Posted By: Dr. Kyle Fagala, DDS, MDS
Last updated: October 27, 2026
Key Takeaways
- Yes, on searches where they appear, AI Overviews are linked to fewer clicks. Pew Research Center found Google users clicked a traditional result on 8% of visits with an AI summary, versus 15% without one (March 2025 data).
- They don’t appear on every search. In Pew’s data, about 18% of Google searches produced an AI summary, and long, question-style searches triggered them far more often than short ones.
- Informational pages (cost questions, braces versus aligners) are the most exposed. Searches from parents ready to book are less affected by what Pew measured.
- Judge the impact by calls, consults and starts, not sessions alone. A drop in blog traffic can sit next to steady new patient numbers.
Yes, Google AI Overviews can reduce clicks to orthodontic websites, mainly on informational searches. Pew Research Center found Google users clicked a traditional search result on 8% of visits when an AI summary appeared, compared with 15% when none did. The effect is real but uneven, and it hits blog-style questions harder than booking searches.
So the honest answer is “some, on some searches.” Your cost and treatment explainers may lose visits. That doesn’t automatically mean fewer new patient calls, but it does change how you should judge SEO for orthodontists.
What are Google AI Overviews?
AI Overviews are AI-generated summaries that Google shows at the top of some search results, with links to supporting pages. Google’s guide to AI features and your website says they are meant to help people “get to the gist of a complicated topic or question more quickly,” and that they are “only shown when our systems determine that it is additive to classic Search, and as such, often don’t trigger.”
Google says there are no special requirements to be cited in them beyond being indexed and eligible to show a snippet in Search.
Do AI Overviews reduce clicks to websites?
On the searches where they appear, the best independent data says yes. Pew Research Center analyzed the real browsing activity of 900 U.S. adults during March 2025, covering 68,879 unique Google searches. Its July 2025 analysis found:
| What Pew measured (March 2025) | Page with AI summary | Page without one |
|---|---|---|
| Clicked a traditional search result | 8% of visits | 15% of visits |
| Ended the browsing session | 26% of pages | 16% of pages |
| Clicked a link inside the summary | 1% of visits | Not applicable |
Two details keep this in perspective. First, Pew found that around two-thirds of all searches ended with the person browsing elsewhere on Google or leaving without clicking a result, whether or not a summary appeared. Low click rates are not new.
Second, Google’s own guidance says that when people click from results pages with AI Overviews, “these clicks are higher quality (meaning, users are more likely to spend more time on the site).” That is Google’s claim about its own product, so weigh it accordingly, but it is a reason not to judge the change by raw clicks alone.
Which orthodontic searches are most affected?
Long, question-style searches are the most likely to show an AI summary. Pew’s underlying May 2025 report is the source dataset, and the July analysis breaks it down: just 8% of one- or two-word searches produced an AI summary, compared with 53% of searches with 10 words or more. Searches starting with question words like “who,” “what,” “when” or “why” produced one 60% of the time.
Overall, about 18% of all the Google searches in Pew’s study generated an AI summary. Here is how that maps onto the kinds of searches parents and adult patients run. The exposure ratings are our reading of Pew’s patterns, not Pew’s own categories.
| Search type | Example | Likely exposure |
|---|---|---|
| Long research question | “What age should my child see an orthodontist for an overbite?” | Higher |
| Cost and comparison | “How much do braces cost compared with Invisalign?” | Higher |
| Short local search | “orthodontist near me” | Lower |
| Branded search | Your practice name | Lower |
A practice whose traffic was mostly “how do braces work” articles will feel this more than one fed by local and branded searches. Our look at where orthodontic SEO is heading in 2026 covers that shift toward local and decision-stage content.
How can you tell if AI Overviews are hurting your website traffic?
Look at Search Console before you blame anything. Google says traffic from AI features is included in the Search Console Performance report under the “Web” search type, alongside regular results, so you won’t see a separate AI Overview line.
