Google Denies AI Overview Causes Traffic Reduction For Websites

AI Overview view on Google Search (photo: dock. Google)

JAKARTA Since AI Overview was launched, there have been many studies showing that the summary feature based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) has harmed the web publisher. However, Google denied it.

On Wednesday, August 6, 2025, Google finally spoke up about the alleged AI Overview that made the traffic of various websites drop. In a recent report, Google confirmed that the total organic click volume of websites is still stable.

In fact, Google says that their internal data shows an improvement in the quality of the click of the website via Search. Quality clicks refer to actions of users that don't immediately log out of the web they open after the web is clicked on.

"This data is different from third-party reports which inaccurately show a drastic drop in aggregate traffic which is often based on the wrong methodology," said Liz Reid, VP of Google Search, in Google's latest report.

Instead of harming the web publisher, Google emphasizes that AI Overview has helped many users in conducting searches. When users are helped, there are more publishers who will benefit from this increase.

Users are said to tend to ask new questions that are longer and more complex, which they never thought of before. This provides more opportunities for websites to appear and be clicked on.

"People keep clicking because they want to dig deeper into (related) topics, explore further, or make purchases. This is why we see an improvement in clique quality," added Liz.

Although the number of web clicks on Google Search looks stable, Google recognizes that AI Overview is causing a shift in trends. Previously, people only relied on websites in the main search results, but now it's no longer.

Google Search users are now looking for and clicking sites with authentic content such as in-depth forums, videos, podcasts, or reviews. These sites tend to experience increased traffic and others have decreased.

With so much concern about AI Overview, Google insists that it will send billions of clicks to websites every day and the exchange of value between Search and web will remain strong.

Google claims that it has taken a unique approach in building this experience. The company added AI to Search to highlight the web, not to replace the function of the website.

"The website also always has control over how content is highlighted or included in Search with open web protocols, which we respect and follow. We are committed to highlighting high-quality content on the web and will continue to improve it," Liz concluded.