Nick Fox, Google's head of search, said connected Friday that Google's AI Mode and AI Overviews - its AI hunt features - nonstop billions of clicks to websites each week. He said Google Search wide is still sending billions of clicks daily, is only seeing growth, and that AI Search does nonstop clicks.
Nick Fox wrote connected LinkedIn, "We’re now sending billions of clicks to websites each week done AI features successful Search alone." It was designed to do so, Fox said: "We’ve designed our AI features successful Search to link group to websites." And overall, he added, "We proceed to nonstop billions of clicks to the web each time done Search." And group "use Google Search much than ever," he added.
He later wrote connected X:
We’ve been continuing to amended really we show links successful our AI features successful Search, to make it easy for group to click to websites. One of my individual gripes (as the squad knows!) is whenever I can’t easy find a nexus for thing I want to spell deeper on.Here is simply a screenshot of this post:
Liz Reid, the VP of Google Search (real head of search), reshared what Nick Fox wrote and added:
We've ever believed that erstwhile you creation exertion astir really group really deliberation and talk, it expands curiosity alternatively than limits it. It’s awesome to spot really our AI features are helping group research the web and link pinch the creators and publishers they love.Here is the X post:
We’ve been continuing to amended really we show links successful our AI features successful Search, to make it easy for group to click to websites. One of my individual gripes (as the squad knows!) is whenever I can’t easy find a nexus for thing I want to spell deeper on.
As we’ve continued to…
Google is not saying it sends much clicks to websites than it did before; rather, Google is saying it still sends billions of clicks and that AI Search features nonstop billions of clicks weekly. The reality is that you and I spot little postulation from Google Search coming than we did earlier Google launched AI features successful Google Search.
The caller Google zero-click study showed Google now only sends 27.6% of its clicks to the unfastened web and that great decoupling feels real; CTR seems down - moreover Pew Research Center said so. Just this morning, the Press Gazzete covered really Google Search postulation will halve by Q3 2027. But Google has continued to contradict it, saying clicks are stable, the 3rd statement studies are flawed, web publsihing is not dead and truthful on.
Google moreover built retired the AI capacity reports successful Search Console but excluded clicks. This is because Google is "continuing to activity pinch website owners to understand what insights will beryllium astir adjuvant to pass their strategies" and Google doesn't deliberation those are clicks. Nope, because Google does not want america to spot our click-through rates from AI Search features compared to accepted hunt features.
That being said, Google has made efforts to amended clicks pinch preferred sources, top stories successful AI Overviews, recipe improvements successful AI search, and different link improvements successful the AI features.
At slightest personification is capable to way clicks from AI Overviews and AI Mode. :)
— Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick) July 17, 2026Google continues to tout the value of driving clicks to the unfastened web - truthful we will see.
