The clicks are disappearing.

I’ve been analyzing search data since AI Mode launched, and the numbers tell a story most marketers aren’t ready to hear. Your content is getting impressions. People are seeing your brand mentioned in AI-generated answers. But they’re not clicking through.

The scale of this shift is stark.

Research shows that 92-94% of AI Mode searches result in zero clicks to external websites. Compare that to traditional search, where zero-click rates hovered between 35-46%. The broader trend is even more concerning. Zero-click searches across Google have grown from 56% to 69% in one year since AI Overviews launched.

That’s not gradual erosion. That’s a fundamental change in how search delivers value.

Visibility Without Traffic

Here’s where it gets complicated. You’re still appearing in search results. Your content is being cited, summarized, and referenced. Google’s Search Console will show you impressions from AI Mode. But those impressions don’t convert to visits the way they used to.

Barry Schwartz, CEO at RustyBrick and News Editor at Search Engine Land, captured the shift perfectly when he said visibility has become “billboard SEO now.” You’re not going to see traffic from AI unless you’re measuring brand mentions and sentiment in those answers.

The attribution model we’ve relied on for two decades just collapsed.

The Value Paradox

But here’s what makes this transition so disorienting. When AI search visitors do click through to your site, they’re worth significantly more. The data shows 4.4 times higher value compared to traditional organic search visitors when measured by conversion rates.

Why? Because AI systems provide comprehensive information during the research phase. Users arrive at your site already equipped with knowledge about their options and your value proposition. They’re further along in their decision process.

Lower volume. Higher intent. Different game.

Measurement Blindness

The challenge isn’t just adapting strategy. It’s understanding what’s actually happening. Google has integrated AI Mode performance data into Search Console, but you can’t break it out separately from traditional web search data. You’re seeing blended metrics without the ability to isolate AI-driven performance.

That creates a measurement problem. How do you optimize for a channel you can’t accurately track? How do you attribute value to brand mentions that never generate clicks? How do you justify content investment when traffic stagnates despite growing visibility?

These aren’t rhetorical questions. They’re operational challenges that require new frameworks.

What Changes

The shift from traffic-based to presence-based visibility means rethinking core assumptions. Content that ranks well in traditional search might get zero clicks in AI Mode because the answer is synthesized directly. But that same content could be establishing brand authority that influences decisions downstream.

The question becomes whether you’re measuring the right things. Impressions matter differently now. Brand mentions in AI responses create value that doesn’t show up in Google Analytics. The conversion path is longer and less visible.

I’m watching how this plays out across different content types and industries. Informational content gets hit hardest because AI can synthesize answers without sending users elsewhere. Commercial content still drives clicks, but the research phase happens inside the AI interface.

The traffic you’re losing isn’t coming back. But the visibility you’re gaining might be worth more than you realize.