Zero-click result

A zero-click result is the successful resolution of a web query when the user gets their desired result immediately on the search engine results page without having to navigate to any followup source of information.

In 2007, Google introduced Universal Search, incorporating results from various Google services including YouTube and Google Maps. In 2009, Google introduced rich snippets, which used structured data from websites to provide snippets from the underlying page, such as restaurant reviews and social media profile overviews. In 2012, Google began displaying a Knowledge Panel, which presents information about individuals, organizations, locations, or objects directly within the search interface using data from the Google Knowledge Graph.^[1] Microsoft Bing also released a similar "knowledge and action graph" (also called Satori).^[2] In 2024, search engines began incorporating AI-generated summaries into search result pages. Google announced Search Generative Experience at a 2023 developer event; in 2024, the feature was renamed AI Overviews and released. Also in 2024, Microsoft released Bing generative search, which functions similarly.^[3] In 2025, Google introduced AI Mode, incorporating an AI-powered chatbot tab into the search interface.^[1]

Zero-click results have raised concerns among online publishers, because dwindling website traffic from users whose queries are satisfied without ever visiting the source page can lead to decreased revenue for advertising-supported publications.^[4] Nilay Patel, editor-in-chief of The Verge, coined the phrase Google Zero to refer to a point in time when Google stops providing any click traffic whatsoever.^[5] Some publishers, such as The Verge and Wired, have cited Google Zero when announcing strategies to focus more on direct relationships with readers through email newsletters and interactive offerings.^[6][7] Wired's Katie Drummond described the phenomenon as a "traffic apocalypse".^[6]

Conventional pageview tracking does not detect zero-click results, and consequently, conventional digital marketing strategies which rely on pageview analysis do not apply.^[8] There are adaptive marketing strategies which can take into account zero-click results.^[9][10][11]