A simple diagnostic:
- Compare impressions and clicks over the same months year over year. Steady impressions with falling clicks on question-style queries fits the AI summary pattern. Falling impressions points to a ranking or indexing problem instead.
- Split by page type. Check blog and FAQ pages separately from your home page, treatment pages and location pages.
- Check click-through rate on your top informational queries. Search the queries yourself and see whether a summary appears.
- Rule out the usual suspects. Migrations, broken pages, seasonality and tracking changes can look like an AI problem.
- Line it up with your lead data. If calls, form fills and consults held steady, lost informational clicks may not be costing you patients.
If you’d rather have someone run this for you, it’s the kind of review that ongoing SEO services should include.
Should orthodontists judge AI-era changes by traffic or by starts?
By starts. Traffic is an early signal, not the goal.
Our take at Neon Canvas: if blog sessions dip but the phone keeps ringing and consults keep converting, your website is still doing its job. If both drop, that’s when you dig in.
The practical version: build a monthly view that shows leads by source, consults scheduled and starts, next to your search traffic. If you need help reading it, our guide to what your orthodontic marketing analytics are telling you walks through it.
The client results we point to are framed the same way. Dudley Orthodontics in Washington is a good example. Their case study reads: “After almost a year of working with the Neon Canvas team, Dr. Si’s search traffic has increased over 100% and his engagement of social media has quadrupled.” The same page notes Dr. Silas is ready to gain a greater market share, which is the point of the traffic.
How do you keep orthodontic website traffic from AI Overviews in check?
Focus on the searches and assets AI summaries don’t replace, and make your informational content worth citing. Google says the same SEO fundamentals apply to its AI features, so there’s no special trick to chase.
- Strengthen local and branded visibility. Your Google Business Profile, reviews and location pages serve the short, ready-to-book searches. Here is how to make your Google Business Profile work harder.
- Write answers worth citing. Lead with the answer, show who wrote it, and add specifics a summary can’t replace.
- Make the click worth it. Every informational page should offer a next step: a consult request, a cost guide, a smile assessment.
- Follow up fast. Fewer clicks makes every lead more valuable. A system like Contour, our new-patient automation platform, helps your team respond quickly and keep in touch.
- Balance organic with paid. Paid search lets you show up for high-intent searches on your terms. Search engine marketing can cover gaps while organic content adjusts.
For the long-term plan, including how AI search changes content strategy, see our orthodontist’s guide to GEO and AI search.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is SEO dead now with AI?
No. Google says the same SEO best practices remain relevant for AI Overviews and AI Mode, and a page must be indexed and eligible to show a snippet to be cited as a supporting link. What has changed is the value of purely informational content. Local visibility, reviews and conversion-focused pages matter more for orthodontic practices than generic articles.
How much do AI Overviews reduce clicks?
In Pew Research Center’s March 2025 data, Google users clicked a traditional result on 8% of visits to pages with an AI summary, versus 15% without one. Only 1% of visits included a click on a link inside the summary. Those figures describe searches overall, not orthodontic searches specifically, so check your own Search Console data.
What is AI Mode?
AI Mode is a Google Search feature built for questions that need more exploration, reasoning or comparison. Google says people can ask nuanced questions that might once have taken multiple searches and get an AI-powered response with links to supporting websites. It uses the same SEO eligibility rules as AI Overviews, with no extra technical requirements.
Can I stop Google from using my site in AI Overviews?
Google says AI is built into Search, so robots.txt rules for Googlebot are the control for crawling. To limit what appears from your pages, Google points to nosnippet, data-nosnippet, max-snippet or noindex. Those controls can also limit how you appear in regular results, so most practices are better off staying eligible.
Why are my Google search results suddenly looking different?
Most likely you are seeing AI features. Google shows AI Overviews only when its systems decide they add something beyond classic results, so they appear on some searches and not others. Pew found that about 18% of the Google searches it studied in March 2025 produced an AI summary, with longer questions triggering them most often.
Not sure what’s behind your traffic changes?
We’ll compare your search data with your lead and consult trends and tell you plainly what’s working. Get a free marketing audit.