30+ AI Overview Statistics From WebFX’s 2.37M-Query Study

Key AI Overview stats

• 25.8% of 2.37 million U.S. queries include an AI Overview box. 
• 75% of AI Overview links are from the top 12 organic rankings. 
• Due to AI Overviews, 60% of searches end without users visiting websites. 
• The AI Overview rate for queries that combine seven or more words with informational intent is 65.9%. 
• Queries including both a location and brand have an AI Overview rate of 6.4%.

With Google’s AI Overviews (AIOs) answering your audience’s questions before they even get to your page, it’s natural to wonder how AI Overviews will affect your digital marketing strategies and what you can do to adapt your strategy and succeed in a world with AIOs. 

To help you make more data-driven decisions, we’ve uncovered statistics from sources like WebFX’s recent AI Overview study. These AI Overview statistics reveal the factors that influence the AI Overview rate — the percentage of searches that display an AI-generated summary — to help you understand when, where, and why AIOs appear. 

General AI Overview facts and statistics 

Here are some general Google AI Overview statistics to acknowledge this year. 

1. 25.8% of U.S. queries trigger an AI Overview. 

One in four searches is already zero-click. This will particularly affect businesses that rely on informational content to establish their expertise and drive awareness to their audience. 

This means that traffic forecasts for informational content may need some adjustments to account for the potential rise in zero-click searches. 

2. Up to a 67% higher AIO likelihood occurs in searches that include informational intent, long queries, and trust-heavy industries. 

These factors suggest that Google is using AIOs to gather and display information on complex topics in one space. For marketers, this means that top-of-funnel content, which often targets these query types, is on the front line of this SERP evolution. 

3. The likelihood of AI Overviews is reduced to 3%-10% for visual commerce queries and local or brand modifiers. 

This indicates that AIOs are currently less effective at fulfilling search needs that are highly specific, visual, or require real-time information. 

These query types represent opportunities where traditional organic listings and local pack results remain the most dominant and effective user experience. 

4. 60% of searches end without users visiting websites, due to AI Overviews. 

A Bain survey found that the zero-click trend is growing in traditional search engines like Google. Among users who are skeptical of AI, around half claim that their search queries are answered on the first page without a click. 

5. 75% of AI Overview links are from the top 12 organic rankings. 

AI Overviews often cite websites that rank well in the search results. This means that if you want to be visible to users, you need to use SEO best practices while showcasing your expertise in the field to ensure that AI Overviews see your content as useful to the searcher. 

6. Up to 75% of a mobile screen is consumed by AI Overviews and featured snippets. 

With AI Overviews and featured snippets taking up most of a mobile screen, these areas are great opportunities to improve brand recognition. As a digital marketer, you can aim to get featured in AIOs to strengthen your brand position in your niche. 

How search intent influences AI Overviews 

Whether the SERP has an AI Overview or not depends on the search intent of the query a searcher uses. Here’s a look at how different search intents impact the AI Overview rate. 

7. 39.4% of informational search queries of all lengths trigger an AI Overview. 

AI Overviews are more likely to appear for queries with informational intent because they are most helpful for educating users. So, when you create website content that answers the question “what is,” “how do I,” and “why does,” keep in mind that the SERP may start with an AI Overview. 

8. 16.5% of transactional search queries of all lengths include an AI Overview. 

Transactional queries have much lower AI Overview rates to avoid disrupting the purchase funnel on Google. This means that your bottom-of-funnel content will likely not have a decrease in organic traffic due to AI Overviews.  

9. 22.2% of commercial search queries of all lengths have an AI Overview. 

Google AI Overviews target queries with commercial intent less because they understand that users with this intent don’t necessarily want long explanations and educational content. Instead, they want to browse their options or look at reviews. 

Queries with commercial intent that do have AI Overviews often request a comparison, product alternatives, or a best product or service guide. 

10. 12% of navigational search queries of all lengths show an AI Overview. 

Navigational queries are least likely to trigger AI Overviews because the user has the intent to visit a specific brand’s webpage. These queries often include a brand name, specific page, or physical location. 

The impact of query length on AI Overviews 

Query length is another factor that influences the AI Overview rate. WebFX’s study of 2.37 million keywords shows that queries with the least words trigger fewer AI Overviews, while longer search queries trigger a higher rate of AI Overviews. 

