AI Overviews Now Appear on 48% of All Search Queries

Google AI Overviews now appear on 48% of all search queries. For informational queries the figure is 70-80%. For commercial queries it is 30-40%. When an AI Overview appears, organic click-through rates drop 61%, from 1.76% to 0.61%. But sites cited within the AI Overview receive 35% more clicks than they would from organic results alone.

Coverage by query type

The CTR impact

When an AI Overview appears, average organic CTR drops from 1.76% to 0.61%. That is a 61% decline. Users read the AI-generated answer and do not click through. This is the zero-click problem at scale. But there is a critical nuance. Sites cited as sources within the AI Overview receive 35% more clicks than they would from the same organic position without one.

This creates a stark divide. If you are cited in the AI Overview, you win. If you are not cited, you lose more than before. Ranking organically but not being cited has become the worst position.

Where citations come from

93.67% of AI Overview citations come from pages that already rank in Google's organic top 10. Traditional organic rankings are a prerequisite for AI Overview visibility. You cannot skip SEO and go straight to AI optimisation. You need both. See why SEO still matters for AI visibility for the full data.

What this means for businesses

The 48% coverage figure is growing. Google has expanded AI Overviews steadily since launch and shows no signs of reversing course. For businesses, this means:

• Informational content is most affected - if your traffic depends on "how to" and "what is" queries, AI Overviews are already reducing your click-through rates significantly.
• Being cited is the new ranking - position 1 in organic results without an AI Overview citation may deliver fewer clicks than position 5 with a citation.
• Content structure matters - AI Overviews extract clear, factual statements. Pages using answer capsules and Speakable schema are more likely to be cited.
• Commercial queries are next - the 30-40% coverage for commercial queries will likely increase, making AI visibility essential for revenue-generating pages.

To see how your site performs across AI Overviews and other AI platforms, request a free AI visibility audit. For tools to track your AI Overview citations, see our AI search tools comparison.