For years, the singular obsession of any SEO professional has been clear: to reach the top 3—and if possible, the coveted first position on Google. The premise was simple: increased visibility leads to more clicks and, logically, greater organic traffic. However, a recent study by GrowthSRC has confirmed the worst fears of many in the industry, demonstrating that this paradigm… has changed forever.
The analysis, which examined more than 200,000 keywords across sectors such as eCommerce, SaaS, and B2B, reveals that the CTR (click-through rate) for the top positions in search results has plummeted from May 2024 to 2025. The data not only confirms Google’s move toward “zero-click searches”, but it also shows that the impact of AI Overviews is far more severe than originally anticipated.
The study’s findings are clear and speak for themselves:
In fact, on average, the study concludes that positions 1 through 5 have experienced a 17.92% decrease in their CTR—a significant blow to the profitability of traditional SEO investments. Put simply: even if you occupy the first position for a given keyword, that no longer guarantees a high volume of traffic.
Far from it.
The cause for this collapse is quite obvious: the widespread implementation of new functionalities by Google. The summaries generated by artificial intelligence, or AI Overviews, launched in Spain in March, are capturing users’ attention and—most importantly—their clicks. To put things in perspective: these summaries appeared for more than 172,000 keywords in May 2025, a staggering increase from the 10,000 keywords that triggered them in August 2024.
Although Google promised that the links within these summaries would still drive traffic to the websites referenced to create them, the study confirms what many already suspected: by answering the user’s question directly, the need to visit a website is eliminated.
This is, after all, quite logical.
Perhaps the most intriguing data point from the study is, without a doubt, the surprising increase in the performance of the lower ranking positions. As evident from the following table, the CTR for positions #6 through #10 has risen substantially. Specifically, it has increased by 30.63%.
Now, let us speculate 😉
This unusual phenomenon may suggest that the AI Overview does not always satisfy the user’s search intent, causing users to scroll down and seek more detailed answers from lower-ranking results on the page. That is to say, we could surmise that when faced with an automated answer, those who wish to learn more or do not fully trust the automated result are willing to scroll further down the search results page to find a source that truly addresses their question.
Furthermore, given that queries quickly resolved by AI no longer generate clicks, the lower positions—which sometimes offer more complex, long-tail answers or require more in-depth research—may attract a particular type of user. Additionally, if the same information is repeated in the AI Overview and the top organic results, users may prefer to click on links from lower positions in search of a different perspective.
In other words, if Google extracts information for the AI Overview from a Wikipedia or Reddit page (both clearly favored by Google over the past year), and then displays the Wikipedia or Reddit page in position one or two, the user may feel they have already consumed this source. Instead of clicking on the same result, they choose to scroll in search of a blog article or report that offers something different. A forum or Wikipedia result often serves as a starting point, but does not always provide the in-depth analysis, proprietary statistics, or case studies found in a specialized blog featured at positions 7 or 8.
As you can see, it is evident that the era of exclusively chasing the top position has ended. As we explained in May, other similar studies confirm that the CTR from search results to web pages is collapsing with the advent of Google’s automated responses.
So, what are we to do?
Google made it clear to us some months ago: SEO in the new landscape of AI Overview and AI Mode requires strengthening what we already knew about organic content best practices. Furthermore, SEO today demands a far deeper understanding of the SERP and continual adaptation. In other words, the priority can no longer be only “ranking high,” but must go beyond ranking to focus on more holistic metrics, such as overall visibility within the SERP and conversion rates.
One idea is to go beyond what Google already provides. Focus on areas where experience, detailed analysis, or a unique viewpoint are irreplaceable. In these niches, human contribution continues to be most valued by the audience. To stand out from artificial intelligence, your content must deliver authenticity and genuine experience. Remember, if a visitor arrives at your page seeking a human touch and encounters impersonal and predictable text, their reaction is likely to be a negative one.
Seek a unique and distinctive voice that sets you apart from any automated response… and best of luck 🙂
Image: Flux Schnell
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