What happened
- On February 4, 2026, Ahrefs published an update of its study on AI-generated summaries in Google results. It measured 300,000 search terms using aggregated Search Console data.
- The click-through rate of the top organic result in searches with an AI summary fell from 0.073 in December 2023 to 0.016 in December 2025.
- In informational searches without an AI summary, the top result’s rate fell from 0.076 to 0.039 over the same period.
- Comparing the actual drop with the projected one absent AI summaries, Ahrefs attributes a 58% reduction at position one to the feature. In April 2025 the same methodology produced 34.5%.
Why it matters
- The 58% doesn’t mean a site lost 58% of its traffic. It’s the distance between what a link received and what it would have received without the summary on top. Searches without an AI summary lost almost half their clicks over the same period, and that drop is already discounted in the calculation.
- Anyone making budget decisions on a misread figure will overcorrect. The erosion of organic clicks started earlier and continues through other channels: local packs, featured snippets, shopping results.
- The hit is concentrated on explanatory content. Ahrefs measured the effect by position, and it ranges from 58% in first place to 19.4% in tenth. Anyone who depends on what-is or how-it-works articles is at the worst spot in that table.
- Ahrefs sells SEO tools. Its method is published and replicable, which makes it possible to debate. It’s worth reviewing before citing it.
The number
0.016. The click-through rate of the top organic result in searches with an AI summary, in December 2025.
Context
Since 2024 Google has maintained that links included in the summaries get more clicks than in a traditional listing. Search Console doesn’t separate clicks or impressions from the summaries from the rest of the data, so the claim can’t be independently verified with the search engine’s own tools.
What’s next
- No timelines announced. Ahrefs repeated the study in April 2025 and February 2026, and hasn’t committed to a date for the next measurement.
Bottom line
In January and February 2026 Google adjusted its ranking against sites that publish high volumes of content generated with minimal human oversight. The same search engine that reduced the incentive to produce explanatory content penalizes those who produce it by machine.