Google's AI Overviews Cut Top-Ranked Site's Organic Traffic by 59%, Data Shows

A website holding the number-one Google ranking for 11 months saw its click-through rate plunge from 27% to 11% after Google rolled out AI Overviews broadly in the US market, resulting in a 59% traffic drop on affected queries. Analysis across multiple clients revealed a consistent pattern: queries where AI Overviews deliver a complete answer saw CTR fall by 60–80%, while queries requiring user action saw only a 10–25% decline. The findings expose a growing disconnect between search rankings and actual site traffic, as ranking tools continue to show top positions while clicks quietly erode. Notably, once AI Overview-affected queries were separated from others, the same client's remaining organic traffic had actually grown 12% in the same period. In response, the SEO team has begun shifting content strategy away from purely informational articles toward interactive tools and resources that give users a concrete reason to click through.