Zero-click search
A zero-click search is a search that ends without the user clicking through to any website, because the answer appears on the results page or because the user stops or changes the query. Featured snippets, knowledge panels, maps, calculators and AI Overviews can all answer a query without a click.
How common are zero-click searches?
SparkToro and Datos, a clickstream data company owned by Semrush, published a study on 2 July 2024 using US and EU panel data. It found that 58.5% of US Google searches and 59.7% of EU searches ended without a click. For every 1,000 searches, only 360 clicks in the US and 374 in the EU went to the open web rather than to Google's own properties or to ads.
How do AI summaries affect it?
Pew Research Center tracked the browsing of 900 US adults in March 2025 and published the results on 22 July 2025. Users who saw an AI summary clicked a traditional search result in 8% of visits, compared with 15% when no summary appeared. They clicked a link inside the summary in 1% of visits, and ended their browsing session after 26% of pages with a summary, against 16% without one.
What to do about it
A zero-click search still shows the searcher something. A brand named in a snippet or an AI answer is seen even when nobody clicks, so measurement needs to cover visibility as well as visits.
- Track impressions alongside clicks in Search Console
- Prioritise queries where people need to compare, buy or book, which still produce clicks
- Write answers that name the brand, so a mention counts even without a click
- Watch branded search volume and direct traffic over time
Example
A search for 'time in Sydney' is answered on the results page, so no website gets the click. A search for 'best travel insurance for over 70s' still sends clicks, because the searcher has to compare policies and prices before choosing one.
Related terms
Further reading
Our Organic Search service puts this into practice for brands in the UK and US.
