Zero click search is when someone searches and then leaves the results page, or searches again, without clicking through to a website. In the UK, it now covers about seven in ten Google searches, according to SparkToro’s 2026 study using Similarweb data. For a UK B2B firm, this does not mean search has stopped working. However, it does mean you should find out which searches still bring you enquiries, decide whether you want to appear in AI answers, and build a route to buyers that does not rely on a click.
Results Driven Marketing (RD Marketing) wrote this guide. We sell B2B data and managed outreach, so we have an interest in telling you not to rely on search alone. To keep it fair, we link our sources and flag every figure we made up as an example. We also say what the evidence cannot show.
Written by Iain Irvin, Director of RD Marketing. Iain worked in telesales, business development and sales management before starting the business, and has more than 15 years of experience in B2B marketing data and lead generation. Figures, rules and sources checked on 6 November 2026.
Contents
- Zero Click Search in the UK: The Figures
- What the Figures Do Not Show
- What Popular Guides Leave Out
- Which of Your Searches Are Most at Risk?
- How to Audit Your Own Clicks
- Should You Opt Out of Google’s AI Features?
- How to Be Part of the Answer
- Routes to Buyers That Do Not Need a Click
- What This Guide Does Not Claim
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Talk to Us
Zero Click Search in the UK: The Figures
SparkToro compared Google searches in six countries, using Similarweb’s desktop and mobile panel from January to April 2026. The UK had the highest zero click rate of the six, as the table below shows.
| Country | Zero click searches | Searches with a click | Clicks to the open web per 1,000 searches |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | 69.5% | 30.5% | 232 |
| US | 68.0% | 32.0% | 231 |
| France | 65.3% | 34.7% | 271 |
| Canada | 63.8% | 36.2% | 268 |
| Italy | 63.4% | 36.6% | 280 |
| Germany | 62.1% | 37.9% | 287 |
In other words, for every 1,000 UK Google searches, about 232 clicks reached a website outside Google. That count includes clicks on paid adverts as well as ordinary results, so the unpaid share is smaller still.
The UK’s 69.5% also splits into two very different things. In 43.1% of searches the session simply ended, whereas in 26.4% the person searched again. So a zero click search is not always a satisfied searcher. Sometimes they just have not found what they need yet.
What the Zero Click Search Figures Do Not Show
These figures are useful, but they are easy to overstate. Before you change your budget, keep four limits in mind.
- They cover all searches. Weather, sports scores and shopping all count. We found no published UK figure for B2B buyers alone.
- They come from a panel. SparkToro also notes that searches in the Google app are not included, so the true rate could be higher.
- The trend mixes sources. SparkToro puts Google’s zero click rate at about 45% in 2016 and 68% in the US today. However, those years use different panels, so SparkToro warns that the comparison is not exact.
- AI is only part of the story. The rate was already high before AI Overviews arrived. Even so, AI summaries do appear to reduce clicks, as the next point shows.
The clearest evidence on AI comes from the Pew Research Center, which tracked 900 US adults in March 2025. They clicked a standard result on 8% of visits to pages with an AI summary, compared with 15% on pages without one. Moreover, they clicked a link inside the summary on just 1% of those visits. This is US data from 2025, so please treat it as a guide rather than a UK measure.
What Popular Zero Click Search Guides Leave Out
On 6 November 2026, we ran this search on DuckDuckGo’s UK setting and collected 11 different results. Two blocked our checker, so we read the other nine. Here is what we found, although we have not tested the advice these pages give.
- None mentioned the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which has imposed new rules on Google in the UK.
- Only two mentioned the UK at all. One gave a combined EU and UK figure, and the other pointed readers to a separate post.
- None mentioned outbound marketing as a way to reach buyers who no longer arrive by search.
The nine were Bain, click.co.uk, HubSpot, Neil Patel, Semrush, SEO.com, Similarweb, SparkToro and Wikipedia. That is a small sample from one search engine on one day, so it is an observation rather than a study. Still, it explains the focus of this page: UK figures, UK rules, and a practical check you can run on your own site.
We have already covered the wider argument in Google AI Overviews and website traffic, where Iain asks what businesses now receive in return for their content. This page does not repeat that. Instead, it sets out what you can do next.
Which of Your Searches Are Most at Risk?
