- In a US study, people clicked a normal result on 8% of searches with an AI summary, against 15% without one.
- Question searches got an AI summary 60% of the time; one- or two-word searches only 8%.
- Ads already show above and below AI Overviews in the UK. Ads inside AI Mode are planned for the UK in the last quarter of 2026, and you can't opt out separately.
- AI answers quote pages with original numbers and plain facts. Pages that only repeat what others say get summarised, not visited.
- Publish what only you know, under a real name, and watch your brand searches and search terms closely.
The short answer
Google now answers many questions at the top of the page. People read the answer and often don't click. That hurts sites that live on question searches, comparison sites most of all. It helps whoever the answer quotes, and it moves part of the paid space into the answer itself.
How it got here
AI Overviews are the summaries at the top of results. AI Mode is a separate tab for longer questions: it splits a question into many searches at once and writes one answer. Both reached the UK a few months after the US first saw them.
- May 2024AI Overviews, USGoogle starts showing AI Overviews to everyone in the US.
- August 2024AI Overviews, UKThe UK is one of six new countries, rolled out over several weeks.
- May 2025Ads in the answersAds in AI Overviews reach desktop in the US, and Google starts testing ads in AI Mode.
- July 2025AI Mode, UKAI Mode arrives in the UK as a tab in Search and the Google app.
- October 2026AI Mode ads spreadAds in AI Mode reach 10 more countries; ads on follow-up questions launch in the US. The UK is planned for the last quarter of 2026.
Which searches lose the clicks
Lead gen leans on question searches, the kind most likely to get a summary. Short searches, like a trade and a town, mostly don't. The figures below are from the US; we have no equal UK study yet.
- "how much does a new boiler cost"
- "best life insurance for over 50s"
- "is solar worth it"
- Long questions and full sentences
- A trade and a town: "boiler installer Leeds"
- A company's name
- One or two words
Pew Research Center, browsing data from 900 US adults, March 2025, published 22 July 2025.
Google's view, and ours
Google says total clicks from Search to websites have stayed relatively stable, that clicks are better quality, with people staying longer, and that people are choosing forums, videos and first-hand views.
Both can be true: the total holds while clicks move away from pages that only summarise, towards pages with something of their own.
- Clicks on normal results fall from 15% to 8% of searches when a summary shows
- Only 1% of searches with a summary get a click on its links
- More sessions end on the results page
- Wikipedia, YouTube and Reddit are the most cited
- Total clicks to websites relatively stable year on year
- Slightly more quality clicks than a year earlier
- People seek forums, videos and first-hand views
- Deep, original content still earns the click
Ads inside the answers
You don't set these up. Existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns can show in AI Overviews and AI Mode; broad match and AI Max can match on the AI answer as well as the search.
You can't opt out separately. Results sit inside your normal reports, with the searches in your search terms report.
- Ads above and below AI Overviews
- Not yet listed for ads inside AI Overviews or AI Mode
- AI Mode ads planned for the last quarter of 2026
- Ads above, below and inside AI Overviews
- Ads inside AI Mode, marked "Sponsored"
- Ads on follow-up questions in AI Mode
What a page that gets quoted looks like
AI answers quote pages with original numbers and plain facts. Pages that only repeat what others say get summarised, not visited. This is the shape we now write every answer in, on our own site.
- Built from other people's facts
- No author, no date
- "Prices vary" instead of a number
- A "best of" list anyone could write
- Your own figures, dated
- Written under a named person
- Plain facts: prices from, areas covered, how it works
- Answers the next question too
- 1The question as the heading
In the words customers use on the phone, not your internal name for the service.
- 2The answer in two lines
A direct answer first, with a number and a date where you have one.
- 3The proof
Your own figure, or a named and dated source.
- 4The follow-ups
Cost, timing, what to watch for: the questions AI Mode searches for next.
What we've seen
Every week we ask six AI tools the 42 questions UK lead buyers ask most, and check which pages they quote.
The pattern is clear. AI answers quote the page built for that exact service, with a straight answer near the top. A general page about everything you do rarely gets picked. That is how a Google AI Overview came to quote our own double glazing leads page in November.
What we'd do
This is what we're doing with convrsion.com, and what we'd do if search brings you leads.
- 1Publish what only you know
Your own figures, dated, under a named person. Original data and first-hand views are what both Google and the AI answers send people to.
- 2Answer the next question too
AI Mode splits a question into many searches. A page that covers the follow-ups (cost, timing, what to watch for) gets more chances to be cited.
- 3Put facts in plain text
Prices from, areas covered, how it works. Short sentences with numbers are what we see AI answers quote, sometimes word for word.
- 4Keep markup honest
Google says there's no special markup for AI answers. Structured data helps only when it matches what's on the page.
- 5Watch your brand searches
We think more people now read an answer and then search a name. Make sure yours shows up first, with a clear page behind it.
- 6Read your search terms
With broad match or AI Max, your ads can appear against AI answers. Check the search terms report weekly and add negatives.
- 7Ask how they found you
AI clicks hide inside normal Search figures. A "what were you looking for?" question on the form tells you more.
AI prompts for search in the age of AI answers
Copy these into ChatGPT or Claude and fill in the brackets with your own details. They're built to give you pages and reports you can use this week. Check every fact before it goes live.
Write answer-first FAQ copy for my service pageEight questions customers really ask, each answered in the first line.
