What Is Zero-Click Search?
A zero-click search occurs when a user gets their answer directly on the search results page without clicking through to any website. This happens when Google’s featured snippets, knowledge panels, or AI Overviews provide a complete answer in the SERP itself.
For website owners, zero-click search creates a paradox: your content is being used to answer queries, but you’re not receiving traffic. AI Overviews make this both worse and better — worse because more answers are generated directly on-SERP, and better because AI Overviews cite their sources.
70%+
of Google searches end without a click (SparkToro)
How AI Changes the Zero-Click Equation
What gets worse
More queries are answered without a click. When Google’s AI generates a comprehensive answer, fewer users need to click through to any source page.
What gets better
AI systems cite their sources. Users who want to verify or go deeper will click through. The traffic quality tends to be higher — these users actively seek deeper information.
The new metric
Instead of tracking clicks and rankings, track citations. Being cited in an AI Overview is the new equivalent of ranking #1 — even if click-through rates are lower per-impression.
What to Do About Zero-Click Search
You can’t force users to click. But you can adapt your strategy to capture value from the new paradigm.
Optimize for citations, not just rankings
Apply AI visibility best practices: clear definitions, extractable content, trust signals, schema markup.
Build brand recognition through citations
Ensure your brand name appears in the cited passage, not just in the source link.
Create content that demands a click
Interactive tools, personalized calculators, downloadable resources, and deep-dive analyses that AI can preview but not replicate.
Track AI citations as a KPI
Monitor when and where your content appears in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and AI Overviews.
Diversify traffic sources
AI citation visibility, direct traffic, email, and community building all reduce dependence on click-through search traffic.
Frequently Asked Questions
According to SparkToro's analysis, over 70% of Google searches end without a click to any website. This figure has increased steadily since 2019 and accelerated with the rollout of AI Overviews.
No. SEO remains important for getting into AI retrieval sets and traditional organic results. However, the goal is shifting from ranking to citation. Optimizing for AI citations — through extractable content, trust signals, and schema markup — is the evolution of SEO, not its replacement.
Audit Your AI Search Visibility
See exactly how AI systems view your content and what to fix. Join the waitlist to get early access.
Audit Your AI Search Visibility
See exactly how AI systems view your content and what to fix. Join the waitlist to get early access.