AI SEO Statistics: How AI Is Changing SEO (Backed by Real Data)

SEO isn’t going away, but how we measure its success is changing fast. Between AI-powered search results, growing zero-click searches, and major shifts in how users behave online, it’s clear that the traditional SEO playbook isn’t enough anymore.

This AI + SEO Statistics resource brings together the most important data and analysis from across the industry to help you make sense of what’s really happening. If you’re a marketing leader looking for clarity on the impact of AI and large language models (LLMs) on SEO, this is for you.

The Disconnect Between Visibility and Engagement

Search volume is growing, but user clicks to websites are stagnating. The core reason is the rise of zero-click searches, where users get what they need without clicking through to a third-party site.

According to SparkToro’s study:

• In the U.S., only 41.5% of searches result in a click
• The remaining 58.5% are zero-click events

Google Search Is Still Growing

One of the most surprising data points is that Google isn’t losing ground. It’s growing.

• In 2024, total Google search volume increased by more than 20% year-over-year
• Despite this growth, clicks to third-party websites did not follow the same trend

This gap between rising search activity and declining click-throughs reinforces how much more competitive and closed the search landscape has become.

What AI Overviews Are Doing to Organic Traffic

Google’s AI Overviews, which launched in 2024, are designed to answer questions directly on the search page using AI-generated summaries. While they’re convenient for users, they reduce the need to click on organic listings.

Data from Seer Interactive shows:

• Organic click-through rates drop by 20% to 40% when AI Overviews are displayed

These summaries appear most often for informational queries—the same types of searches that content marketers have traditionally targeted to generate top-of-funnel visibility.

The Type of Search Matters

Search intent plays a central role in how AI Overviews affect visibility.

Informational queries are not only the most common type of search, but also the most likely to trigger an AI-generated summary.

This aligns with user behavior in both Google and AI platforms like ChatGPT:

• Informational queries make up 36.4% of known search intent on Google, and 52.2% on ChatGPT
• These queries often lead to AI Overviews replacing traditional organic listings
• Transactional or branded queries tend to result in more direct clicks and fewer AI interruptions

This reinforces that AI is reshaping the top of the funnel. Brands investing in awareness content need to rethink how they measure success when users are getting answers directly in the search results or LLM interfaces.

AI impacts search differently depending on query intent. Data from Datos and SparkToro break this down:

• Informational searches are most likely to trigger AI Overviews
• Commercial and research queries are somewhat affected
• Transactional and branded searches remain the least affected

This means bottom-of-funnel SEO strategies still drive traffic. But top-of-funnel content, which often fuels awareness, is increasingly being intercepted by AI summaries.

What About LLMs Replacing Google?

Despite rising interest in tools like ChatGPT, they are not displacing Google.

Here’s what the data shows:

• 21% of users visited ChatGPT monthly in Q4 2024
• 99.8% of those same users also used Google
• Google’s daily search volume is 14 billion compared to ChatGPT’s 37.5 million

Usage of AI Platforms vs. Traditional Search

Many marketers wonder whether platforms like ChatGPT and Gemini are replacing Google when it comes to search behavior. The data says otherwise. While interest in LLMs has grown, they still represent a tiny fraction of overall usage.

From SparkToro and SimilarWeb:

• In Q4 2024, 21% of U.S. web users visited ChatGPT at least once per month
• Despite that, 99.8% of those users also used Google
• Google’s daily search volume is about 14 billion; ChatGPT handles around 37.5 million prompts per day

• Other AI platforms like Perplexity, Claude, Copilot, and Gemini each account for less than 5% user adoption

This reinforces that while AI platforms are becoming a layer in the information journey, they are not replacing traditional search engines.

When Lower Traffic Doesn’t Mean Lower Revenue

A growing number of brands are reporting higher revenue despite flat or declining website traffic. HubSpot is a standout case:

• Blog traffic declined sharply in 2023 and 2024

• Yet Q4 revenue hit an all-time high

What this suggests:

• Influence and brand awareness may drive conversions even when traffic doesn’t rise
• New attribution models are better at tying business outcomes to multi-touch journeys

What It All Means for Your SEO Strategy

AI is changing how people interact with search results, and that shift means fewer guaranteed clicks. But SEO isn’t obsolete. It just needs a different approach.

For brands and marketers, this means:

• Stop measuring SEO performance on traffic alone
• Embrace influence, brand recall, and cross-channel visibility
• Optimize for discovery across platforms, not just in Google rankings

Search is still a critical discovery channel. But the way people engage with content—and what counts as a successful visit—is evolving fast.

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Sources of Information

• SparkToro: 2024 Zero-Click Search Study
• SparkToro: AI Not Disrupting Search (Yet)
• Seer Interactive: AI Overview CTR Report
• Search Engine Land: Google 5 Trillion Searches Per Year
• Seer Interactive: Why 2020’s SEO KPIs Don’t Work Anymore
• SparkToro: Traffic is Down, Revenue is Up
• SparkToro: Google vs. ChatGPT Search Volumes
• Bloomberg: Google AI Search Leaves Site Owners Behind
• SEMrush: ChatGPT Search Insights