Not all searches behave alike, so a single rate tells you little about your own business. The ratings below are our judgement, rather than measured results, and you should test them against your own data.
| Search type | B2B example | Risk of no click | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quick fact | “TPS meaning” | High | Answer clearly, but do not count on enquiries |
| Explainer | “what is a SIC code” | High | Add your own data or examples, so there is a reason to cite you |
| Comparison | “best telemarketing data providers” | Medium | Publish prices, tables and evidence that a summary cannot fully replace |
| Supplier search | “buy care home data” | Lower | Make prices, proof and the next step clear on the page |
| Your company name | “RD Marketing reviews” | Lower | Keep your details consistent wherever they appear |
| Local | “accountants Newcastle” | High, but not always bad | Keep your Business Profile up to date, as a call from the map listing is still a lead |
That last row matters. A zero click search can still win business if the buyer sees your name and phones you. Likewise, SparkToro lists branded, local and high-intent searches among the categories that still benefit from SEO.
Length is another clue. In Pew’s US data, only 8% of one- or two-word searches produced an AI summary, compared with 53% of searches of 10 words or more. So long questions are the ones to watch first.
How to Audit Your Own Clicks
You can run a first check yourself, using Google Search Console and your enquiry records. Compare the same months in two different years, so that seasonal swings do not mislead you.
- Remove your brand. Filter out searches that contain your company name, because those behave differently.
- Export your top pages. For each one, note impressions and clicks in both periods.
- Add enquiries. Next, record how many enquiries each page produced. This is the step most people skip, yet it is the one that matters.
- Check AI visibility. Open the generative AI reports in Search Console, which Google says reached all sites by 31 August 2026. Google’s announcement lists impressions, pages, countries, devices and dates, but not clicks.
- Ask new enquirers. Finally, add “How did you hear about us?” as a free text question on your form. Someone who saw you in an AI answer will not appear in your traffic reports.
How to read the results
The table below shows how to read the results. Every figure in it is made up to show the method.
| Page | Impressions (then, now) | Clicks (then, now) | Enquiries (then, now) | What it suggests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Explainer guide | 10,000, 12,000 | 300, 120 | 0, 0 | Seen more, clicked less, no commercial loss. Likely zero click search, so leave it |
| Comparison guide | 4,000, 3,000 | 160, 60 | 6, 3 | Seen less as well as clicked less. Fix this page first |
| Service page | 2,000, 2,000 | 100, 90 | 8, 8 | Stable. Protect it |
| Total | 16,000, 17,000 | 560, 270 | 14, 11 | Clicks down 52%, enquiries down 21% |
On these figures, a report showing only total traffic would cause alarm over the wrong page. The explainer lost the most clicks, but it never produced an enquiry. By contrast, the comparison guide lost far fewer clicks and cost real business. That is the point of adding the enquiry column.
Should You Opt Out of Google’s AI Features?
This is a real choice for UK firms, or it soon will be. On 3 June 2026, the CMA imposed a publisher conduct requirement on Google. The CMA’s summary sets out the points that matter most to a business website.
- It is not only for news sites. The summary defines a publisher as any party that makes content available on the web.
- The dates are close. Google has until 3 December 2026 to comply, with a further three months for a page-level control. The CMA says parts of the controls are already rolling out.
- Google cannot punish you for using them. It must not penalise publishers, for example by downranking them in the rest of Search.
- Credit and data should improve. Google must take reasonable steps to attribute content clearly and accurately, and must provide detailed engagement metrics. Its compliance reports are also due every six months in the first year.
Our view on what to keep in
In our view, most B2B firms should not opt their whole site out. Your explainers already earn few enquiries, so being named in an AI answer may be the main value left in them. On the other hand, we would look closely at original research you paid to produce, once page-level control is available. If people can get your findings without visiting, you lose the reason you funded the work.
| Type of content | Our starting view | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Explainers and FAQs | Stay in | Few clicks either way, so being named is the main gain |
| Service and pricing pages | Stay in, then monitor | You want AI answers to describe your offer accurately |
| Paid-for original research | Review page by page | A summary could replace the visit you hoped to earn |
| Paid or gated material | Review with your adviser | The value lies in access, so check how it is exposed to search |
This is general guidance rather than legal advice, and the tools are still changing. Google’s documentation currently points site owners to existing controls such as nosnippet and max-snippet, which also limit what appears in ordinary results. So check the latest position before you change anything.
How to Be Part of the Answer
Google says there are no special requirements for appearing in AI Overviews or AI Mode. A page must simply be indexed and eligible to appear with a snippet. It adds that you do not need new machine-readable files or special schema. Be wary, then, of anyone selling a secret method.
Even so, you can make your pages easier to use as a source. Here is what we would do.
