Today’s MarketingSmall opt out test finds AI Overviews citations drive clicks
Cyrus Shepard used Google’s generative AI opt out to remove a site from AI Overviews and AI Mode and compared clicks before and after. He estimated AI impressions had an estimated 0.9% click through rate and made up roughly 8% of total impressions. Regular organic clicks also dropped while the site was opted out. Shepard called it a small case study.
Our take
One small test is not proof, but it points the right way: showing up in more places on the page lifts clicks everywhere. Do not opt out of AI features to protect organic traffic. Work on getting cited instead, with clear answers near the top of your pages, and compare clicks on cited and uncited pages in Search Console.
