AI Mode Keeps 3 Out of 4 Users Inside Google’s Search Panel

A new usability study of Google’s AI Mode sheds light on how people behave when search results are dominated by generative AI. Conducted by Kevin Indig, Amanda Johnson, and Eric Van Buskirk’s team at Clickstream Solutions, the research tracked 37 participants across 250 search tasks.

Core Findings From the Study

AI Mode dominates attention: In 88% of cases, the first user action was interacting with AI-generated text.
Sessions remain within AI Mode: Roughly 75% of participants never left the AI pane at all.
External clicks are rare: In more than 77% of tasks, users didn’t visit a single outside site.
Decision-making is fast: Over half of tasks were completed after only skimming AI responses.
Product previews are influential: Present in about a quarter of sessions, they kept attention for ~9 seconds and often replaced the need to click through.
AI matches sources to intent: Depending on the query, the system highlighted brands, marketplaces, review sites, or publishers.

What It Means for Publishers

For online publishers, the findings raise urgent challenges:

Traffic erosion risk: With most users staying in AI Mode, referral traffic from search may decline significantly.
Brand visibility as the new currency: Publishers need to ensure their names and content are cited inside AI responses—even if users never click through.
Trust and authority signals matter more: To be chosen as a cited source, publishers must strengthen their perceived credibility and topical expertise.
Monetization pressure: Fewer page visits mean publishers may need to diversify revenue streams beyond ad-driven traffic.

Main Takeaways

Visibility over traffic: Being cited in AI summaries is now as critical as traditional rankings.
Limited but valuable clicks: When users do exit AI Mode, it’s often with strong purchase intent.
Strategic adaptation required: SEO must evolve from chasing rankings to optimizing for AI trust and citations.

Conclusion

The study highlights a major shift in search: Google’s AI Mode keeps users inside its ecosystem, reducing traditional click-throughs. For brands and publishers, the priority is no longer just ranking—it’s ensuring their name and content appear inside AI-generated results where decisions increasingly take place.