11. There is a 19.6% chance of AI Overviews appearing when targeting 1-2-word search terms of any kind. 

This stat indicates that it is beneficial to target shorter keywords with lower AIO prevalence. But it’s important to keep in mind that one-word health terms like “eczema” can hit an AI Overview rate of 50%. 

Additionally, 1-2-word keywords are much more competitive, making them a good option only if your website’s domain rating is high. 

12. 24.1% of 3-4-word search queries show an AI Overview. 

As a slightly less competitive alternative to 1-2-word terms, these keywords offer a strategic middle-ground for marketers aiming to balance search volume with a lower AIO rate. 

13. 33.6% of 5-6-word search queries trigger an AI Overview. 

AI Overviews for 5-6-word queries are especially prevalent for “how to fix…” DIY queries. For these queries, Google’s AI Overview features information from content that is clear, concise, and directly answers the user’s question. 

This creates a clear opportunity for marketers to earn a spot in AIOs by structuring their content to be the most direct and helpful answer. 

14. 54.7% of queries with seven words or more trigger AI Overviews. 

With more than half of longer search queries triggering an AI Overview, it is likely that it will become increasingly important to incorporate SEO and AI optimization best practices into any strategy focused on long-tail keywords. 

If improved AI optimization strategies are part of your business goals for this coming year, consider leveraging WebFX’s AI search optimization services to diversify your traffic sources and maximize search visibility. 

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The combined effect of query length and search intent  

Does your SEO strategy primarily include a combination of long-tail keywords and informational intent? Here are a few AI Overview stats you might want to consider so that you know what to anticipate. 

15. A 65.9% AI Overview rate occurs for queries that combine seven or more words with informational intent. 

Marketers who rely on strategies with long-tail keywords and informational intent will feel the impact of AI Overviews the most when AIOs result in zero-click searches. 

16. 23.1% of 7-word queries with navigational intent trigger an AI Overview. 

Despite lower AIO rates with navigational queries, longer queries combined with navigational intent signals to Google that the user wants specific information or an explanation, which AI Overviews excel at. 

17. 46.1% of queries that combine seven or more words with commercial intent trigger an AI Overview. 

This means that if a user were to search “what are the alternatives to an Apple watch,” they would likely see an AI Overview of the best alternatives before they see products they can shop for. 

In contrast, a shorter, more commercially-driven query like “Apple watch alternatives” or “Apple watch deals” is less likely to trigger an AIO above the relevant shoppable options and blog articles. 

18. The AI Overview rate is 31.8% for transactional queries with seven or more words. 

When users add phrases like “get a free quote,” “best price,” “how to order,” and “where can I buy” to their transactional query, AI Overviews are more likely to appear at the top of the search to give a direct answer. 

The impact of location and brand modifiers on AI Overviews 

Here’s a quick look at how query modifiers like brand and location reduce the AI Overview rate. 

19. The AI Overview rate drops from 35.2% to 9.1% for 7+ word queries modified with locations. 

There is around a 25-point drop in AIO rate when the searcher uses location modifiers like city, state, or “near me.” 

20. 8.7% of queries including brand or retailer names trigger an AI Overview. 

Queries like “where can I buy socks at Walmart” have an even lower AI Overview rate due to the mention of brand and retailer names. 

21. Only 6.4% of queries with both a location and brand show an AI Overview. 

When your queries include both a brand and a local modifier, the AIO rate drops nearly 30 points from the AIO rate of 7-word queries without any modifiers. 

Industry-specific AI Overview statistics at a glance

Google’s AI Overview rate varies greatly depending on industry verticals. Current research shows that the difference between high-risk and low-risk industries is whether the search results include visuals, real-time information, or local relevance. 

Here’s a quick look at the 15 largest industries that surfaced AI Overviews. 

22. With a 51.6% AI Overview rate, the health industry leads high-risk categories. 

Industries with the highest AI Overview rates include health (51.6%), family and community (39%), jobs and education (33%), and finance and insurance (32.1%). 

These industries have higher risk levels because they all involve complex explanations, benefit from detailed, step-by-step guidance, and require trust and authority. These are the perfect opportunities for AIOs to pull answers from trusted sources. 

23. The food and drink industry sits near a 29% AI Overview rate among medium-risk industries. 

There are six notable medium-risk industries, with the highest being food and drink at a 29.4% AIO rate and the lowest in this category being computers and electronics at 24.3%. 

