Google AI Mode Cut Publisher Clicks by 18.8 Points in Controlled Experiment

A preregistered field experiment with 1,100 US participants found that routing all queries into Google AI Mode reduced external publisher clicks by 18.8 percentage points versus standard Google Search. The AI Mode group also logged fewer daily search sessions and reported lower trust in the information they found.

• External publisher clicks fell 18.8 percentage points versus standard search
• News site clicks dropped 12.5 points, Reddit clicks 21.2 points, Wikipedia 9.9 points
• Participants made about 0.92 fewer daily Google search sessions
• Trust in information found on Google fell 0.34 points on a 7-point scale