Google’s AI Overviews โShift User Search Behavior, Study Finds
Hannover, Germany – November 19, 2025 – Google’s AI Overviewsโ (AIOs), introduced inโ March 2025, are fundamentally altering how users interact with search results,โ according to new research from usability.de. The study, utilizing โขeye tracking and click analysis, reveals a meaningful shift in user attention and click patterns, impacting the visibility of organic search results.
Researchers atโค usability.de tasked 33 participants, aged 21 to 71, โwith โcompleting five realistic search tasksโค in a test environment, monitoring their eye movements andโค clicks while varying the placement of AIOs on the search results page.
The analysis showed that โaios positioned at the top of the โresults page immediately capture user attention. When placedโค lower, users initially focus on the top โฃorganic content. 55 percent โof users read the AI-generated โฃsummaries, and two-thirds subsequently clickedโ on links – most oftenโค organic search results. Advertisements and sources displayed on the right side of the page were clicked on in approximately one โขin five searches.
Since 2016, the proportion of first clicks on organic search results has fallen considerably, from 70 percent to 44 percent, indicating a decline in initialโ visibility for organicโ listings. However, usability.de notes that organic results remain crucial for user validation, with usersโฃ favoring links perceived as neutral and trustworthy. Sponsored links are noticed early but receive fewer โclicks, particularly during information-seekingโ searches.
“For me,AI is always the beginningโ of research – that’s good โforโ the overall overview,” one study participant commented,reflecting a growing โperception of โAIOs as a โขstarting point โfor information gathering.
The research concludes that AIOs are increasingโ zero-click searches and fundamentally changing user clicking behavior. Usability.de recommends that companies prioritize clear, structured, and trustworthy content optimized with GEO (Geographic โOptimization) to increase their chances of appearing within AI-generated summaries.