Zero-click: how search works now

You no longer get traffic from Google the way you are used to. In 2024, 58.5% of all Google searches ended without a single click (SparkToro's study, based on Datos' clickstream data). And that was before AI answers truly took over.

When Google's AI Overview appears in a search result, the click-through rate for the top-ranking page drops by up to 58%, from 7.3% to 1.6%, according to Ahrefs' analysis of 300,000 keywords (December 2023 to December 2025). Overall, the share of searches with no clicks at all is now approaching 83%.

Good Google ranking is no longer enough

The change is not just about Google. Ahrefs has analyzed 15,000 searches and found that only 12% of the URLs cited by AI tools are also among Google's top 10 results. In other words, a good position in search results no longer predicts whether you will be mentioned in an AI response. In fact, it says quite clearly that you are not automatically mentioned in AI responses even if you are linked on the front page of Google.

Nor does it pay to think that this does not apply to a small market like Norway. Statistics Norway (SSB) published figures on September 25, 2026, showing that 7 out of 10 Norwegians have used generative AI in the last three months, an increase from 54% in 2025. Norway now tops Eurostat's list of AI use in Europe. According to Ipsos, over half of the population uses ChatGPT weekly, and it is by far the dominant AI service in the Norwegian market.

In other words: your customers are already there. The question is whether your business is.

Being cited by AI is not enough either

A citation means that the AI tool mentions you or links to you in its response. But whether someone actually clicks through to your website afterward is a completely different question. The more comprehensive the AI response itself is, the less reason the user has to visit the source for more details.

This means that the goal can no longer be to just be mentioned. The goal must be that what the AI actually says about you is correct, clear, and complete enough for someone to choose you based on that alone, without having to click through to confirm it. Then it's not about being found - it's about being chosen based on the information the AI reproduces. This means your content must be structured in such a way that the AI can confidently reproduce the correct message in its entirety.

Want to know more about this? Read our article What actually works in the effort for AI visibility? or read more about our service Ongoing AI optimization.

What should you do about this?

We recommend that everyone finds out how visible you are today—meaning, how strong is our position and what measures need to be taken to increase our AI visibility? Is your website structured so that an AI model understands who you are and what you offer? Is the content written in a way that is safe to cite? Are AI crawlers actually allowed in?

We have made it easy to find out. Check your visibility for free - it takes less than two minutes, and you get a concrete report based on five dimensions instead of a gut feeling.

Frequently asked questions

What is a zero-click search?

A zero-click search is a search that is answered directly on the results page - for example, in Google AI Overview - without the user clicking through to any website.

Does zero-click mean that SEO is no longer relevant?

No, but it changes what counts as a success. Traditional SEO is still important for AI models to find and understand your content in the first place. What is new is that a good Google ranking no longer guarantees you will be cited or mentioned by an AI assistant — only 12% of the URLs cited by AI tools are among Google's top 10 results.

If I get cited by an AI assistant, isn't the job done then?

Not necessarily. A citation only means that the AI tool mentions or links to you — it does not guarantee that anyone will click through. The more complete the AI response is on its own, the less reason the user has to seek out the source. The crucial factor is whether what the AI actually says about you is correct and complete enough to influence a choice, not just whether you are mentioned.

Is this relevant to the Norwegian market, or just the US?

It is highly relevant in Norway. Figures from Statistics Norway (SSB) dated September 25, 2026, show that 7 out of 10 Norwegians have used generative AI in the last three months, and Norway now tops Eurostat's list of AI use in Europe. According to Ipsos, over half of the population uses ChatGPT weekly.

What is citeability, and why is it more important than being found?

Citeability is about whether your content is structured in a way that makes it safe for an AI model to reproduce it in a response — not just whether the AI manages to find and read your website. A website can be well-crawled without being citeable. In the Sikte method, citeability is one of five dimensions, and in practice, the one that carries the most weight.

What should my business do first?

Start by finding out where you stand today: is the website structured so that an AI model understands who you are and what you offer, is the content written in a way that is safe to cite, and are AI crawlers actually allowed in? Check your visibility for free gives answers in less than two minutes.