On February 4, 2026, a major study by Ahrefs revealed that Google’s AI Overviews (AIO) have caused a 58% drop in click-through rates (CTR) for top-ranking organic search results. This data marks a significant acceleration from early 2025, when the decline was estimated at just 34.5%.
The study, which analyzed over 300,000 keywords, highlights a “bleak” new reality for publishers as Google increasingly satisfies user intent directly on the search results page, fueling the rise of zero-click searches.
1. CTR Impact by Ranking Position
While the top spot suffers the most, the “AI shadow” extends across the entire first page of results. When an AI Overview is present, the traffic loss is distributed as follows:
| Ranking Position | CTR Reduction (%) | Impact Level |
| Position 1 | 58.0% | Severe |
| Position 2 | 50.8% | Heavy |
| Position 3 | 46.4% | Heavy |
| Position 4 | 38.8% | Moderate |
| Position 5 | 32.6% | Moderate |
- Informational “Vanishment”: For simple factual queries (e.g., “symptoms of low iron”), the position-one CTR has plummeted from a pre-AIO average of 7.3% down to just 1.6%.
2. The “Citation Survival” Path
The study noted a critical silver lining: visibility vs. clicks. While overall clicks are down, being cited inside the AI Overview has become the new “Position Zero.”
- The Citation Boost: Brands featured as a source link within an AI Overview earn 35% more organic clicks than those that rank in the top 10 but are excluded from the AI summary.
- The Power of Top 10: Approximately 92.4% of AI Overview citations still come from domains that rank on the first page of traditional organic results.
3. Sector-Specific Vulnerability
The impact of AI Overviews is not uniform across industries. Some sectors are seeing their organic funnels effectively “swallowed” by AI:
- Hospitality & Travel: The hardest hit, with a 6.7% negative growth in traffic over the last year as AI handles itineraries and quick destination facts.
- Fashion & Education: These sectors saw massive declines as users transitioned from browsing articles to consuming AI-generated “how-to” guides and style summaries.
- Information Technology (IT): The least affected (maintaining 2.1% growth), as technical queries often require deep documentation that AI cannot yet fully replace.
4. SEO Strategy Shifts for 2026
Marketers are moving away from traditional “keyword stuffing” toward Generative Engine Optimization (GEO):
- The “Answer Block” Method: Publishers are now placing direct answers in the first 150 words of an article to increase the chance of being “scraped” and cited by the AI.
- Modular Content: Structuring data in clear tables and bulleted lists (extractable blocks) is now a primary ranking signal for AI Overviews.
- Multimodal Advantage: Pages that mix text with original video and unique images have a 317% higher selection rate for AI summaries.
Conclusion: The “Zero-Click” Standard
As of early 2026, 58% of all Google searches now end without a single click to an external website. For publishers, the goal has shifted from “earning a visit” to “earning a citation.” In this new landscape, brand authority and being a “verifiable source” are more valuable than a traditional blue link.
