# Zero-click search

> A zero-click search is a query after which users click on no result, because the results page already answers the question or they abandon or change the search. AI summaries such as AI Overviews reinforce this pattern.

- URL: https://techtafel.com/en/glossary/zero-click-search/
- Published: 13 November 2026
- Other languages: DE https://techtafel.com/glossar/zero-click-suche/

**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](https://techtafel.com/en/compare/ai-visibility-tools-comparison/) shows how to measure it.

## Sources

1. [2024 Zero-Click Search Study](https://sparktoro.com/blog/2024-zero-click-search-study-for-every-1000-us-google-searches-only-374-clicks-go-to-the-open-web-in-the-eu-its-360/), SparkToro, 2024-07-01
2. [Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/07/22/google-users-are-less-likely-to-click-on-links-when-an-ai-summary-appears-in-the-results/), Pew Research Center, 2025-07-22