It’s no secret that AI Overviews are shifting how users click through search results. But rather than relying on guesswork, we wanted exact numbers. That’s why we added a new dimension to our free Google CTR tool to analyze this impact on each of the top 20 SERP positions.
We’ll integrate these findings into our quarterly analysis, which breaks down the evolution of Google CTR values from Q1 to Q2 2026. The data is pulled from an extensive industry-wide dataset consisting of millions of search terms and thousands of websites.
TLDR
In Q2, the gap in CTR between a traditional SERP and one containing an AI Overview widens on desktop for the first two positions by 6.03 pp. On mobile, this difference in CTR widens for the websites ranked first only (by 3.73 pp), but it narrows for those ranked second and third by a combined 2.92 pp when compared to Q1.
User behavior is splitting even more by device type, with mobile searchers clicking more frequently and desktop users clicking less than just a quarter ago.
All twenty websites ranked for branded searches on desktop were heavily impacted, witnessing changes in CTR ranging from 1.47 pp to 3.08 pp decrease for a single position.
Query length made little difference - both short- and long-tail keywords saw shifts in their clickthrough rates.
As many as 22 distinct industries were impacted by the recent CTR shifts.
CTR changes occurred across all types of search intent.
Style & Fashion is the industry with the highest decline in clickthrough rate for a single position (websites ranked first on desktop dropped by 13.31 pp in CTR).
The highest increase in CTR for a single position was recorded in the Law, Government, & Politics industry (the CTR for the websites ranked first on mobile grew by 17.31 pp).
Methodology
We calculated the CTR averages for each position for Q2 2026 (April-June interval) and compared them against the ones retrieved for Q1 2026 (January-March). All significant changes were included in this analysis and expressed as percentage points (pp).
The data set is international and comprises all the available markets, such as the US, UK, etc.
Since clicks and impressions go hand in hand when projecting estimated traffic, we also correlated these CTR changes with search demand data at an industry level.
For each industry, we determined the average number of impressions in Q2 2026, compared it to Q1 2026, and expressed the difference as a percentage.
CTR Shifts by AIOs Presence
Note: the methodology for this section remains identical, with one key distinction - the dataset analyzed reflects US market data exclusively.
Ranking in the first two positions on desktop in a SERP without any AI Overviews brought 29.05% of the potential organic traffic to those websites in Q2. When an AI Overview is present in that SERP, the total amount of clicks for those two positions drops to 10.04%. Moreover, the difference in CTR loss (now at 19.01 pp) is higher by 6.03 pp when compared to the previous quarter.
As for the mobile queries, ranking first in Q2 means receiving 35.95% of the clicks in an AIO-free SERP and only 8.51% when AI Overviews are present. This 27.43 pp difference is increasing by 3.73 pp loss in CTR when compared to Q1. Meanwhile, AIOs’ presence influenced the CTRs to a lower degree for the websites ranked second and third on mobile (from 11.13% to 8.95% combined). Surprisingly, this gap was even narrowing this quarter by a combined 2.92 pp when compared to the previous quarter.
CTR Shifts Across All Searches
When aggregating data across all industries, desktop and mobile clickthrough rate values went in opposite directions this time around. More precisely, the first two positions’ clickthrough rates for desktop queries decreased by a combined 5.27 pp, whereas mobile CTRs for those same spots grew by 6.59 pp.
CTR Shifts in Branded vs. Unbranded Queries
The decline in CTR on desktop and growth on mobile pattern was also reflected when segmenting by branded and unbranded queries.
Specifically, for searches containing particular brand or business names, all twenty websites were heavily impacted on desktop, witnessing changes ranging from 1.47 pp to 3.08 pp decrease for a single position. Meanwhile, on mobile, the changes affected the websites ranked first only, which registered a 1.40 pp boost in CTR.
As for the unbranded queries, the changes affected the websites ranked in the first two positions only, which experienced a combined 5.40 pp drop in CTR on desktop and a 7.71 pp combined growth on mobile.
CTR Shifts by Search Intent
The websites ranked in the first three positions for informational queries (containing words such as what, when, where, how, etc.) recorded a combined 5.15 pp decrease in CTR on desktop. On mobile, the decline affected the websites ranked in the first two positions only, which witnessed a combined 7.86 pp increase in clickthrough rate.
The websites ranked in the first five positions for commercial queries (containing words such as buy, price, etc.) recorded a combined 9.72 pp decline in CTR on desktop. On mobile, the change was limited to the top two spots, which recorded a combined 6.19 pp growth in clickthrough rate.
As for location searches, the websites holding the first and third positions on desktop registered drops of 2.85 pp and 1.13 pp, respectively. Simultaneously, on mobile, the websites ranked first witnessed a 4.84 pp boost in CTR.
