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Google says its AI search features send websites billions of clicks a week
Publication date: 17.07.2026
Nick Fox, Google's SVP of Search, said the search engine's AI features send websites billions of clicks every week, while Search overall sends billions of clicks a day. He posted the claim on July 17, 2026.
Fox answered the widespread argument that AI is killing search traffic head-on: he says Google is "seeing the opposite." His position is that when people can ask whatever is on their mind, they use Search more than ever — and that ends up driving more clicks to the open web.
- Billions of clicks a week — specifically from AI features (AI Overviews, AI Mode).
- Billions of clicks a day — from Google Search as a whole.
- Google still refuses to share the underlying data on clicks from AI blocks.
- Independent studies, meanwhile, report rising zero-click rates and falling referrals for a share of sites.
According to Search Engine Land, the publication is asking Google to back the figures with verifiable Search Console metrics rather than social-media statements.
"Billions of clicks" is a web-wide aggregate that says nothing about any single site's fate — the same number can hide both AI-driven traffic gains and losses. Google still hasn't named a single verifiable figure, even as independent studies report rising zero-click rates and falling referrals. For now, the gap looks more like a dispute over narrative than a fact backed by data.
