AI Overviews data: Google visits are up but engagement is falling

Users are visiting Google more often but staying less. That’s one of several insights from a new analysis by Kevin Indig, in partnership with Similarweb, based on 5 billion search queries and 20 million websites across the U.S., UK, and Germany.

The big picture. In the U.S., visits to Google are up +9% since AI Overviews launched in May 2024. Also:

• Time on site and pages per visit are flat or falling across markets.
• Query length has barely changed.

The numbers point to a new user pattern: more frequent visits, shorter sessions – a shift toward “resolve and leave” behavior, according to Indig.

By the numbers. Google visits are up in the U.S.:

• U.S. visits rose from 26.9% to 29.1% after the launch of AI Overviews last May.
• Pageviews on websites from AI Overview keywords have grown 22%.

Meanwhile, engagement is falling:

• Time-on-site for Google.com is flat or declining in all three markets. In Germany, where AI Overviews launched two months ago, time on site dropped noticeably.
• Pages-per-visit dropped post-launch, suggesting users found answers faster.

Also, query length is mostly unchanged:

• U.S. average query length rose just +3% since January 2023, from 3.27 to 3.37 words.
• In the UK, query length declined slightly after AI Overviews rolled out.
• Germany saw a modest +0.4% increase – but that was before AI Overviews went live.

Why we care. Google AI Overviews are now seen by more than 1.5 billion searchers every month and occupy the most valuable real estate on Google’s search results. Google owns what searchers see (and don’t see), so SEOs and brands must understand how this impacts their behavior.

The report. The Data Behind Google’s AI Overviews: What Sundar Pichai Won’t Tell You by Kevin Indig