Zero-click search
A zero-click search is a search that ends without the person clicking through to any website, because the answer was shown on the results page or in an AI-generated response.
Example
Someone searches for the opening hours of a local museum, sees them on the results page, and leaves. Another person reads an AI-generated summary that answers their question and never clicks any of its links.
Why it matters
When answers appear directly on the page, being visible in the answer can matter even without a click. A brand named in an AI summary may influence a decision the person makes later, through a direct visit or a search for the brand name, which is hard to connect back to the original search.
This is one reason teams track presence in answers, such as mention rate and citation share, alongside referral traffic. Clicks alone can understate how often a brand is seen.
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