- Answer first. Put the direct answer in the opening lines, then add the detail below it.
- Publish something only you can. Your own prices, counts, surveys and worked examples give people a reason to name you.
- Name the expert. Show who wrote the page and why they know the subject, and link to their profile.
- Be consistent. Describe your company in the same way on your site, your profiles and third-party sites.
- Earn mentions elsewhere. Pew found that Wikipedia, YouTube and Reddit made up 15% of sources in the AI summaries it examined, so your own site is not the only place that counts.
Nobody can promise a citation, and that includes us. Furthermore, a citation alone may bring little traffic, given how rarely Pew’s panel clicked those links. Therefore, judge this work by whether more people arrive already knowing your name, not by visits alone.
Routes to Buyers That Do Not Need a Click
The other half of the answer is to reduce your dependence on any one channel. With outbound contact, you choose who hears from you, so it does not matter whether they searched today. We sell several of these services, so please weigh that when you read the table. Prices are our published prices, before VAT.
| Route | Rule to check first | Cost to start |
|---|---|---|
| Your own customer and enquiry list, updated with data cleansing services | Keep a record of objections and of why you hold each contact | Ask us for a quote |
| B2B email lists or managed email campaigns | ICO B2B guidance: sole traders and some partnerships are treated differently | Data from £295 per 1,000, for under 2,500 contacts |
| Telemarketing data | Screen against the TPS and CTPS, as registration can take 28 days to become active | From £295 per 1,000, for under 2,500 contacts |
| Direct mail data | UK GDPR, including a lawful basis for named contacts | From £295 per 1,000, plus print and postage |
| Managed LinkedIn outreach | LinkedIn’s user agreement restricts automated activity, so ask any provider how it protects your account | From £349 per month |
| Trade press, events and podcasts | Follow the channel’s rules when you contact people later | Varies, and we do not sell these |
The stakes for direct marketing are real, as the ICO can issue PECR fines of up to £17.5 million or 4% of global turnover. Our guide to outbound lead generation covers the rules and a first campaign in more detail. To size an audience, you can start with our industry databases or job role databases.
Make each visit count
Fewer visits also make each one worth more, so check what your site does with them. In our UK B2B Enquiry Experience Study 2026, only 27 of the 100 websites we audited clearly explained what happens after someone makes contact. A single line setting out the next step is a cheap fix.
One customer, a marketing agency, described its experience of our data like this:
“Results Driven Marketing were great to deal with. They took time to understand what we were looking for and the data we purchased was highly accurate. It generated new clients for our marketing agency from the get-go and we have no problem recommending their data to our clients too”
Managing Director, Starlight Communications
What This Guide Does Not Claim
- We do not claim that SEO is dead. Your best supplier and brand searches may still be your best source of leads.
- We do not know the zero click search rate for your buyers, and neither does anyone else without your data.
- We have not measured how AI citations affect sales, because we found no reliable UK figure.
- Outbound contact is not a guaranteed replacement for lost traffic. No supplier can promise sales or meetings, and neither can we.
- Our guide review covered nine pages on one day, so other guides may well cover these points.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a zero click search?
It is a search that ends without a click through to a website or another destination. The person may have read the answer on the results page, given up or searched again.
How common are zero click searches in the UK?
SparkToro and Similarweb put the UK figure at 69.5% of Google searches from January to April 2026. That was the highest of the six countries studied. It covers all searches, not just business buyers.
Are zero click searches bad for my business?
Not automatically. Many of the searches you lose, such as quick facts and definitions, may never have produced enquiries. So compare clicks against enquiries for each page before you decide there is a problem.
Do AI Overviews cause zero click searches?
They contribute, but they are not the only cause. Rates were already high before AI Overviews launched. However, Pew found that US users clicked results on 8% of visits with an AI summary, against 15% without one.
Can I stop Google using my content in AI Overviews?
The CMA requires Google to give UK publishers effective controls, with a deadline of 3 December 2026 and a further three months for page-level control. Google must not penalise you for using them. Check the latest guidance before you act.
Should I still invest in SEO?
Yes, in our view, but be selective. Prioritise supplier, comparison and brand searches, and write explainers mainly to be cited. In addition, build at least one route to buyers that does not rely on search.
Talk to Us
Worried that zero click search is cutting your enquiries? Tell us who you want to reach, and we will send you a free audience count and quote within 24 hours, along with a sample. We can supply the data for your own team or manage email and LinkedIn outreach for you.
Contact RD Marketing today to discuss your target market.