Google Says AI Search Features Send Billions of Clicks to Websites Each Week

Nick Fox, Google's head of search, announced on LinkedIn and X that AI Overviews and AI Mode send billions of clicks to websites weekly, framing AI search as designed to connect users to web publishers. Liz Reid, VP of Google Search, echoed the message. However, SERoundtable's analysis contends the claim masks a harder reality: a recent zero-click study found Google now sends only 27.6% of its clicks to the open web, and independent research suggests search traffic will halve by Q3 2027—a pattern publishers have observed firsthand. Schwartz speculates Google made the announcement partly in response to incoming New York Times reporting about Google building "an A.I. fence around the internet."