Navigating the New Search Frontier: Publisher Lessons One Year into Google's AI Overviews

TL:DR: One year since Google rolled out AI Overviews (AIO), the publishing world is in a significant recalibration phase. Publishers report lower click-through rates from AIO-featured content, leading many to shift SEO strategies away from easily summarized long-tail queries. Instead, there's a pivot towards branded searches, exclusive content, and breaking news. Measuring AIO's precise impact remains a challenge, and the looming full-scale arrival of Google's "AI Mode" is causing further concern about the future of referral traffic. These shifts offer crucial insights for any business reliant on search visibility.

We're constantly tracking the pulse of digital transformation, and right now, one of the most significant shifts is happening in the world of search, spearheaded by Google's AI Overviews. It’s been about a year since AIO started appearing more widely, and the tremors are definitely being felt, especially within the publishing industry.

A recent Digiday article shed light on how publishers are adapting—or struggling to adapt—to this new reality. This isn't just a story for media companies; it’s a case study for any business that relies on Google for traffic. As one SEO manager aptly put it, "The old rules of SEO and optimizing content don’t apply like they used to… It’s a fundamental shift that’s happening".

At Mercury, we believe in empowering businesses to thrive through technological change. Understanding these shifts is the first step. So, let's break down the key lessons publishers are learning in this AI-driven search era.

The Evolving SEO Playbook: New Rules of Engagement

For years, the SEO game for publishers revolved around identifying high-volume keywords and meticulously crafting content to rank at the top of search results. AI Overviews are forcing a strategic rethink.

• The Click-Through Conundrum: A major pain point is the observed drop in click-through rates (CTRs) when content is featured in an AI Overview.
  • Carly Steven, Mail director of SEO and editorial e-commerce, revealed that even when the Daily Mail was the top link in an AIO, they saw a staggering 43.9% lower CTR on desktop and 32.5% lower on mobile.
    
  • This has led some publishers to actively steer clear of keywords known to trigger AIOs.
    
• The Demise of "Simple Answer" Keywords: If Google can answer a query directly and comprehensively in an AIO summary, the incentive for users to click through to an article plummets.
  • Think about queries like "How much juice is in a lemon?" or those containing "how long" or "why is". Publishers are realizing it's often "not worth our time [anymore] to try to rank in search when we can get so much more traffic by optimizing for Google Discover," according to one SEO manager.
    
  • Content categories like science and health, which often deal with informational queries (e.g., "What is a hurricane?"), have seen the largest increase in AI Overviews—up about 20% from January to March 2025, according to a Semrush study. Consequently, publishers are seeing fewer click-throughs from these long-tail, informational keywords that trigger AIOs.
    

Where is the Traffic Hiding? Branded Search, Exclusives, and Urgency

If traditional informational queries are becoming less fruitful, where are publishers focusing their efforts?

• The Power of Brand: Branded searches (e.g., “NewFronts 2025 Digiday”) are emerging as more resilient.
  
  • These are less likely to trigger AIOs (only about 4.8% do, per an Amsive report).
    
  • Even when they do trigger an AIO, they see an average 18.7% increase in CTRs, a stark contrast to the 20% CTR decline for non-branded keywords. This is likely due to greater user intent and brand loyalty.
    
  • This trend unfortunately highlights a growing challenge for smaller, independent publishers lacking the brand strength of giants like The New York Times, who have reportedly suffered traffic drops. Smaller recipe sites and blogs are particularly vulnerable as users get recipes summarized directly in AIOs.
    
• The Value of Uniqueness and Speed: In response, some publishers are reinvesting in exclusives, scoops, and breaking news—prioritizing urgency over evergreen content. If the information can't be easily summarized from multiple existing sources, or if it's time-sensitive, users are more likely to click through.
  

The Measurement Black Box

A significant frustration for publishers is the continued lack of transparency from Google regarding AIOs.

• Google isn't sharing CTR data specifically from AI Overviews, nor is it separating this traffic from regular search referrals in analytics dashboards.
  
• Publishers are resorting to third-party tools (like Semrush and Moz) and internal analyses to gauge the impact.
  
  • Ziff Davis, for example, found AIOs triggered in "a little over 20%" of relevant top search queries. CEO Vivek Shah noted, "About a third of the time, we’re getting cited [in AI Overviews], and presumably citations in AIOs is a good thing. Because it comes with links. I think that [is], something to watch".
    
  • Dotdash Meredith’s CEO Neil Vogel stated AI Overviews appear for about a third of search results related to their content, and they are actively working to reduce reliance on Google referral traffic.
    
• However, these methods aren't foolproof. One news publishing executive admitted, "We’re basically relying on third-party tools, and that can be hit or miss".
  

The Looming Shadow: AI Mode

While AI Overviews present immediate challenges, many publishers view them as a precursor to an even more disruptive force: Google’s AI Mode.

• AI Mode is an experimental search feature offering a more conversational, chatbot-like experience (akin to ChatGPT Search or Perplexity), allowing users to ask follow-up questions without leaving the results page. It's powered by Google's Gemini 2.0 AI model.
  
• Though still in beta (with some testing on Google's homepage), publishers with access are concerned.
  
• News publishers, who have been somewhat insulated from AIOs as hard news queries don't often trigger them, see AI Mode as a greater threat. Real-time information categories like news and sports were least affected by AIOs, according to Semrush and Datos.
  
• One news publishing executive shared a sobering test: AI Mode ingested and summarized information from a breaking news story just ten minutes after their organization published it.
  
• Their conclusion? "AIOs is just a trial balloon to collect data for AI Mode". This sentiment underscores the growing unease about the future erosion of referral traffic.
  

My Strategic Takeaways for All Businesses

The experiences of these publishers offer critical lessons for any organization navigating the digital landscape:

1. Agility is Non-Negotiable: The digital world, especially search, is in constant flux. Your strategies must be adaptable. What worked yesterday might be obsolete tomorrow. This is where services that help you understand and adapt to new search paradigms, like our [Mercury LLM-SEO Services (Generative AI Optimization - GAIO)], become increasingly vital.
2. Brand Strength Matters More Than Ever: In an environment where generic information is easily summarized by AI, a strong, recognizable brand that users actively seek out becomes a powerful differentiator.
3. Cultivate Direct Channels: Reducing reliance on any single traffic source is prudent. Publishers are focusing on subscriptions and newsletters. What direct channels can your business build and nurture? Think email lists, communities, and apps. Our [Amalgam Membership System] and [Mercury SocialHub CRM] are designed to help businesses foster these direct relationships.
   
4. Prepare for Deeper AI Integration: AI Overviews are just the beginning. AI Mode signals a future where AI is even more deeply embedded in the search experience. Businesses need to start thinking now about how their content and data can be structured and optimized for these AI-first interactions. This is the core of "Search Everywhere Optimization" ([Mercury SEVO Services]) – being visible wherever your audience is looking, including AI-powered discovery engines.

The road ahead in search is undoubtedly changing, but with strategic foresight and a willingness to adapt, businesses can continue to connect with their audiences and thrive. This isn't a time for panic, but it is a time for proactive evolution.

What are your thoughts on AI's impact on search? How is your business preparing?