Zero-click Google searches now make up 68% thanks to AI features.
In the first four months of 2026, a staggering 68.01% of Google searches ended without a click.
This is thanks to a whole host of features like AI overviews and Google’s AI mode, and evolving user preferences, according to data from SparkToro.
Back in 2024, this figure was 60.45% – which means there has been a 7.5% growth in zero-click searches in the last two years.
This represents the quickest acceleration of zero-click in the last ten years, which the research confirms is “almost certainly driven by the massive growth in AI overviews”. Although these are only found in 20% of all searches, they lead to a click-through rate reduction of almost 60% when present.
AI Overviews are moving towards replacing the classic ‘ten blue links’ by providing an alternative information source for users who no longer have to visit publisher websites.
Within the 68% of clickless searches, 29% result in a further search through Google’s search bar, and 39% end in the session ending.
Google searches result in a further click 32% of the time, and within that, 66% lead to the ‘Open Web’ (traditional organic results), and 27.38% leading to an Alphabet owned source like YouTube, Maps, Images, or AI Mode.
As it stands, only 0.34% of searches between January-April 2026 resulted in AI Mode being activated, although this figure is rising quickly, with AI Mode surpassing 1 billion monthly users.
Finally, 6% of Google searches end in a paid ad. This may not seem like a lot, but Google processes roughly 16 billion searches per day, which means roughly 960 million Google searches are redirected to a paid ad.
This is actually a positive for advertisers on Google. In 2020, just 1.59% of searches resulted in a click through to a paid ad (2.78% on desktop), SparkToro research confirms. Although the industry may be scrambling to adapt to the looming threat of a zero-click world, SEO, paid search ads, and accompanying search advertising tactics are more effective than ever.
AI is not the only reason for the fading relevance of Google search, as the rise in social media (particularly Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok) has served as an alternative to traditional search engines, particularly among young people.
