Zero-click search
A zero-click search is one where the person gets what they need from the results or the AI answer itself, and doesn't click through to any site.
A zero-click search is a search that ends without the person clicking through to any website. They got what they needed from the page of results: a featured snippet, a map, a product box, or more and more often an AI answer.
For marketers, it changes what success looks like. If people read about you in the answer and never visit your site, your traffic won't show it. Being named, and described well, becomes the result that counts.
Why AI answers mean more of them
A list of blue links makes you click to find anything out. An AI answer does the reading for you and writes a summary. For a lot of questions, the summary is enough.
That's not all bad for brands. Someone who reads "Fernhill Coffee roasts to order and delivers across the UK" in an answer has learned about Fernhill without a visit. If they buy later, they may come by searching for Fernhill by name, or typing the address.
An example
For example, Harrow & Pine notices that its blog traffic from Google has fallen over a year, while its sales haven't. Its guides on caring for oak furniture used to bring thousands of visits. Now AI Overviews answer those questions directly, sometimes citing Harrow & Pine's guide. More of the people who do arrive come straight to product pages.
The guides are still working. They just work inside the answer.
What to do about it
- Measure whether you're named, and how you're described, as well as how many people visit
- Make sure the facts you'd want in a summary are clear on your pages, since a summary may be all people read
- Watch searches for your brand name, which can rise when people see you in answers
In AnswerOrbit
AnswerOrbit shows how often the answers name you and what they say, which is the part of a zero-click search you can measure. We can't see what people did after reading an answer. The AI traffic tab in Website and AI traffic shows the visitors AI assistants do send you, from Google Analytics.