Clicks roughly halve. In Pew's March 2025 browsing data from 900 US adults, people clicked a normal result on 8% of Google visits with an AI summary, against 15% without one. They clicked a link inside the summary on just 1% of visits.
| Group | Share of search visits |
|---|---|
| Clicked a normal result, no AI summary | 15% |
| Clicked a normal result, with AI summary | 8% |
| Clicked a link inside the AI summary | 1% |
In plain words
When Google shows an AI summary at the top, people click on websites about half as often. Pew watched the real browsing of 900 US adults in March 2025 to measure it.
of visits with an AI summary led to a click on a normal result
of visits without a summary led to such a click
of visits included a click on a link inside the summary
Why you can trust it. Study by Pew Research Center using tracked browsing (not what people said they did). One month, one search engine (Google), 68,879 searches.
Source: Pew Research Center, Mar 2025
Compare
USA Mar 2025
LatestClicked a normal result
baselineClicked a normal result
-7 ptsvs 16% without
+10 ptsWho it is for
Informational pages are where summaries appear most.
Expect fewer clicks on question-style searches.
Your answer may be read in the summary without a visit.
Make the brand name and offer clear on the page.
Who it affects
The same 8% means something different for each group.
Searches starting with who, what, when or why that produced an AI summary, March 2025.
One- or two-word searches that produced an AI summary.
Gains and risks
Numbers from studies and surveys, each with its source.
of visits to pages with an AI summary ended the browsing session, against 16% without.Pew Research Center, Mar 2025 browsing data
Where it shows
Pew found 60% of question-word searches got a summary. Pages that answer questions face the biggest click loss, so give readers a reason to visit: tools, data, prices, local details.
Compare clicks on question-style queries before and after AI summaries appeared, in Google Search Console.
The future
Forecasts below are made by others and linked to where they were published. Our own reading of the data is marked as ours.
The data
As published by Pew Research Center, Mar 2025. Standard errors are shown where the source gives them.
| Behaviour on the Google results page | With AI summary | Without AI summary |
|---|---|---|
| Clicked a traditional result | 8% | 15% |
| Clicked a link inside the AI summary | 1% | n/a |
| Ended the browsing session | 26% | 16% |
Pew counts clicks per search visit by real people in one month. Ahrefs compares click rates for the number one result on 300,000 keywords across two years.
Different units, so 15% to 8% (Pew) and -58% (Ahrefs) both hold. Neither is a trend of the other.
Method and use
Users who encountered an AI summary clicked on a traditional search result link in 8% of all visits. Those who did not encounter an AI summary clicked on a search result nearly twice as often (15% of visits).
No changes recorded yet. First checked at the source on 23 Oct 2026.
APA
MLA
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Keep the source link under the chart. The chart updates when the number does.
FAQ
Yes. In Pew's March 2025 data, people clicked a normal result on 8% of Google visits with an AI summary, against 15% without one.
Rarely: on 1% of visits to pages with an AI summary, per Pew's March 2025 browsing data.
18% of the Google searches in Pew's March 2025 study produced an AI summary.
Longer and question searches. 60% of searches starting with who, what, when or why produced a summary, against 8% of one- or two-word searches.
Partly. 53% of US adults who have seen them have at least some trust in them, but only 6% trust them a lot (Pew, Aug 2025).
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Every number on this page was checked at its original source. Free to cite with a link to this page.
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