Medium-risk industries have fewer instances of AI Overviews because these searches often include more navigational and commercial intent. Additionally, the search results can include a combination of visuals and informational content, which ultimately determines whether a search will have an AIO. 

24. Apparel and real estate have AIO rates below 15% among the low-risk industries. 

Low-risk industries include art and entertainment (20.1%), dining and nightlife (18.2%), sports and fitness (17.4%), real estate (13%), and apparel (12%). 

The lower-risk industries have the least AI Overviews because these searches heavily rely on visuals, real-time information, and local relevance. 

Industry-specific queries that reduce the likelihood of AI Overviews 

Here are a few industry-specific AI Overview facts and statistics you need to know about the factors that reduce AI Overview rates, including local and brand modifiers and visual and commerce niches. 

25. Less than 10% of long SKU retail searches in the apparel industry have an AI Overview. 

WebFX’s AI Overview study shows that long stock-keeping unit (SKU) retail searches like “long sleeve rust orange dress with bell cuffs” are likely to have lower AIO rates. 

26. An 8% AI Overview rate occurs for local service queries in the home services industry. 

Queries like “plumber near me open now” will unlikely have AI Overviews because these queries have local relevance and require real-time availability information. 

27. Just 6% of brand navigation queries in the shipping and logistics industry have an AI Overview. 

Brand navigation terms like “UPS tracking” are less likely to have AI Overviews because the user typically wants real-time information, which AIOs are not quite adept at replicating at this time. 

28. 3% of local brand navigation queries in the dining and nightlife industry have an AI Overview. 

Search queries like “Pizza Hut near me” that include brand names and local modifiers have the lowest AI Overview rates because the search requires real-time information and visuals. 

29. 12% AIO rate occurs for product comparison shopping queries with commercial intent in the electronics industry. 

The AI Overview rate for the electronics industry is nearly halved from 24.3% to 12% for comparison queries with commercial intent, such as “iPhone 15 vs Samsung S24 price.” 

30. Just 6% of real-time sports score queries with informational intent trigger an AI Overview. 

While sports score queries like “Red Sox score today” have informational intent, they require real-time information, which lowers the chance of AI Overviews from 17.4% to 6%. 

Industry-specific queries with higher AI Overview risks 

Here are a few more industry insights and examples of queries that have very high chances of triggering an AI Overview. 

31. 51.6% of YMYL health terms include an AI Overview. 

Just over 50% of your-money-or-your-life (YMYL) search queries include AI Overviews, especially single-word medical searches like “chrons” and “eczema.” This is happening because Google prefers to explain trust-heavy, YMYL topics. 

To keep up, medical publishers will need to demonstrate best-in-class EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) and structured citations so that Google’s AI will recognize them as reliable sources. 

32. A 76% AIO rate occurs for long symptom health queries with informational intent. 

The AI Overview rate of these queries is heightened due to the combination of long specific queries, informational intent, and YMYL topics. 

33. 63% of business-to-business (B2B) training cost queries with informational intent trigger an AI Overview. 

Queries like “how much does PLC programming training cost” often have a high AI Overview rate because they are part of the jobs and education industry, have seven or more words, and include informational intent. 

34. A 58% AIO rate applies to early-parenting how-tos with informational intent. 

In addition to the family and community industry already having one of the highest AIO rates at 39%, informational queries like “when do babies start teething early” raise the AIO rate by 19%. 

35. 46% of DIY home-repair guides with informational intent have an AI Overview. 

While the home and garden industry has a medium AIO rate of 28.7%, that rate shoots up to 46% for queries like “how to unclog bathroom sink without plunger” when it has informational intent and requests a DIY guide. 

Unlock the potential of AI Overviews for your SEO and AI optimization strategy 

These recent AI Overview stats show that AI is changing the search landscape as we know it. Google’s AI Overviews are giving marketers reasons to acknowledge that the path to user engagement is evolving and to reshape their strategies to work with AI Overviews. 

To start maximizing the potential of your digital marketing strategy, use AI optimization services to dominate AI-powered search results like AI Overviews and Google’s AI Mode. 

With WebFX, you’ll gain data-driven strategies empowered by your unique business goals to enhance your visibility across search engines. Learn more about our AI optimization services or connect with a specialist to get assistance today.