Zero-click search

A zero-click search is a search query after which the person does not go to any result: they either got the answer right on the results page, changed their mind, or immediately typed a new query. How many such searches there are depends on how you count, so figures from different studies are not compared directly.

In plain words

Google increasingly answers the query itself: an AI answer block, maps, prices, product cards. The person sees what they need and does not visit a site. For a store this is not always a loss: the buyer may have seen the price and address in a card and then written or come in. But there is no such visit in the site's statistics.

How many there really are

There is no single number. Three sources, three different answers:

• SparkToro (June 2026, Similarweb panel, US, January–April 2026): 68.01% of Google searches ended without a click. In their own comparison for 2024 (Datos panel) it was 60.45%. The author himself calls the comparison "apples and oranges", because the panels differ and mobile data does not cover the Google app, so the real figure may be even higher (SparkToro, 2026). A click to Google services (Maps, YouTube) counts here as a click, not as a "zero" search.
• Similarweb (reported by Search Engine Roundtable, July 2025): the share of searches with no click grew from 56% to 69% between May 2024 and May 2025. The methodology is not disclosed in the text, and it is unclear whether it covers all queries or only news ones (SER, 2025).
• Pew Research (March 2025): this is a different measure, not "no clicks" overall: with an AI answer, a click on an ordinary result occurred in 8% of visits, without one in 15% (Pew, 2025).

For Ukrainian search there are no verified open figures. All the data above are for the US.

Where the missing clicks go

• AI answers. Ahrefs (February 2026) links AI Overview to a drop in the CTR of the position #1 result of about 58%; this is a correlation, and the data are desktop (Ahrefs, 2026). More in AI Overviews and AI Mode.
• Google's own services. According to SparkToro's 2024 data, almost 30% of clicks in the US went to Google properties (YouTube, Maps, Flights) (SparkToro, 2024). This is 2024 data, with no newer equivalent.
• Other results blocks. Ahrefs notes that featured snippets and local blocks also lowered CTR long before AI Overviews.

Is it bad for an online store

It depends on the query. There are no Ukrainian data on this, but the logic is: informational queries ("what is…", "how to choose…") are covered better by AI, while queries with purchase intent (a product name, model, brand) are covered worse: the person needs to buy somewhere. Semrush (July 2026, US, desktop) saw the share of commercial results with an AI Overview grow by 71%, while transactional ones fell by 5% (Semrush, 2026). This is a correlation in one country, not a guarantee.

What to do

SparkToro, in its June 2026 review, names several directions based on its own data and others' analyses (SparkToro, 2026). This is the authors' opinion, not proven rules, so I present them with caution:

• Brand. By their data, branded queries make up about 44% of Google searches and still bring clicks. In Cyrus Shepard's analysis, sites with a strong brand won about twice as often.
• A site where the person completes an action (buys, books, calculates), not just reads. Among the "winners" about 84% were like that, among the "losers" about half (a correlation, not a cause).
• Your own audience: a newsletter, a community, first-party data.
• Measuring through several indicators: searches for the store's name, direct visits, revenue.

Google advises the same from the other side: measure not only clicks but the overall value of visits: purchases, sign-ups, inquiries (Google, 2025).

For a store, in short:

1. Look in Search Console for queries losing clicks while impressions do not fall.
2. Calculate revenue from branded and non-branded search separately.
3. Give the buyer a reason to visit: your own photos, availability, price, Nova Poshta delivery terms, reviews.
4. Keep the data in the feed and on the page accurate so the product card in search works for you (Google Merchant Center).

Common mistakes

• Comparing figures from different panels (Datos 2024 and Similarweb 2026) as one series.
• Taking an American figure as a Ukrainian one.
• Counting "no click" as a loss: the buyer may have come later directly.
• Judging SEO by clicks alone.

FAQ

What is zero-click search? A search after which the person opened no result.

What percentage of Google searches have no clicks? According to SparkToro 2026 (Similarweb, US), 68%. Other panels and definitions give other figures.

Are there fewer clicks because of AI Overviews? Pew and Ahrefs see fewer clicks on queries with an AI answer; both write that it is a link, not a proven cause.

What should a store do? Measure sales and branded search, not just clicks, and build pages people have a reason to visit.

Related terms

• AI Overviews and AI Mode in Google
• SEO trends for an online store
• GEO (generative engine optimization)
• Conversion rate

Sources

• SparkToro, In 2026, Less than One Third of Google Searches Still Send a Click (9.06.2026) — sparktoro.com/blog/in-2026-less-than-one-third-of-google-searches-still-send-a-click
• SparkToro, When Google Stops Sending Clicks, What Still Works? (10.06.2026) — sparktoro.com/blog/zero-click-search-what-still-works
• SparkToro, 2024 Zero-Click Search Study (2.07.2024) — sparktoro.com/blog/2024-zero-click-search-study-for-every-1000-us-google-searches-only-374-clicks-go-to-the-open-web-in-the-eu-its-360
• Search Engine Roundtable, Similarweb: No Clicks From Google Grew From 56% to 69% (3.07.2025) — seroundtable.com/similarweb-google-zero-click-search-growth-39706.html
• Pew Research Center (22.07.2025) — pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/07/22/google-users-are-less-likely-to-click-on-links-when-an-ai-summary-appears-in-the-results
• Ahrefs (4.02.2026) — ahrefs.com/blog/ai-overviews-reduce-clicks-update
• Semrush (2.07.2026) — semrush.com/blog/ai-overviews-commercial-search-study
• Google Search Central Blog, Succeeding in AI search (21.05.2025) — developers.google.com/search/blog/2025/05/succeeding-in-ai-search