Does AI Overviews hurt traffic to a website?

It depends on the query type. Informational queries - definitions, explanations, "what is" - lose clicks, because the visitor gets the answer on the page and has no reason to enter. Queries with buying intent suffer less, because someone looking for a supplier still has to choose and make contact. Analysing by overall average therefore misleads, and the report needs splitting by query type to see what actually happened.

Why are impressions up while clicks are down?

Because an appearance inside the AI answer counts as an impression even when the visitor does not click. The result is that a page can look in the report as though its CTR collapsed, when in fact it appeared in a place where the answer had already been given. This is why average position is no longer a sufficient measure, and why clicks and enquiries should be measured by query group.

How do you get a business into an AI answer?

Three things together. First, a clear entity: the same name, address and phone everywhere and a verified business profile, so the engine is confident who you are. Second, content you can quote a whole sentence from - a direct answer up front, figures with a source, a comparison table. Third, outside corroboration: mentions and directories that confirm what you claim. Without the first, the other two barely register.

Should you delete informational content that gets no clicks?

No. Informational content is usually what builds the authority behind being cited, and what puts the brand in front of someone early in their search. The right step is to make sure every informational page leads clearly to the relevant commercial page, so the visits that do occur are worth something - not to delete what generates the exposure in the first place.

Should you block AI crawlers?

Blocking prevents an engine from citing you, so it removes you from the answers you are trying to enter. Some businesses have a genuine commercial reason to block - paid content, for instance - but you cannot block and complain about absence at the same time. The decision should be deliberate rather than a default left over from an old line in a robots file.

SEO4 min read

Google AI Overviews: What It Means for Your Business and How to Get Cited

Published 8 September 2026

Google answers the customer above the organic results. What that does to your traffic, why clicks fall even when rankings hold, and what actually gets a business into the answer.

Written byMichael is the face of Aiterra to our clients and the driving force behind every project. He runs the sales side and makes sure every stage of the work — from scoping the requirements through to a successful launch — moves smoothly. Michael makes sure we hold to the schedule and deliver exactly the solution your business needs in order to grow.

TL;DR: AI Overviews is a written answer Google places above the organic results. For a business it means you can hold your ranking and still lose clicks, because the visitor got the answer without scrolling. What gets a business into the answer is not a trick but three things together: an entity Google is confident about, content someone can quote a whole sentence from, and outside sources that corroborate it.

Plenty of site owners in Israel are seeing a confusing pattern in Search Console: impressions hold or even rise, average position has not slipped, and clicks are down. In many cases this is not a drop in rankings but a change in the shape of the results page. This article explains what is happening and what can actually be done.

What AI Overviews is and where it sits

AI Overviews is a summary Google generates at the top of the results page, with links to the sources it drew on. The visitor gets a direct answer, and only below it come the familiar blue results. For a business this is not another box on the page but a change in reading order: what used to be "choose among ten results" has become "read the answer, and continue only if it was not enough".

The practical consequence: informational queries lose clicks faster than queries with buying intent. Someone looking for a definition gets it in the answer; someone looking for a supplier still has to click.

Why the Search Console numbers mislead

It matters how Google counts: an appearance inside AI Overviews is counted as an impression. So a page can appear more often, lose clicks, and look in the report as though its CTR collapsed for no reason.

What the report shows	What it may mean
Impressions up, clicks down	The answer was given on the page; no reason to enter
Position improves, clicks fall	The page rose but was pushed below the answer
Informational queries fall, commercial hold	The typical signature of the shift to AI answers

The practical conclusion: position on its own is no longer a sufficient measure. Look at clicks and enquiries by query type rather than at an average that hides the picture.

What actually gets a business into the answer

An entity Google is confident about. An engine composing an answer avoids a source whose identity it is unsure of. One consistent business name, the same address and phone everywhere, a verified business profile, and links between your assets - that is the base. A business whose details appear in three different forms online is giving the engine a reason to pick somebody else.

Content you can quote a sentence from. A direct answer in the opening paragraph, figures with a source, and a table that settles a comparison. A general marketing paragraph cannot be quoted, so it is simply not chosen. Ask yourself: if I had to copy one sentence from this page as the answer, which sentence would it be? If there is not one, there is nothing to cite.

Structured data in order. Organization, LocalBusiness, FAQPage and Breadcrumb joined into one graph with stable identifiers. That is what lets an engine work out who is saying what, rather than only reading text.

Corroboration from outside. An engine leans on what others say about you at least as much as on what you say about yourself: a Google Business Profile, local directories and mentions elsewhere.

What not to do

Do not delete informational content on the grounds that "it gets no clicks anyway". That content is usually what earns the authority behind being cited at all, and what brings a visitor to the brand early. The right move is the opposite: make sure informational pages lead clearly to the relevant commercial page, so the visits that do happen are worth something.

And do not block the AI crawlers and then wonder why you are absent from the answers.

The bottom line

AI Overviews did not abolish organic search; it changed what you measure. The base is the same base - a fast site, a clear structure, real content - with a layer of clarity added on top: who you are, what you claim, and who confirms it. We cover that layer on our AI search visibility page and in our article on GEO and generative engine optimisation.