AI Overview Impact on CTR: An Analytical Report (October 2024 vs. May 2025)

AI & LLM SEO

Published: Jul 15, 2025

Updated on: Jun 10, 2026

Key Takeaways:-

The share of queries with AI Overviews increased from 6.86% to 29.07%, marking a 323% rise between October 2024 and May 2025.
AI Overviews grew most in real terms for 'how/what' (informational) questions, jumping from 6.78% to 27.5%. Sales-type (transactional) questions stayed low but grew fast in relative terms - from 0.08% to 1.08%.
Across the top 10 results, average CTR fell from 5.7% to 3.66% - a drop of about 36%, or 2 percentage points
CTR for informational queries declined by 33.33%, showing a stronger negative impact compared to the 9.5% drop in transactional query CTR.
CTR for the 1st organic position fell from 10.67% to 7%, with the 2nd and 3rd positions also losing significant click share.

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the impact of AI Overviews on Click-Through Rate (CTR) across various query types and ranking positions.

It compares search performance data between October 2024 and May 2025, focusing on how the growing presence of AI Overviews is influencing user engagement on the SERP.

The analysis is based on a dataset of 40,000 keywords from the BFSI industry, making it one of the first large-scale Indian studies on this subject. The trends observed are closely aligned with international findings, including those from Ahrefs, providing reliable benchmarks for marketers navigating this AI-led shift in search behaviour.

Table of Contents

Report 1: Percentage of Queries in AI Overview

This section quantifies the prevalence of AI Overviews in search results for the analyzed keywords in October 2024 versus May 2025.

Metric	October 2024	May 2025	Change (%)
Queries with AI Overview (Yes)	6.86%	29.07%	323.69%
Queries without AI Overview (No)	93.14%	70.93%	-23.84%

Insight: There has been a substantial four-fold increase in the percentage of queries showing an AI Overview from October ’24 to May ’25. This indicates a significant expansion in the integration and prominence of AI Overviews within the search results, reinforcing the evolving nature of the SERP.

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Report 2: Percentage of AI Overview by Query Type

This report breaks down the presence of AI Overviews across Informational and Transactional query types.

Percentage of AI Overview (‘Yes’) by Query Type

Query Type	October 2024 (‘Yes’ AIO)	May 2025 (‘Yes’ AIO)	Change (%)
Informational	6.78%	27.50%	305.46%
Transactional	0.08%	1.08%	1250%

Insight: While both query types saw an increase in AI Overview presence, informational queries continue to be the primary target, with a dramatic increase from 6.78% to 27.50%. Transactional queries also experienced a notable rise (from 0.08% to 1.08%), suggesting a broader application of AI Overviews beyond just “know” queries, though informational content remains prioritized.

Note: transactional AIO counts are very small (0.08% of 40,000 ≈ 32 keywords), so transactional percentages should be read with caution

Report 3: Overall Impact of CTR in Top 10

This section compares the average CTR across all keywords in the top 10 search positions.

Metric	October 2024	May 2025	Change (%)
Overall CTR	5.7%	3.66%	-36%

Insight: Average CTR fell by about 36% (from 5.7% down to 3.66%) – a drop of roughly 2 percentage points. from October ’24 to May ’25 in top 10 positions. This general decline suggests that various factors, including the increased prevalence of AI Overviews, are contributing to users clicking less frequently on traditional organic listings.

Report 4: CTR Impact by Query Type in Top 10

This report examines how CTR has changed for Informational versus Transactional queries.

Query Type	October 2024 CTR	May 2025 CTR	Change (%)
Informational	6%	4%	-33.33%
Transactional	4.42%	4%	-9.50%

Insight: Both informational and transactional queries experienced a decrease in CTR. Informational CTR fell more (about 33%) than transactional CTR (about 10%). This aligns with the higher prevalence of AI Overviews for informational content, indicating a stronger impact on their click-through rates.

Report 5: CTR Impact for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Position Overall

This section analyzes the average CTR for keywords ranking in the top three positions.

Ranking Position	October 2024 CTR	May 2025 CTR	Change (%)
1st	10.67%	7.0%	-34.40%
2nd	7.09%	4.9%	-30.89%
3rd	4.1%	3.3%	-19.51%

Insight: All three top positions lost clicks, and the #1 spot lost the most (-34.4%), followed by #2 (-30.9%) and #3 (-19.5%). This shows AI Overviews hurt the top result most of all — because the AI answer now sits above the #1 link, fewer people scroll down to click it.

Overall Conclusion & Strategic Implications

The data strongly suggests that AI Overviews are having a discernible impact on CTR, driving a general decline in clicks on traditional organic results, particularly for informational queries. This aligns with the Ahrefs research indicating that AI Overviews reduce clicks by fulfilling user needs directly on the SERP. The trend is especially notable in sectors like banking and finance, the google ai mode impact on seo for bfsi underscores how generative results are reshaping visibility and user engagement for financial brands.

Key Strategic Implications:

Prioritize Transactional 1st Positions (Absence of AIO): For transactional queries where AI Overviews are less likely or absent, ranking #1 is valuable today. But note: AI Overviews are spreading into transactional searches fast, so this safe zone is shrinking. Focus optimization efforts on highly commercial or transactional keywords to capture this enhanced click-through.
Adapt for Informational Content: For informational queries, recognize that AI Overviews are increasingly present and are likely reducing direct clicks to your site. Strategies should shift towards being the source for AI Overviews, optimizing for content clarity, conciseness, and authority (E-E-A-T) to be cited. To get cited, give direct answers near the top of the page, use clear question-style headings, add author credentials, and keep facts easy for AI to lift. Focus on providing comprehensive answers that Google’s AI can leverage.
Monitor AI Overview Trends: Continuously track the expansion of AI Overviews, especially for your target keywords and query types. The rapid increase observed from Oct ’24 to May ’25 suggests this trend will continue.
Beyond Clicks for Informational Content: For informational content, consider shifting success metrics beyond just CTR. Focus on visibility, brand mentions within AI Overviews, and how your content contributes to the broader user journey, even if it doesn’t result in a direct click.
Re-evaluate Lower Top-3 Positions: The data indicates that 2nd and 3rd positions, across both query types and AI Overview scenarios, are generally experiencing CTR declines. This might necessitate re-evaluating the value proposition of targeting these positions and potentially shifting resources to other strategies or higher-value keywords.

This analysis offers a foundational view of how AI Overviews are impacting CTR. As search behaviour continues to evolve, staying updated with these shifts will be key to shaping effective SEO strategies.

Sarvesh Bagla

Founder and CEO - Techmagnate

Sarvesh Bagla is an enterprise SEO expert and industry leader who has driven transformational digital growth for India’s top brands across the BFSI, Healthcare, Automotive, and ECommerce industries. As the Founder and CEO of Techmagnate, he leads large-scale organic search strategies and performance marketing campaigns for businesses looking to succeed in today’s AI-driven search landscape.

A strong advocate for thought leadership, Sarvesh is deeply involved in SEO evangelism and regularly contributes to industry discussions through LinkedIn, webinars, and CMO roundtables. His focus today is on helping brands prepare for an AI-first SEO future (AEO, GEO) and strategies for Large Language Models (LLMs) at the core.