Google AI Overviews and AI Mode in 2026: What Changed for SEO

At Google I/O in May 2026, Google said AI Mode had passed more than 1 billion monthly users and that AI Mode queries had been more than doubling every quarter since launch ¹. In the same announcement it merged AI Overviews and AI Mode into one experience, so a searcher can move from an AI Overview on a normal results page straight into a conversational follow-up ¹. For marketing teams, the question is no longer whether AI answers will affect organic search. It is how much, for which queries, and what to do about it.

This article sets out where the rollout stands in October 2026, what independent research says about clicks, what Google says in response, and the practical steps that follow.

Where AI Overviews and AI Mode stand in October 2026

Google's I/O 2026 announcements set the current baseline ¹:

• One experience. AI Overviews and AI Mode now work as a single flow, live on desktop and mobile worldwide.
• A new default model. AI Mode runs on Gemini 3.5 Flash globally.
• Personal Intelligence. The option to connect Gmail and Google Photos to AI Mode is expanding to nearly 200 countries and territories across 98 languages, with no subscription required.
• A redesigned search box. Google described it as its biggest upgrade in more than 25 years, accepting text, images, files, videos and Chrome tabs as input.
• Agents and generated layouts. Background "information agents" that monitor topics, and generative UI that builds tables, graphs and simulations inside results, were scheduled to roll out over the summer.

The most recent change came on 15 October 2026. Google said it had made "continued and substantial increases to the presence of inline links" in AI Mode and AI Overviews and was rolling out updates to place those links higher in responses more often ². It is also testing a section at the top of some responses that shows one or two official websites, adding image thumbnails to links at the end of some answers, and expanding news carousels that highlight a user's Preferred Sources. Google said use of Preferred Sources has grown more than sevenfold since the start of 2026 ².

What the click-through research shows

Independent studies published since 2025 point in the same direction: when an AI answer appears, fewer people click through to websites.

Study	Data	Key finding
Pew Research Center, July 2025	68,879 searches by 900+ US adults	Users clicked a result on 8% of visits with an AI summary vs 15% without; 1% clicked a link inside the summary 3
Ahrefs, February 2026	300,000 keywords, desktop Search Console data, December 2025	Position-one CTR on AI Overview keywords fell from 7.3% to 1.6% since December 2023; Ahrefs estimates 58% fewer clicks than expected without the AI Overview 4
Seer Interactive, November 2025	3,119 informational queries across 42 organisations	Organic CTR on queries with AI Overviews fell 61% between June 2024 and September 2025; paid CTR on the same queries fell 68% 5

Three details matter for planning. First, Pew found users ended their browsing session on 26% of pages with an AI summary, compared with 16% of pages showing only traditional results ³. Second, Ahrefs' 58% estimate is close to double the 34.5% decline it reported in April 2025, so the effect appears to be growing rather than settling ⁴. Third, Seer found that queries without AI Overviews also lost organic CTR over the same period, falling 41% ⁵. Not every drop in traffic can be blamed on AI Overviews; other SERP features and changing behaviour play a part.

Seer also found that brands cited inside an AI Overview earned about 35% higher organic CTR and about 91% higher paid CTR than brands that were not cited, averaged over the third quarter of 2025 ⁵. Seer cautions that citation may reflect brand authority rather than cause the uplift, but the direction is useful: being the cited source is better than being an uncited blue link beneath the answer.

Google's position

Google disputes the more negative readings. In August 2025, Liz Reid, Google's head of Search, wrote that "total organic click volume from Google Search to websites has been relatively stable year-over-year" and that average click quality had increased, defining a quality click as one where the user does not quickly return to the results page ⁶. She argued that many third-party reports rely on "flawed methodologies" and said traffic is shifting towards forums, video, podcasts and sites offering first-hand perspectives ⁶. Google did not publish the underlying data.

Both things can be true at once. Total clicks across the web can hold steady while clicks to a particular publisher, or to informational pages that used to answer simple questions, fall sharply. What counts is your own query mix.

New measurement and controls in Search Console

For most of the AI Overviews era, site owners could not separate AI impressions from ordinary ones. That changed in 2026. Google announced generative AI performance reports in Search Console on 3 June 2026, testing first with UK site owners, and by 31 August 2026 had rolled them out to all websites worldwide ⁷. The reports show impressions from AI Overviews, AI Mode and generative AI features in Discover, broken down by page, country, date and (for Search) device. They do not yet include click data ⁷.

A property-level setting also went global on the same date. It lets a site exclude its content and links from AI Overviews, AI Mode and Discover's AI features. Google says opting out is not used as a ranking signal elsewhere in Search, but opted-out sites receive no traffic or impressions from those surfaces ⁷. The controls followed requirements from the UK Competition and Markets Authority, which also expects page-level controls by March 2027 ⁷. For most commercial sites, opting out means giving up visibility in the fastest-growing part of Google Search, so it is worth weighing carefully.

What to do now

1. Segment your queries. Use the new Search Console report to find which pages earn AI impressions, then compare their organic clicks with pages that do not. Informational pages are where the research shows the biggest losses ⁴⁵.
2. Aim to be the cited source. Pages that answer a question clearly, with original data, named expertise and first-hand experience, match the kinds of content Google says are gaining clicks ⁶.
3. Work the new link formats. Google's October 2026 changes give more space to inline links, official sites and Preferred Sources ². Keep your brand's official pages accurate and well structured, and encourage loyal readers to add you as a Preferred Source where that feature is available.
4. Recalibrate paid search on the same queries. Seer's data shows paid CTR also falls when an AI Overview appears ⁵, so review bids and budgets on informational terms rather than assuming paid will fill the gap.
5. Report on visibility as well as visits. Track AI impressions alongside clicks, conversions and branded search demand, so leadership sees the full picture rather than one falling traffic line.

Key takeaways

• AI Mode passed 1 billion monthly users in 2026 and is now merged with AI Overviews into a single experience ¹.
• Independent studies show roughly 45-60% fewer clicks on queries where an AI answer appears, with the effect growing between 2025 and 2026 ³⁴⁵.
• Google says total organic clicks are stable and quality is up, but has not published supporting data ⁶.
• Search Console now reports AI impressions worldwide, though not AI clicks, and offers a site-wide opt-out ⁷.
• Being cited inside the AI answer is associated with higher CTR than ranking beneath it ⁵.

What this means for your brand

Treat informational traffic as a declining asset and commercial, high-intent pages as the priority for protection. Audit which of your pages already appear in AI answers, and invest in content that gives the AI a reason to cite you: original numbers, clear definitions and genuine expertise. Rebuild reporting so that AI visibility, branded demand and conversions sit beside sessions. We would also advise against the AI opt-out for most brands unless there is a clear licensing or compliance reason.

Sources

1. 100 things we announced at Google I/O 2026 - Google, May 2026
2. More ways to connect with the web from Search - Google, October 2026
3. Pew Research Confirms Google AI Overviews Is Eroding Web Ecosystem - Search Engine Journal, July 2025
4. Google's AI summaries now swallow 58% of clicks that once went to websites - PPC Land, February 2026
5. AIO Impact on Google CTR: September 2025 Update - Seer Interactive, November 2025
6. AI in Search is driving more queries and higher quality clicks - Google, August 2025
7. Google Search Console AI Reports Rolled Out Worldwide - Search Engine Journal, August 2026

Figures and product details are as reported by the sources listed, at the time of writing. Platforms change quickly, so check the latest documentation before acting on any single number.