You are an SEO copywriter for UK service businesses. Write answer-first FAQ copy for [company], which offers [service] in [areas]. My facts (use only these): prices from [price, and the date you checked it], how it works [steps], how long it takes [time], areas covered [list], proof [reviews, jobs done, accreditations]. The questions customers ask on calls: [paste 8 to 15]. Produce 8 FAQs. For each: 1. The question, in the customer's own words. 2. The answer: the direct answer in the first sentence, under 40 words in total. 3. One specific fact from my details (a price from, an area, a time). 4. The follow-up question a reader would ask next, answered in one line. Then give me FAQ structured data that matches the visible text word for word. Rules: invent no figures; where you need one I haven't given, write [needs your figure]. No "best", "leading" or "number one" unless I've proved it. Plain English, UK spelling, short sentences.
Plan an original data pieceFind the numbers only you have, and turn them into a page others quote.
You are a content strategist. I want to publish one piece of original data that AI answers and journalists would quote, because nobody else has it. The data I hold: [e.g. enquiries, quotes, jobs or prices by month, area and product], covering [time period], in [spreadsheet, CRM, booking system]. Give me 5 ideas. For each: 1. The buyer question it answers, in their words. 2. The headline number it would produce. 3. Exactly which data to pull, and how to group it. 4. One chart that shows it. 5. How to date and source it on the page. Then pick the best one and outline the page: headline, the answer in two lines, the chart, three follow-up questions, and what I'd say about what it means. Rules: don't invent any results; tell me what to calculate instead. Group the data so no customer can be identified, and flag anything I should check before publishing.
Check if my page is quotablePaste a page; get a score and a rewritten opening.
You are reviewing a page to see whether Google's AI answers and other AI tools are likely to quote it. The question the page should answer: [question]. The page text: [paste]. Score it from 1 to 5 on each, with one line of reasoning: 1. Is the answer in the first two lines? 2. Are the key facts in plain text (prices from, areas, how it works), not only in images or tables? 3. Is there a named author and a date? 4. Is there at least one figure that's ours and dated? 5. Does it answer the obvious follow-up questions? 6. If there's structured data, does it match the visible text? Then rewrite the first 100 words so the answer comes first. Use only facts already on the page; where a fact is missing, write [add your figure].
Clean my search termsFor broad match or AI Max, where ads can match AI answers.
You are a Google Ads specialist. Here is my search terms report for the last [7] days: [paste search term, match type, clicks, cost, conversions]. I sell [service] in [areas]. What I don't offer: [list]. Sort every term into: keep, add as its own keyword, add as a negative, or watch. Then give me: 1. A negative keyword list, with the match type for each and one line on why. 2. Long, question-shaped searches that cost money without converting, and whether a page answering that question would serve me better than an ad. 3. Anything that suggests my ads are showing for things I don't do. Rules: never suggest a negative that would block my own brand or my core service. Don't guess which clicks came from AI answers; Google doesn't show that separately.
Find out how people found youAI clicks hide inside normal search figures; your form can tell you.
Help me add one question to my enquiry process to learn how people found us, without losing enquiries. My form: [paste the steps and questions]. Where my leads come from today: [channels]. Produce: 1. The question and 6 to 8 answers (for example: Google search, Google's AI answer, ChatGPT or another AI tool, Facebook or Instagram, recommendation, saw our van, other). 2. Where to put it so it costs no enquiries: after the enquiry is sent, or as an optional last step. 3. A monthly summary table to fill in, and what each answer should make me do. Keep the question short and optional. Don't add anything that has to be answered before someone can send their enquiry.
Common questions
Do AI Overviews reduce clicks to websites?
On question searches, yes. A Pew Research study of US browsing found people clicked a normal result on 8% of searches with an AI summary, against 15% without. Google says total clicks to websites have stayed relatively stable.
Can my Google ads show inside AI Overviews in the UK?
Not yet, as of 9 November 2026. UK ads can show above and below AI Overviews. Google plans ads in AI Mode for the UK in the last quarter of 2026, and you can't opt out separately from Search.
Do I need special schema to appear in AI Overviews?
No. Google says there are no extra requirements and no special markup. The page must be indexed and able to show a snippet, and any structured data should match the visible text.
Should I stop buying leads from comparison sites?
Not because of this alone. But question-led sites will likely get fewer clicks from Google, so watch their volumes and how many of their leads turn into sales.
Sources
- Pew Research Center: Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears (22 July 2025)
- Google: Generative AI in Search (14 May 2024)
- Google: New ways to connect to the web with AI Overviews (15 August 2024)
- Google: Expanding AI Overviews and introducing AI Mode (5 March 2025)
- Google Ads: More opportunities for your business on Google Search (21 May 2025)
- Google: AI Mode now available on Google Search in the UK (28 July 2025)
- Google: AI in Search is driving more queries and higher quality clicks (6 August 2025)
- Google: New opportunities, control and insights for website owners (3 June 2026)
- Google Ads: Ads in AI Mode expand to 10 new countries (28 October 2026)
- Google Ads Help: About ads in AI-powered experiences in Google Search
- Google Search Central: AI features and your website
Tell us your sector and where your leads come from today. We'll tell you how we'd fill the gap if search clicks are drying up.
Written by Jay Rodrigues, Co-founder and CEO at Convrsion. Prices and figures come from the sources listed and were checked on 9 Nov 2026. Convrsion runs lead generation campaigns in the UK and US, so we buy, sell and follow up leads every day; this page is general information, not a quote or legal advice.
