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Fewer clicks isn't bad news for a local business
When Google shows an AI summary, people click fewer links. A Pew study found clicks on a result in 8% of those visits, against 15% without a summary. For a local business that's a change in where the decision happens, not the end of being found. The goal moves from "get the click" to "be named in the answer."
What the numbers say
In 2025, Pew Research followed the real browsing of 900 adults in the United States for a month. When Google showed an AI summary, people clicked a regular result in 8% of visits. Without a summary, they did it in 15%. Clicks on the links inside the summary itself were rare: about 1% of visits. And people were more likely to end their search right there.1
Google sees it differently. Its head of Search wrote in August 2025 that the total number of clicks from Google to websites has stayed "relatively stable" year over year, and that more of them are "quality" clicks, where people don't bounce right back. Google didn't publish figures to support it.2
Two sources, two angles. Both agree the search page is changing.
Why this can work in your favor
Think about how people look for a local business today. They don't want ten links. They want a short answer: who's good, nearby, open now, and trusted. If that answer already names you, the person who calls or walks in has made up their mind before they arrive.
Fewer clicks can mean fewer curious visits and more decided ones. That's a reasonable reading of the change, not a promise: it depends on your business and your market.
Open Monday to Saturday, 8 to 6.
Accepts most major insurance plans.
Free parking behind the building.
Founded by two surgeons in 2012.
A summary only keeps a few lines of a page. Watch which ones survive. The facts that are clear, consistent and easy to check are the ones that stay.
What this means in practice
- Your basic facts matter more than ever. Name, address, phone, hours and services, the same everywhere. A summary repeats what it can confirm.
- Answer the real questions. The ones your customers ask you every week, in their words.
- Measure what counts. Calls, bookings and visits, not just website traffic.
How we get a business into that short answer is the work. Ask me about it on a free 30-minute call.
Charted and signedOctober 2026 · Alejandro Peñuela
Every claim in this article points to its source.