AI Search Metric
Zero-click query
Also known as: zero-click search
A query the user resolves on the SERP itself without clicking any result. Zero-click rates have risen sharply with the rollout of AI Overviews and persistent ChatGPT memory.
What it is
A zero-click query is one the user resolves on the results page itself, through an AI Overview or answer snippet, without clicking any result. The need is met before any site is visited.
Why it matters
Zero-click rates have risen with the rollout of AI Overviews and persistent assistant memory, which erodes click-driven traffic and pushes value toward being the cited source rather than the clicked one.
How it works
Practitioners identify which of their queries resolve without clicks and respond by optimising for citation and brand mention within the answer, accepting that visibility there may not produce a visit.
When it applies
Account for it on informational and definitional queries most likely to be answered in place.
Examples
- A definitional query answered fully by an Overview with no click
- A brand earning a citation in a zero-click answer to retain visibility
- A team separating zero-click informational queries from click-driving commercial ones
How it is measured
- Share of impressions with no resulting click
- Zero-click rate by query type
- Impressions vs clicks gap for answered queries
- Trend in zero-click rate as AI surfaces expand
Related terms in AI Search Metric
- AI-referred trafficSessions referred from ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, and other LLM surfaces. Often under-counted in standard analytics because referrers are stripped or labelled as direct.
- Answer attribution rateThe proportion of AI answers that explicitly link back to source pages versus those that summarise without attribution. Attribution rate varies materially by platform and query type.
- Bounce-back rate (AI surface)The rate at which users return to the SERP or refine the prompt after seeing an AI Overview. Google's internal signal that an Overview failed, high bounce-back is associated with Overviews being silently removed for that query cluster.
- Brand mention rateThe frequency at which an LLM mentions a brand by name in answers across a prompt set, with or without citation. Brand mentions without citation are an early indicator of model-internalised brand awareness.
- Citation depthHow early in an AI-generated answer a source is cited. Earlier citations correlate with higher click-through from AI surfaces and stronger user trust signals.
- Citation diversity indexThe number of distinct domains an LLM cites across a prompt set, normalised by prompt count. Falling diversity in a category signals consolidation, and a closing window for new entrants.