A new study from Sparktoro and Similarweb reveals that the share of Google searches resulting in clicks to the open web has dropped sharply, with AI-generated answers accelerating the decline.
Fresh data from Sparktoro and Similarweb shows a steep drop in the percentage of Google searches that drive users to external websites. According to the ongoing study led by Rand Fishkin, 68.01% of Google searches in the United States now end without any click at all. Factoring in the impact of AI-generated responses, only 27.6% of clicks from Google Search are reaching the open web.
The report includes a breakdown of what happens to the remaining 32% of searches that do result in a click. Of those, 66% go to the open web, while 27% are directed to Google’s own properties such as AI Mode, YouTube, Maps, and Images. Another 6% of clicks are captured by paid advertisements. In practical terms, for every 1,000 Google searches in the U.S., just 276 clicks are sent to external websites.
This trend has accelerated since the introduction of AI Overviews in Google Search, which provide users with direct answers and reduce the need to visit third-party sites. The study’s authors describe the shift as ongoing and increasingly significant for publishers and content creators who rely on Google for traffic. The full analysis is available on Sparktoro’s blog, with further discussion on LinkedIn.
Google, founded in 1998 and now a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., remains the dominant search engine globally, handling more than 8.5 billion searches per day as of 2026. The company’s ongoing integration of AI features into its search platform has drawn scrutiny from publishers and regulators concerned about the long-term impact on web traffic and the open internet.
