Zero-click describes searches without a click to a website. Typical triggers are featured snippets, weather and calculator results, knowledge panels and now AI answers directly on the results page.
A 2024 SparkToro study using Datos clickstream data put a number on it: 59.7 percent of Google searches in the EU and 58.5 percent in the US ended without a click. Out of every 1,000 Google searches in the EU, 374 clicks went to the open web.
AI Overviews intensify the pattern. In 2025, the Pew Research Center measured clicks on traditional results in 8 percent of US visits with an AI summary, compared with 15 percent without one. Both studies measure correlations in a panel, not causes.
For brands, visibility within the answer itself gains weight. Our comparison of AI visibility tools shows how to measure it.