From a content strategy perspective, marketers should aim to capture more SERP, using AIO as an opportunity to expand brand visibility.
While there may be some click decrease for a short term, strategic optimization can ultimately drive higher CTRs.
How Search Engines Measure CTR in AIOs
The exact method by which Google and Bing calculate CTR in AI-integrated search remains unclear.
Here are three plausible approaches:
- CTR by Search Feature: Different search features (AIO, Knowledge Panels, etc.) have unique CTRs, and dominant features like AIO tend to have higher CTRs due to their presence.
- CTR for Links within Search Features: Links within AIOs are fewer than traditional links, resulting in a higher CTR for individual links within AIO.
- CTR for Repeated Links: Duplicate URLs in AIO can impact CTR calculations, and interactive features may alter click patterns.
How AI Overviews are Redefining User Interactions
AI Overviews on search engines have introduced a new, dynamic way for users to interact with search results.
This experience begins as a user prompts the AI, whether by generating a new response, expanding on a pre-generated overview, or submitting a follow-up question.
In contrast to traditional SERPs, generative AI overviews deliver a more detailed, content-rich answer.
When Google or Bing presents an AIO response, the screen fills with a comprehensive breakdown of the query, offering quick summaries of core subtopics, often with links to external websites for further reading.
Liz Reid, Google’s VP and Head of Search, recently noted that AIOs tend to enhance user satisfaction by meeting informational needs right within the search interface.
AIO summaries are typically divided into sections, each potentially containing one or more links to external sites.
Bing’s Copilot goes a step further by operating as a single-page app, allowing users to explore information in a continuous, interactive format rather than switching between static pages.
With the richer, more interactive nature of these interfaces, the traditional approach to measuring CTR becomes less straightforward.
Does AI Generated Content Impact SEO Rankings?
In short, no.
Google has clarified that AI-driven content is not penalized by search engines simply for being AI-generated.
Search engines tend to evaluate content based on their usefulness and quality rather than its origin. The focus is on serving users, while low-quality, overly optimized content (whether AI-generated or not) is more likely to be deprioritized.
It’s best to avoid the pitfalls of low-effort AI content.
Instead, use AI tools to create original, insightful material that reflects expertise and meets user needs.
The Need for Transparency in AI Search Metrics
CTR measurement for AI-enhanced search results is still murky. For instance, Google has suggested that links in AI Overviews (AIOs) may have a higher CTR than traditional search links, but they have not fully clarified how these metrics are tracked.
As users interact with new generative AI-driven interfaces, clearer insights into CTR calculations and metrics will help marketers optimize more effectively within these updated frameworks.
Generally, AIOs are more likely to appear for informational queries, which Google defines as “complex questions,” though this can be subjective.
Here’s a closer look at key patterns identified from AIO-triggering queries:
- Question-Based and Longer Queries:
- Question-Based Queries: A significant portion of AIO-triggering queries are questions. 31.6% of AIO queries began with terms like “what,” “how,” or “why,” compared to only 9.7% for non-AIO queries. Users are generally seeking definitions or instructions with these modifiers, with “what” (46%) and “how” (30%) being the most common.
- Longer Queries with 4+ Words: AIOs are more frequently seen with longer search queries. On average, AIO-triggering queries were 4.29 words, compared to 3.48 words for non-AIO queries. For instance, searches like “what is the difference between accounts payable and notes payable” are more likely to trigger an AIO than shorter, head terms like “accounts payable services.”
Challenges with AI-Generated Content Quality
Generative AI is not risk free. We have seen many instances where the Ai was unable to give a relevant answer or gave a completely wrong answer.
- Accuracy and Originality Concerns: Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT often generate plausible yet inaccurate responses. This can lead to factual errors, duplication, or unoriginal content that would harm SEO performance.
- Increased Risk of Duplicate Content: Generative AI tends to produce similar outputs for the same questions, which can lead to unintentional duplication across sites. This is an SEO risk as search engines devalue non-unique content.
- Copyright Limitations: According to the US Copyright Office, AI-generated content can’t be copyrighted unless humans have provided substantial input. This means heavily relying on AI might cost you copyright protection.
No doubt that AI has enabled faster content production and it has made a significant impact on SEO and content creation landscape, making it more competitive.
What SEM marketers need to prioritize are quality, originality, and user experience, along with consistent updates to your technical SEO.
