By Aijaz Alam
What percentage of Google searches are zero-click?
68.01% of US Google searches ended without a click to any website in January to April 2026, according to SparkToro's analysis of Similarweb's desktop and mobile web panel. Only 231 of every 1,000 searches sent a click to the open web. SparkToro's 2024 study found 58.5%, but it used a different panel, so the two are not a clean trend.
- 68.01%US Google searches that ended without a clickSparkToro / Similarweb, Jan-Apr 2026
- 231Clicks to the open web per 1,000 US Google searchesSparkToro / Similarweb, Jan-Apr 2026
- 29.0%US searches followed by another Google search instead of a clickSparkToro / Similarweb, Jan-Apr 2026
- 69.5%UK zero-click share, the highest of six countriesSparkToro / Similarweb, Jan-Apr 2026
- 62.1%Germany zero-click share, the lowest of six countriesSparkToro / Similarweb, Jan-Apr 2026
The numbers
The full breakdown
What happens after a US Google search (Jan-Apr 2026)
| Outcome | US |
|---|---|
| Ended without a click to any website | 68.01% |
| At least one click of any kind (website, Google property or ad) | 32.0% |
| Followed by another Google search instead of a click | 29.0% |
| Moved on to AI Mode | 0.34% |
| Clicks to the open web (non-Google, non-ad sites) per 1,000 searches | 231 |
Similarweb desktop and mobile web panel. Searches in the Google mobile app are not included. SparkToro says open-web clicks are likely slightly undercounted, because some people click more than one result. "Another search" counts only new searches typed in the default search box.
Zero-click Google searches by country (Jan-Apr 2026)
| Country | Zero-click searches | Searches with 1+ click |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | 62.1% | 37.9% |
| Italy | 63.4% | 36.6% |
| Canada | 63.8% | 36.2% |
| France | 65.3% | 34.7% |
| US | 68.0% | 32.0% |
| UK | 69.5% | 30.5% |
One panel and one period, so these countries can be compared with each other.
What people do on Google when an AI summary appears (March 2025)
| Behaviour on the 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% |
| Share of all searches that showed an AI summary | 18% | - |
Tracked web browsing of 900 US adults (Ipsos KnowledgePanel Digital), 68,879 Google searches, 1-31 March 2025.
Over time
Zero-click Google searches in SparkToro studies, 2019 to 2026
| Period | Zero-click share | Region | Panel |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 49% | US | Jumpshot (now closed) |
| 2020 | 64.82% | Worldwide | Similarweb, desktop and mobile |
| Q4 2020 | 68.3% | US | Similarweb (same 2020 post) |
| Sep 2022 - May 2024 | 58.5% | US | Datos (few iPhones) |
| Sep 2022 - May 2024 | 59.7% | EU | Datos (few iPhones) |
| 2024, restated in 2026 | 60.45% | US | SparkToro 2026 post, no reason given |
| Jan - Apr 2026 | 68.01% | US | Similarweb, desktop and mobile web |
Each study used a different panel, so read this as a list of separate measurements, not a trend line. SparkToro calls the 2024 to 2026 comparison "a bit of apples and oranges".
Why sources differ
Same question, different answers
| Number | When | Who measured | Why it differs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 49% | 2019 | SparkToro / Jumpshot panel | First SparkToro study; a now-defunct panel, US. Not comparable with later panels. |
| 64.82% | 2020 | SparkToro / Similarweb | Worldwide, not US, desktop and mobile; often misquoted as US. Same post gives US Q4 2020 as 68.3%. |
| 58.5% | Sep 2022-May 2024 | SparkToro / Datos panel | US; few iPhones in the panel; weighted 63% mobile. |
| 60.45% | 2024 (restated) | SparkToro, 2026 post | The 2026 post restates the 2024 US figure as 60.45%; it does not explain the change from 58.5%. |
| 68.01% | Jan-Apr 2026 | SparkToro / Similarweb panel | US, browser searches on desktop and mobile; Google app excluded; SparkToro calls the comparison with earlier years 'a bit of apples and oranges'. |
| 62.1% to 69.5% | Jan-Apr 2026 | SparkToro / Similarweb, six countries | Germany lowest, UK highest; same panel and period, so these can be compared with each other. |
Almost every zero-click number you see comes from SparkToro, but from different panels of tracked devices. A panel is a group of people who let a company record their browsing, so the result depends on who is in it. The 2024 study used Datos, which had few iPhones; the 2026 study used Similarweb. That change alone can move the figure, which is why 58.5% to 68.01% is not proof that zero-click searches rose by about ten points.
The often-quoted 65% is the 2020 worldwide figure (64.82%), not a US one. The rounded 60% is the 2024 US figure, repeated without its year or panel. Even the 2024 number is unsettled: the 2026 post restates it as 60.45% without saying why.
None of these counts searches in the Google mobile app, so the true share across all Google use is unknown.
What it means
How to use these numbers
About two in three US Google searches now end without a visit to any website. For a business, that means ranking is no longer the same as traffic: only 231 clicks per 1,000 searches reach sites Google does not own and that are not ads.
Question-style searches are the most exposed to AI answers: in Pew's tracking of US adults in March 2025, 60% of searches that began with who, what, when or why showed an AI summary, against 18% of all searches. When Pew tracked real browsing in March 2025, people clicked a normal result on 8% of visits with an AI summary against 15% without one.
For marketers, measure visibility as well as visits: impressions, brand searches and mentions in AI answers. For journalists, quote 68.01% with its period, country and panel, and do not present the change from 58.5% as a trend. The UK (69.5%) and Germany (62.1%) figures come from the same study and can be compared directly.
Method and sources
How it was measured
Method
- Publisher
- SparkToro, analysing clickstream data from Similarweb
- Sample
- Similarweb desktop and mobile web panel, US and five other countries, January to April 2026
- Definition
- A zero-click search ends without a click on any result: the person stops, or types a new search
- Not included
- Searches made inside the Google mobile app
- Margin of error
- Not published; this is a vendor panel, not a random sample of all searches
- Checked at source
- 22 Oct 2026, on the archived copy of the sparktoro.com post (the live page blocks automated readers)
- Next release
- SparkToro says it hopes to repeat the study in 6 to 12 months
- Last changed
- 30 Oct 2026
- Data files
- CSV · JSON (stable links)
Sources
- Zero-click search studies (with Similarweb and Datos panel data), SparkToro Vendor data
- Pew Research Center Survey
Cite this page
APA
MLA
HTML link
FAQ
More questions people ask
Is the 65% zero-click figure about the US?
No. 64.82% is SparkToro's 2020 figure for Google searches worldwide. The same post gave 68.3% for the US in Q4 2020.
Does AI Mode take many searches away from normal results?
Not yet. Only 0.34% of US Google searches moved on to AI Mode in January to April 2026, on the same Similarweb panel.
Which country has the most zero-click searches?
The UK, at 69.5% in January to April 2026, of the six countries SparkToro measured. Germany was lowest at 62.1%.
Do people click the links inside Google's AI summaries?
Rarely. Pew found a click on a link inside the summary on 1% of search visits that showed one, in March 2025.
Every number on this page was checked at its original source (SparkToro, Pew Research Center). Free to cite with a link to this page.