Google AI features accounted for roughly 21% of search clicks for a single website during a recent test, according to Search Engine Journal. SEO consultant Cyrus Shepard ran the experiment by opting his site out of the search engine's AI functions for a four-week period to measure the traffic impact.
Key takeaways
- Cyrus Shepard removed his site from Google AI features from Sept. 1 to Sept. 29 to test traffic impact.
- The site saw an estimated 21% of its search clicks driven by AI Overviews and AI Mode.
- Including a small lift in regular listings, total search clicks tied to AI visibility reached 23%.
- Shepard warns readers to treat the findings as directional rather than a universal rule.
How did Google AI features affect site clicks?
Search Engine Journal reports that Shepard used Search Console to exclude the Zyppy SEO site from generative AI functions. Within less than an hour, the website vanished from the AI features entirely. Prior to the opt-out, the site received between 500 and 1,000 impressions daily through AI Overviews and AI Mode, representing about 10% of its total Google search impressions.
Because Google counts clicks on AI features as standard clicks without a separate filter in the Performance report, Shepard had to estimate the numbers. By comparing traffic during the 28-day opt-out period with the subsequent 28 days back in the features, he calculated an estimated click-through rate of about 0.9% for AI impressions, compared to a general 0.4% average across the whole site.
What did the search Console data reveal about AI Overviews?
Shepard noted a halo effect on regular organic listings once the site returned to AI search results. Pages that received high AI visibility also enjoyed a small bump in click-through rates on standard links. When adding these extra clicks, he calculated that 23% of all search clicks to the site connected back to AI visibility. He advises that staying opted in is the practical choice since his site optimized heavily for AI citations.
Why this matters for publishers
Publishers currently lack direct reporting tools to separate AI feature clicks from standard web traffic in Search Console, forcing experts like Shepard to rely on manual tests. The experiment demonstrates the tangible traffic volume at stake for content creators, though results will vary widely by domain. Meanwhile, regulators such as the UK Competition and Markets Authority have set deadlines for Google to provide clearer publisher metrics for AI search features.
Frequently asked questions
SEO consultant Cyrus Shepard estimated that Google AI features drove about 21% of search clicks to his site, or up to 23% when including a small lift in regular listings.
The site was opted out for 28 days, starting on September 1 and running until September 29, before being opted back in.
He compared total clicks and click-through rates during the 28-day opt-out period with the 28-day period after opting back in, while keeping search queries and position rankings consistent.
Zyppy SEO is an SEO company founded by Cyrus Shepard, whose website was used for this single-site AI feature experiment.
No, Google counts clicks on AI Overviews or AI Mode links as standard clicks within the Performance report and does not currently offer a way to isolate them.
Based on reporting by Search Engine Journal. Read the original article