CTR Shifts by Keyword Length
Short or long keywords alike, CTR performance moved on every front:
for 1-word queries, the websites ranked in the first two positions recorded a combined 5.64 pp decline in CTR on desktop (4.15 pp for those ranked first and 1.49 pp for those ranked second) and a 9.84 pp combined growth on mobile (7.42 pp for those ranked first and 2.42 pp for those ranked second).
for 2-word queries, a similar trend to the 1-word queries occurred, with the same positions being affected by the changes. More precisely, the first two positions recorded a combined 3.92 pp loss on desktop and a 5.10 pp boost on mobile.
for 3-word queries, the top four positions registered a combined 6.86 pp decline on desktop, while on mobile, the websites ranked in the first two positions were the only ones influenced by changes, witnessing a combined 5.25 pp increase in CTR.
for queries containing 4 or more words, the growth in CTR for the websites ranked in the first two positions on mobile equaled a combined 7.91 pp, while on desktop, the top five positions suffered a negative impact on their clickthrough rates (11.15 pp combined).
Winning and Losing Industries by CTR Evolution
Integrating search demand with CTR data offers a clearer picture of organic traffic trends than rankings alone.
Traffic grows when demand and clickthrough rates rise together, and drops when both decline.
This chapter examines CTR trends across industries, organized by quarterly shifts in search demand.
A. Industries where the search demand increased
The websites ranked first on desktop in the Arts & Entertainment industry can consider themselves quite fortunate this quarter, increasing their CTR by 2.40 pp. Meanwhile, on mobile, the clickthrough rates for the websites ranked first registered a growth of 2.81 pp, while the number of impressions for this market grew by +67.79%.
In the Science industry, the websites ranked in the first three positions experienced a combined 5.84 pp increase in CTR on mobile (2.50 pp for those ranked first, 2.06 pp for those ranked second, and 1.28 pp for those ranked in the third position).
Coupled with a growth of +61.36% in search demand, it’s highly probable that the websites ranked in those three positions noticed a spike in organic traffic.
A massive upward trend was recorded in the News market, where the websites ranked in positions 4-10 on desktop witnessed a combined 9.42 pp drop in CTR. Conversely, on mobile, the changes affected the websites ranked first only, which registered a 3.91 pp increase in CTR, while the industry’s total search demand grew by +30.31%.
Desktop and mobile CTR values went in opposite directions this time around in the Technology & Computing market. On desktop, the top five ranked websites experienced a combined 9.33 pp loss in clickthrough rate. In contrast, the situation was reversed on mobile devices, where the websites ranked in the first two positions witnessed a combined 6.98 pp boost in CTR. Simultaneously, the industry’s overall search demand recorded a +24.25% growth.
A similar trend occurred in the Business industry, where, just like in the Technology & Computing market, the very same positions were affected, while the impressions increased (by +2.82%). Here, the websites ranked in the first five positions on desktop recorded a combined 10.42 pp drop in CTR, while mobile clickthrough rates for the first two positions improved by a combined 11.59 pp.
The Education market also saw contrasting trends across devices during this period. Here, on desktop, the top five-ranked websites witnessed a 17.02 pp decline in CTR, while on mobile, only the first three positions’ clickthrough rates were affected, experiencing a combined 14.26 pp boost. Simultaneously, during this second quarter, the search demand increased by +23.95%.
As for the Hobbies & Interests industry, the websites ranked first on mobile recorded a 4.28 pp growth in clickthrough rate. Surprisingly, on desktop, the websites ranked in the first three positions weren’t influenced by the changes, while those in the fourth and fifth positions recorded drops of 1.63 pp and 1.17 pp, respectively. Here, the search demand grew, recording a +16.90% boost.
And now let’s jump to the industry with the highest increase in clickthrough rate for a single position: Law, Government, & Politics. Here, the CTR for websites ranked first on mobile grew, on average, by a remarkable 17.31 pp.
The growth extended to the websites ranked second on mobile, as well, which recorded a 5.96 pp increase in CTR.
Meanwhile, on desktop, the CTR values experienced contrasting changes during this period. Here, the website holding the first position witnessed a 3.28 pp loss, while those in the second and third positions recorded increases of 1.99 pp and 1.42 pp, respectively.
Alongside these changes, the industry’s overall search demand grew by +13.95%.
One last market where the search demand grew (by +10.52%) is Travel. Here, on mobile, the websites ranked in the first two positions witnessed a combined 3.41 pp growth in their average CTR. These gains stood in sharp contrast to desktop performance, where the websites ranked first, second, and fourth suffered a combined 4.45 pp decline in clickthrough rates.
