What impact do AI Overviews (AIOs) have on your click-through rate?

In recent months, you may have seen your positions stagnate and your traffic evaporate. This is not a bug.

With the arrival of AI Overviews, Google is moving from search engine to answer engine.

Being first on Google no longer guarantees clicks 😬.

And when AI answers for you, clicking becomes a luxury.

7 major challenges imposed by AI Overviews

Before repairing, we need to understand where it breaks:

1. Total screen occupation: AIO is so massive that it pushes your organic results below the waterline. If you're not in the AIO summary, you're invisible.

2. The theft of informational intent: Google answers the question "What is logistics software?" End of course. The user doesn't need to click on your article or guide to get the answer.

3. Cannibalization of purchase intentions: AI is now attacking comparative queries ("Best software for..."). It takes your prospects from where they're hottest.

4. The generic content cycle: If your content resembles what AI can produce (e.g. "5 advantages of logistics"), Google uses it as free fuel without sending visitors back to you.

5. Fast-food content punishes you: If your article can be summed up in three bullet points, the AI will do it for you. Google uses your expertise to keep visitors coming back.

6. Volume keyword erosion: Search volume becomes a vanity metric if 80% of users never leave Google.

7. The shift from indexing to authority: Google no longer wants your pages, it wants your data. If you're not an "actionable" source, you're gone.

How to fight back? 7 solutions for appearing in AI Overviews

As Whitehat SEO's analysis points out, AI has inverted the value of traffic. Here's how to adapt your strategy:

1. Become AI-incitable: Structure your data (Schema Markup) so that AI can extract your information and cite you as an official source. Being incitable means producing content so clear and well-structured that the AI feels compelled to say: "According to the expertise of such and such a company, here's how to do it..."by adding a link to your site.

2. Rely on proprietary data: Publish statistics that only you possess(e.g.: "2026 report on logistics costs in Quebec"). AI is obliged to cite the source of unique data.

3. Create useful tools for your audience: Offer ROI simulators or solution configurators. AI can explain a concept, but it can't replace an interactive tool on your site.

4. Involve your experts : Produce case studies with the involvement of your engineers. Authentic human expertise is the last bastion against robotic synthesis.

5. Target the surgical long tail: shift your efforts to queries so specific (e.g. "logistics API integration for refrigerated warehouses") that AI will run out of data to answer on its own.

6. Optimize for conversion, not volume: Since you'll get fewer clicks, every visit must count. Improve your UX to capture the lead from the very first second.

7. Build your digital autonomy: Don't depend solely on Google. Use your authority content to feed your newsletters and social networks, where you own the audience.

Become the source, not just the result

Traffic referred by AI assistants converts 23 times more because it's ultra-qualified. The key is no longer to chase algorithms, but to become an unavoidable authority in your sector.

Parkour3, HubSpot Diamant partner agency in Montreal, supports Quebec companies in optimizing their digital presence. Our digital marketing experts canhelp you develop a high-performance SEO/GEO strategy, from technical audits to content creation.