Google launched AI Mode in the UK on 28 July 2025, and AI Overviews now sit above the organic results for a large share of UK searches. At Google I/O on 19 May 2026, Google put AI deeper into Search with a redesigned search box and an easier route from an AI Overview into AI Mode. For UK businesses that depend on Google for enquiries, the key question is what this does to clicks. The evidence so far points to fewer clicks when an AI answer appears.
Key takeaways
- Google launched AI Mode in the UK on 28 July 2025, and AI Overviews now appear above organic results for many UK searches.
- Studies show fewer clicks when an AI answer appears, with informational queries hit hardest and local commercial queries less exposed.
- Rising impressions alongside falling clicks in Search Console is a signal of AI Overview impact, not a reporting fault.
- For most UK small businesses, staying in AI features is likely the better bet, as opting out removes traffic and impressions from them.
What happened
AI Mode reached the UK in July 2025. Google's UK announcement, by Hema Budaraju, VP of Product Management for Search, described AI Mode as its "most powerful AI search experience yet". It appears as a tab on the results page and in the Google app. It splits a question into subtopics and runs many searches at once, a technique Google calls "query fan-out". Google said early users were asking questions "two or three times the length of traditional search queries".
The May 2026 I/O changes went further. In a post dated 19 May 2026, Elizabeth Reid, VP of Search, announced "the biggest upgrade to our Search box in over 25 years". The new box accepts text, images, files, videos and Chrome tabs, and is rolling out "in all countries and languages where AI Mode is available", which includes the UK. Users can now ask a follow-up question directly from an AI Overview and continue the conversation in AI Mode. Google also said AI Mode "has surpassed one billion monthly users". In June it said AI Overviews has more than 2.5 billion monthly active users.
Website owners now have an opt-out. On 3 June 2026, after the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) imposed its publisher conduct requirement, Google began testing a Search Console control with a subset of UK site owners. It lets a site exclude its content from AI Overviews, AI Mode and AI Overviews in Discover. Google updated the post on 31 August 2026 to say the control had rolled out to all websites worldwide.
What the click data shows
No study has measured every type of UK business, and Google disputes most third-party findings. The most-cited research is summarised below.
| Study | Market | Finding |
|---|---|---|
| Authoritas, submitted to the CMA (data from 16 to 22 April 2025) | UK news queries, 3,500 keywords | Click-through fell 47.5% on desktop and 37.7% on mobile when an AI Overview appeared |
| Pew Research Center (published 22 July 2025) | 900 US adults, March 2025 browsing | Users clicked a traditional result on 8% of visits with an AI summary, against 15% without; links inside the summary got clicks on 1% of visits |
Google called the Authoritas study "inaccurate and based on flawed assumptions and analysis" and said it had "not seen dramatic drops in aggregate web traffic". Google also says the clicks that do come from AI Overview pages are "higher quality", with visitors spending longer on sites, though it has not published figures to support this.
What this means for UK businesses
The pattern is consistent even where the numbers differ. When an AI answer settles the question, fewer people click through. This hits informational queries hardest: "how much does a boiler service cost", "what is a CAA record", "best time to post on LinkedIn". Queries with clear commercial or local intent, such as "emergency electrician Bristol", are less exposed, but not immune.
Three practical consequences follow:
- Impressions and clicks are drifting apart. You may see steady or rising impressions in Search Console while clicks fall. That gap is a signal, not a reporting fault.
- Being cited matters as well as ranking. AI Overviews link to supporting pages. Pages with clear structure, accurate facts and a direct answer near the top are easier for Google to quote.
- Opting out is a trade-off. Google says sites that opt out "will not receive traffic or impressions from our generative AI features". It says the setting is not used as a ranking signal elsewhere. For most UK small businesses, staying in is likely the better bet. Publishers whose content is the product may weigh it differently.
What to do now
- Measure your exposure. Open the new Search Generative AI performance report in Search Console. It shows impressions, pages, countries and devices for AI features, but no clicks.
- Split informational and commercial pages. Compare clicks and click-through rate for each group year on year. Informational pages losing clicks while commercial pages hold steady is the typical AI Overview pattern.
- Rework informational content for citation. Answer the question in the first paragraph, then add the depth an AI summary cannot: prices, local detail, first-hand experience, comparisons. Use clear headings and accurate structured data. The AI visibility checker shows whether a page can be read and quoted by AI search tools.
- Fix the technical basics. Google can only cite pages it can crawl and index. Run a free website audit with MakeItFlow to check titles, meta descriptions, headings, canonicals, robots.txt, your sitemap and Core Web Vitals in one scan.
- Strengthen conversion on the clicks you still get. If fewer but better-qualified visitors arrive, page speed and clear calls to action matter more. Our guide to Core Web Vitals is a good starting point.
- Decide on the opt-out deliberately. Record the decision and the date, and keep reviewing it as more data becomes available. MakeItFlow scheduled re-scans on paid plans help you confirm that nothing technical changed at the same time.
Frequently asked questions
Is AI Mode the default Google search in the UK?
No. As of 13 October 2026, AI Mode is a separate tab and is linked from AI Overviews. The standard results page with organic links remains the default. Google's I/O changes made it easier to move from an AI Overview into AI Mode, but did not replace the classic results page.
Will opting out of AI Overviews hurt my normal rankings?
Google says the Search Console control "will not be used as a ranking signal for search results outside of these generative AI Search features". The CMA's publisher conduct requirement also bars Google from penalising publishers who opt out. You will, however, lose any visibility you had inside AI features.
Can I see clicks from AI Overviews in Search Console?
Not separately. The generative AI report launched in June 2026 shows impressions only. Activity in AI features is still included in the overall Performance report, but clicks from AI features cannot be isolated there.
Related reading
- CMA Rules on Google Search: What UK Businesses Need to Know: The CMA has imposed fair ranking and publisher rules on Google Search. Key dates for UK businesses, from AI opt-outs to advance notice of ranking changes.
Sources
- Google: Introducing AI Mode in the UK (28 July 2025)
- Google: Search's I/O 2026 updates (19 May 2026)
- Google: New opportunities, control and insights for website owners (3 June 2026, updated 31 August 2026)
- Pew Research Center: Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears
- Press Gazette: Publishers lose 50% of clickthrough rate due to AI Overviews (Authoritas report)
Written by the MakeItFlow team
We build the website audit these guides are based on. Every fact is checked against the primary sources listed above and this guide was last reviewed on 30 October 2026 . How we research and check
Check your own site in 30 seconds
Run a free audit covering speed, SEO, DNS, email authentication and security headers — and get a prioritised fix list.
