AI Overviews and SEO traffic: what is the impact and how can you adapt?

Since July 22, 2026, Google's AI Overviews have been available in France. Also known as "AI Overviews," they allow Google to display an AI-generated answer directly in search results, accompanied by links to various sources.

For companies that rely on organic search, this change raises an essential question: what will be the impact of AI Overviews on SEO traffic?

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Until now, achieving a good position on Google generally meant an increase in impressions, clicks, and organic traffic. With answers generated directly in the results, this mechanism is becoming less automatic. A user can now obtain a significant portion of the information they are looking for without necessarily visiting a site.
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This does not mean that SEO is becoming useless. The stakes are evolving: you must still aim to rank well, but also to be identified as a reliable source, appear in AI-generated answers, and convert the traffic you get into business results..
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What is an AI Overview and why is it changing Google Search?

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An AI-generated summary displayed before the results

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An AI Overview is a synthesis written by Google's AI based on multiple web pages. It appears above organic results and may contain a definition, explanations, steps, or a comparison, accompanied by links to the sources.

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The search journey is therefore changing. Previously, the user would type their query, browse the results, and then click on a page. Now, a step is inserted between the query and the click, and the answer arrives before the site. The user can consult the sources to learn more, or stop there.

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On the same day, Google launched AI Mode, a conversational tab where the entire page is generated by AIBoth features rely on the same logic and raise the same questions regarding your visibility.

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From SEO rankings to zero-click searches

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Zero-click search is nothing new. Featured snippets, the Knowledge Panel, and the local pack were already answering certain questions directly within Google results..

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AI Overviews go further, as they produce a long-form, contextualized answer.For a business, three objectives must now be distinguished. You need to rank well in organic results, be cited as a source in the summary, and actually drive traffic to your site. These three goals can now evolve independently.

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AI Overviews and SEO traffic: what the numbers say

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In France, a drop in CTR from the very first weeks

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The Ahrefs study published in August 2026 compares Search Console data from 963 major French domains, 28 days before and 9 days after the launch. Domains where more than 20% of queries trigger an AI Overview saw their median click-through rate decline by 23.1%. Across the entire panel, the median drop reached 5.7% in CTR and 8.8% in clicks.

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Ahrefs also observes an almost linear relationship, since each additional point of exposure costs about one point of CTR. Healthcare is the most affected sector, with an AI Overview rate of 22.2% and a 20.4% drop in CTR.

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An impact that intensifies in more mature markets

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Countries where AI Overviews have existed since 2024 provide a glimpse of what's to come. Across 300,000 keywords, Ahrefs estimated the loss in CTR for position 1 at 34.5% in the spring of 2025, then at 58% by the end of 2025. In other words, the effect does not necessarily fade over time.

Which content is most exposed to AI Overviews?

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Informational queries and the long tail on the front line

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Searches like "what is netlinking," "how to optimize a title tag," or "difference between SEO and SEA" are the most affected. The user is looking for information, and a well-crafted summary is enough to meet their need.

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Definitions, simple tutorials, general guides, and articles answering specific questions are therefore on the front line. You shouldn't abandon them, as they build your topical authority and can become cited sources. But they must provide more than just a rewrite of what already exists.

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Transactional, local, and branded queries are more resilient

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Someone searching for "SEO agency Paris" or "CRM software for SMEs" wants to compare offers, check pricing, or contact a company. A summary isn't enough for them; they need to visit a site and take action.

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AI Overviews can play a role in these journeys, but they don't replace the final action. The challenge is therefore to identify the queries that are truly strategic for your acquisition, rather than trying to maintain the same volume of clicks everywhere.

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How to be cited in an AI Overview without sacrificing your traffic

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A citation brings visibility, but not necessarily clicks

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Being cited as a source puts your brand above all other results. But if the summary is sufficient, the user may never click. The most striking case from the Ahrefs study illustrates this gap, with impressions up 183% for a slight decrease in clicks.

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SEO performance is therefore measured on several levels, from visibility to conversion. A site can lose informational traffic while strengthening its brand image and attracting more qualified visitors.

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Produce content that AI cannot summarize elsewhere

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An article that simply summarizes the top ten Google results will be easily replaced by AI. Conversely, some content is difficult to replicate, such as feedback, proprietary studies, tests, client case studies, or clearly identified expert opinions.

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Let's take an example. "What is an SEO audit?" can be summarized in three lines. Content presenting the errors observed across 100 audits, with concrete examples and corrective actions, provides information you won't find anywhere else. This is the whole point of an optimized content strategy.

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Structuring pages and strengthening site authority

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A clear H1, H2, H3 hierarchy, a concise answer at the beginning of a section, short paragraphs, and reliable sources help readers, Google, and generative systems alike. Essential information must remain accessible in the HTML, which is verified by good technical SEO.

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Credibility is also built off-page. Relevant backlinks, mentions in specialized media, and identified authors strengthen the trust placed in the source. Working on yoursite's authority is becoming just as important as optimizing your content.

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Which KPIs should you track beyond organic traffic?

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Clicks, CTR, rankings, and conversions remain the foundation

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Impressions, clicks, click-through rates, average positions, sessions, and conversions remain essential. Depending on your model, also track leads or revenue generated by SEO.

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One signal deserves special attention. If impressions are rising, positions remain stable, and the CTR is dropping simultaneously, the search results page has likely changed. Analyze this data query by query before attributing the decline to AI Overviews.

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Monitoring your presence in generative answers

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Search Console offers a dedicated report for generative AI, rolled out to all sites on August 31, 2026. It shows your impressions in AI Overviews and AI Mode, by page, country, and device, but not clicks or queries. A setting also allows you to remove your content from these responses, at the cost of losing all visibility on these surfaces.

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Supplement this tracking by monitoring the strategic queries that trigger an AI Overview, the competitors cited, and your brand searches. A drop in sessions is not a problem if the remaining visitors convert better, which is why it is important to work on your conversion rate.

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SEO, GEO, and diversification to protect your acquisition

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GEO complements SEO without replacing it

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SEO focuses on the crawling, indexing, and ranking of pages. GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) focuses on how a brand is understood and cited by generative engines. Both rely on the same fundamentals: a technically accessible site, useful content, a clear architecture, and identifiable expertise.

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The goal is no longer just to appear in the top Google links, but to be present wherever your audience is looking for an answer.

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Reducing your dependence on Google traffic

Depending on a single channel remains risky. Transform the traffic you obtain into a durable and qualified audience, through brand searches, newsletters, LinkedIn, video, or PR. Campaigns like Google Ads can also provide ad-hoc security for your most strategic queries.

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For a business, 1,000 qualified visitors who become leads are worth more than 10,000 informational visits that don't convert. The real question is no longer how much traffic you've lost, but what impact your visibility is generating on your business.

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