Google is pushing back against growing criticism that its AI-powered search tools—especially AI Overviews—are cutting into website traffic. Despite mounting evidence from independent researchers, Google insists that total organic click volume from Search has remained “relatively stable” over the past year.
In a recent blog post, Liz Reid, Google’s Vice President and Head of Search, acknowledged that while some websites are seeing traffic declines, others are gaining from shifts in user behavior. Reid emphasized that users are now more likely to seek out forums, podcasts, videos, and first-hand perspectives, which may be changing how traffic is distributed across the web. She argued that reports of declining click-through rates are often based on flawed data or fail to account for broader industry trends.
“Total organic click volume from Google Search to websites has remained ‘relatively stable,’” Reid stated. She added that Google now delivers more “quality clicks”, where users stay on the destination page rather than bouncing back to the results page.
Reid also positioned AI Overviews as a net positive for publishers, saying that these features often display more links per query, thereby potentially increasing visibility for websites.
However, independent findings present a different narrative. A study from the Pew Research Center noted that when an AI Overview appears in a search, click-through rates fall from 15% to just 8%, and only 1% of searches with AI Overviews result in clicks on cited sources. Similarly, data from Similarweb showed a 55% decline in search-driven traffic to websites between April 2022 and April 2025, disproportionately affecting news and content publishers.
Many publishers argue that Google’s move toward answering user queries directly in the search results—often powered by AI—removes the need for users to visit external sites, thereby cannibalizing their traffic.
Despite these concerns, Google maintains its stance, saying it still directs billions of clicks to publishers daily and that AI is not transforming the search landscape as drastically as some critics claim.
