Google is No Longer the Final Destination with Zero Click Searches

I spent the weekend with a friend catching up and talking about common interests. I haven’t seen this friend in a while and didn’t know he switched from Google’s voice search to ChatGPT. I also didn’t know that ChatGPT talks to you like a real human person. It was as if we had another buddy there.

Since AI took the mantle from the metaverse as the most talked about advent of this decade, there’s been even more chatter about zero-click searches. Many were concerned about AI reducing site traffic even further because people would get their information from the SERP and not click on any result to learn more. A seemingly shallow concern but certainly a valid one, especially as cookie deprecation was continuing to emerge more fully. Now advertisers have to worry about being resilient amidst changes to tracking in addition to not even being able to get people to their sites.

The notion of informational vs transactional searches - There’s a prevailing philosophy that transactional searches are unaffected by AI. If someone intends to purchase a product, they still cannot purchase it with AI results. They would still have to click through to the site and continue their journey there. Google’s Bard/Gemini/next name likely isn’t triggered for “light summer hoodies for men” anyways. Even if AI starts to take over the way we make purchases online, it would still happen on a brand’s site and advertisers would still collect that data. Transactional searches, being the more valuable of the two, are then unaffected because we are getting those clicks and we would continue getting those clicks.

However, this is where it begins. AI is presenting itself as the method at which people can get true and relevant information. It is combing through sites to answer ‘who, what, when, where and how’ questions, giving searchers quick answers to questions they have. Someone searching for “what to cook bone in chicken thighs at” probably already has the ingredients they need to complete this meal.

The idea of informational searches as brand effort - Although the path to purchase from an informational search is long, non-existent or at least not direct, these queries are important. Whether an AI result or a featured snippet, sites that get referenced as answers do get brand visibility. More importantly, they get the added benefit of being a ‘trusted’ Google chosen response. Google’s trust in a site is transferred to the searcher.

The persistent rise in zero-click searches - Search Engine Land recently published an article explaining that 60% of US Google searches end without a click in 2024, up from 49% in 2019 as published in an earlier article. This says a lot about how users are now using search.

Google is no longer just the final destination. People are using search as a real-time extension of their thought process. There are two main tracks - substantive or additive. 

Substance IRL - AI search results can be a means to just finishing a personal thought or settling a social debate. People will sometimes need an answer or an arbiter and AI can be just that for them. These searches can eventually lead to some sort of transaction but would likely take a while to get there.

Additive Intelligence - I’m currently in-market for a new mattress. I have a lot to consider and do not know where to start. A Google search for “what to know about buying a mattress” can be my first destination and point me to where I need to go next. I learn from this search that there are economical options that use fiberglass in their mattresses that can cause respiratory detriments. I go to YouTube or Tiktok to draw on the experiences of others, without clicking on a search result. This search becomes a zero click search.

Throughout my journey, I comb through online resources such as CNET, US News, Forbes or others to continue solidifying my decision in the type of mattress I want and the amount I am willing to pay. Due to all the searches and site visits I make, when I scroll through my social media feeds, I am now inundated with offers and promos and I finally find the one I want. I click on an Instagram ad and make a purchase.

In this case, Google was my first destination. I, maybe, used it again a little bit to get to those reputable sites but I ultimately convert on a social media ad. My journey started with a zero click search and it was powerful because it allowed me to know more about the product I needed. It helped me figure out how to think about my buying process and made me comfortable with the decision I made.

Zero click searches are signaling a new way that people are using search. New user behavior leads to different ways to generate economic value. What isn’t changing is the need to have rich content that gets featured in search results to build brand and be a contender in a person’s decision process.