Zero-Click Searches Hit All-Time High in 2026
▼ Summary
– Google search clicks to the open web hit a record low in June, with only 40% of U.S. searches and 40.7% in the EU/UK resulting in a click.
– AI Mode usage plateaued or dropped in the U.S. (0.13% of visits) but was higher in the EU/UK (0.29%), while ChatGPT’s desktop share fell by at least 4 percentage points in the EU/UK.
– Paid clicks on Google dropped significantly from March to June 2026, falling from 2.3% to 1.3% in the U.S. and 2.4% to 1.4% in the EU/UK.
– Wikipedia rose from the seventh to the third most visited domain from search in Europe between Q2 2025 and Q2 2026, possibly as users seek to verify information from less reliable sources.
– Navigational searches declined, especially on smaller engines, while informational searches rose from 59.69% to 65.12% of U.S. searches, suggesting AI may be driving more informational queries.
The latest Datos x SparkToro State of Search Report has arrived, and the findings underscore a pivotal shift in how users interact with search engines. While artificial intelligence continues its upward trajectory, traditional search remains firmly entrenched, though the behavior of users within that ecosystem is changing dramatically.
The headline figures paint a striking picture. June marked an all-time low for the open web, with just 40% of searches in the U. S. and 40.7% in the EU/UK resulting in a click to an external site. Meanwhile, the gravitational pull of Google’s own properties is intensifying. In the U. S., 17.1% of all searches terminate on Google-owned platforms, while the EU/UK figure has climbed to 20.4%.
Interestingly, AI Mode adoption has plateaued, and may have even dipped in the U. S. market. The EU/UK shows a different pattern, with visits to AI Mode (0.29%) more than doubling the U. S. rate (0.13%). Additionally, ChatGPT’s desktop user share has fallen by at least four percentage points in the EU/UK. Knowledge and AI-focused websites are gaining ground, while Google itself has slipped out of the top 15 most-visited domains in the U. S.
Beyond these headline numbers, several subtler trends deserve attention.
Paid click volume is shrinking significantly. Given Google’s robust advertising revenues, the sharp decline between March and June 2026 is curious. U. S. paid clicks dropped from 2.3% to 1.3%, with the EU/UK experiencing a similar slide from 2.4% to 1.4%. This could signal that Google is experimenting with new approaches, leveraging its strong revenue base to test alternative surfaces. The timing aligns with record levels of users remaining within Google’s ecosystem, suggesting the company may be prioritizing engagement over immediate monetization. The expansion of AI Overviews into new territories, such as the July 2026 French rollout, or a more aggressive push for AI Mode could explain this shift. These features typically underperform traditional interfaces in advertising terms, a pattern the data supports in the EU/UK, though not consistently in the U. S.
Wikipedia is experiencing a notable resurgence. In Europe, the platform has jumped from the seventh most-visited domain via search in Q2 2025 to third place by Q2 2026. This runs counter to the prevailing narrative that website visitation is declining. The uptick may reflect users seeking to verify information they encounter from less reliable sources at a breakneck pace. Alternatively, Wikipedia’s improved search rankings could be driving the increase.
The search landscape is also shifting in terms of intent. Navigational searches have declined sharply, particularly on smaller engines like Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, and Bing, which saw steeper drops than Google’s 22.9% to 16.4% decrease in the U. S. Conversely, informational searches are on the rise. In the U. S., informational queries grew from 59.69% of all searches in Q2 2025 to 65.12% in Q2 2026, with the EU/UK showing comparable growth from 55.39% to 61.31%. The relative decline in navigational searches may simply be a function of the far more substantial growth in informational queries.
This aligns with the understanding that AI visibility drives downstream search behavior. As AI excels in the research phase, it may be generating additional informational searches within Google, even as its direct value in that area diminishes.
The full report covers additional metrics, including desktop usage, searches per user, and query length. But these are the trends that stand out most prominently.
(Source: Search Engine Journal)