Here’s a visual round-up of the changes mentioned in the nine industries above:
B. Industries that experienced a drop in search demand
The highest decrease in impressions (-66.93%) was recorded by the Shopping industry. As for the CTR values, the websites ranked in the first two positions experienced a combined 7.87 pp loss on desktop (5.36 pp for those ranked first, and 2.51 pp for those ranked second). On a more positive note, the websites ranked first on mobile queries witnessed a 1.11 pp growth in CTR.
The clickthrough rates for the top six positions on desktop in the Sports market registered a combined drop of 12.80 pp. Coupled with a decline of -47.89% in this industry’s overall search demand, it’s highly probable that the websites ranked in those six positions noticed a loss in organic traffic.
A similar trend occurred in the Food & Drink industry, where, just like in the Sports category, only the desktop queries were impacted, while the impressions dropped (by -27.17%). Here, the websites ranked in the first four positions on desktop recorded a combined 9.00 pp drop in CTR.
Desktop and mobile CTR values went in opposite directions this time around in the Home & Garden market. The websites ranked first witnessed a 4.06 pp loss on desktop and a 3.91 pp boost on mobile devices. Simultaneously, the industry’s overall search demand recorded a -39.50% decline.
The Real Estate market also recorded mixed CTR results across devices. On desktop, the websites ranked in the first five positions experienced a combined 8.89 pp loss in clickthrough rate, while on mobile, the websites holding the first spot witnessed an impressive 8.54 pp growth. Alongside these changes, the industry’s overall search demand fell by -20.07%.
Despite a -19.62% decrease in search volume for the Health & Fitness category, mobile clickthrough rates for the first two positions improved by 7.04 pp and 1.74 pp, respectively. However, desktop performance told a different story, with a combined 8.74 pp loss for the websites occupying the first five positions.
The websites ranked in the first six positions on desktop in the Personal Finance industry attracted fewer clicks than in the previous quarter, witnessing a combined 13.42 pp decline in CTR. Conversely, on mobile, the changes affected the websites ranked in the first two positions only, which registered a combined 9.32 pp growth in CTR, while the industry’s total search demand dropped by -19.17%.
And now let’s jump to the industry with the highest decrease in clickthrough rate for a single position: Style & Fashion. Here, the CTR for websites ranked first on desktop dropped, on average, by a remarkable 13.31 pp.
The decline extended to the websites ranked in the second, third, fourth, and fifth positions on desktop, as well, which recorded a combined 11.58 pp decrease in CTR. As for the mobile queries, the CTRs remained relatively stable, while this market’s total number of impressions decreased by -2.78%.
Despite recording a drop in search demand (-19.14%), there’s still a glimmer of hope for the websites in the Pets industry. Or, at least for the websites ranked in the first two positions on mobile searches, which recorded a combined 7.96 pp increase in clickthrough rate.
Being the industry to record the highest growth in clickthrough rate in the previous quarter, Family & Parenting experienced contrasting changes this time. Here, the websites holding the top three positions on desktop recorded a combined 13.76 pp decline in CTR. As for the mobile queries, only the websites ranked in the first two positions were influenced by the changes, recording a combined 11.66 pp boost, while the industry’s overall search demand decreased by -17.53%.
The websites ranked in the first three positions on mobile in the Careers industry attracted more clicks than in the previous quarter, witnessing a combined 13.28 pp increase in CTR. Conversely, on desktop, the changes affected the websites ranked first and second only, which registered a combined 5.66 pp drop in CTR, while the industry’s total search demand dropped by -12.46%.
As for the Automotive industry, the clickthrough rate for the websites ranked first registered an increase of 4.62 pp on mobile, while on desktop, the websites ranked in the first two positions were influenced by the changes, recording a combined 3.16 pp decline. Here, the market’s search demand contracted by -17.21%.
Last but not least, with a -12.34% drop in search demand, the Society market recorded changes on both desktop and mobile devices. The websites holding the top four positions on desktop registered a combined 10.01 pp decline, while on mobile, the changes affected the websites ranked in the first two positions only, which witnessed a combined 4.98 pp growth in CTR.
Here’s a graphical summary of all the changes presented above:
That’s it…for the second quarter
After two quarters of desktop clickthrough rates rising, the performance tables have officially turned. Mobile CTR growth is back in the driver's seat as desktop values drop, reminding SEOs to reassess this metric frequently.
Platform splits hit every business differently. Advanced Web Ranking brings clarity to your search data by measuring exact pixel depth alongside desktop and mobile CTRs.
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Stay tuned for our Q3 2026 report, where we’ll dive deeper to determine whether this shift signals a permanent trend or a temporary seasonal spike. Until then, stay safe and healthy!
Article by
Dan Popa
Dan Popa is an Online Marketing Strategist at Caphyon. He is passionate about both Online and Offline Marketing and he's always looking for new ways of applying the basic principles of marketing in the fast-evolving SEO field. He's always in the mood to chat about new creative ideas for campaigns, so you can find him on Twitter.
