\n<\/p>\n
AI is driving the most significant upgrade of the Google Search experience ever. With AI Overviews and more recently AI Mode, people are able to ask questions they could never ask before. And the response has been tremendous: Our data shows people are happier with the experience and are searching more than ever as they discover what Search can do now.<\/p>\n
At the same time, we\u2019ve recently heard some questions about what this means for traffic to websites from Google. So we wanted to share some insights on the data we\u2019re seeing, as well as more about our approach with AI in Search.<\/p>\n
Overall, total organic click volume from Google Search to websites has been relatively stable year-over-year. Additionally, average click quality has increased and we\u2019re actually sending slightly more quality clicks to websites than a year ago (by quality clicks, we mean those where users don\u2019t quickly click back \u2014 typically a signal that a user is interested in the website). This data is in contrast to third-party reports that inaccurately suggest dramatic declines in aggregate traffic \u2014 often based on flawed methodologies, isolated examples, or traffic changes that occurred prior to the roll out of AI features in Search.<\/p>\n
So what\u2019s going on? With AI Overviews, people are searching more and asking new questions that are often longer and more complex. In addition, with AI Overviews people are seeing more links on the page than before. More queries and more links mean more opportunities for websites to surface and get clicked. For some questions where people are looking for a quick answer, like \u201cwhen is the next full moon,\u201d people may be satisfied with the initial response and not click further. This has also been true for other answer features we\u2019ve added, like the Knowledge Graph or sports scores. But for many other types of questions, people continue to click through, as they want to dig deeper into a topic, explore further or make a purchase. This is why we see click quality increasing \u2014 an AI response might provide the lay of the land, but people click to dive deeper and learn more, and when they do, these clicks are more valuable.<\/p>\n
While overall traffic to sites is relatively stable, the web is vast, and user trends are shifting traffic to different sites, resulting in decreased traffic to some sites and increased traffic to others. People are increasingly seeking out and clicking on sites with forums, videos, podcasts, and posts where they can hear authentic voices and first-hand perspectives. People are also more likely to click into web content that helps them learn more \u2014 such as an in-depth review, an original post, a unique perspective or a thoughtful first-person analysis. Sites that meet these evolving user needs are benefiting from this shift and are generally seeing an increase in traffic.<\/p>\n
As a search company, we care passionately \u2014 perhaps more than any other company \u2014 about the health of the web ecosystem. We continue to send billions of clicks to websites every day and believe that Search\u2019s value exchange with the web remains strong.<\/p>\n
We take a distinct approach in how we build our AI experiences: they\u2019re built to highlight the web. In other words, it\u2019s not the web or<\/i> AI \u2014 it\u2019s both. We\u2019ve trained our models to deeply understand the web and when and how to link to the most relevant sites. And our AI responses feature prominent links, visible citation of sources, and in-line attribution. This isn\u2019t just helpful for websites; it also helps users learn where information is coming from and how they can explore further. And websites always have control over how content is highlighted or included in Search with open web protocols, which we respect and follow. We\u2019re committed to highlighting high-quality content on the web and we will continue to refine how we do it.<\/p>\n
The web has existed for over three decades, and we believe we\u2019re entering its most exciting era yet. Technology shifts bring change, but they also bring extraordinary opportunity. We believe that AI will be one of the most expansionary moments for the web, empowering us all to ask vastly more questions and creators to reach more deeply engaged audiences. We\u2019ll continue to help businesses, creators and websites seize these opportunities as we build this future together.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n