Publishers ranking #1 for competitive keywords are reporting lower click-through rates than they saw a year ago, even without losing their ranking position.
The Cause
AI-generated summary boxes sitting above traditional results now answer many queries directly, satisfying user intent before they ever scroll to a website link.
What Still Gets Clicks
- Content requiring nuance, opinion, or personal experience
- Product comparisons where trust matters
- Anything AI summaries tend to get wrong or oversimplify
Adjusting Strategy
Some publishers are shifting focus toward newsletter sign-ups and direct traffic sources, treating search as one channel among several rather than the primary one.