Demand has not disappeared, but it has moved upstream - and brands need to be visible where it now sits.
Discovery, research, comparison and shortlisting increasingly happen inside a single AI conversation, before a click ever happens.
Organic traffic is being redistributed across channels that existing analytics infrastructure was not built to measure.
This is not a demand problem. People are still seeking information, recommendations and advice, but where they’re doing that has changed.
For many consumers, it has moved upstream into the AI conversation layer. The funnel has not gone away; it has compressed.
Our priority has always been ensuring clients’ brands are present and recommendable wherever decisions are being made.
That used to mean Google. Increasingly, it also means ChatGPT, Claude, and the platforms that sit between a consumer’s question and their first click.
Zero-click is a visibility problem, not a demand one. Brands need to be visible where demand now sits.
Recommended Reading
Semrush AI Overviews Study
Analysis of 10M+ keywords showing AI Overviews now appear for around 16% of all queries, with zero-click rates significantly higher when they do.
SparkToro/Datos: "Search Happens Everywhere"
Landmark research showing Google holds 73.7% of desktop searches when all platforms are included, with AI tools accounting for just 3.2%.
Digiday: "AI is driving more traffic, but not offsetting zero-click search"
Similarweb data showing zero-click searches for news rose from 56% to 69% between May 2024 and May 2025.