AI Mode just rolled out in the US. we all want to know how it's going to impact website traffic. AI Overviews reduce click-through rates by 34.5%, according to our research—i expect this to have a bigger impact.
well... it turns out that Google strips out the referrer information for AI Mode clicks.
Patrick Stox has been running tests since release and just showed that AI Mode clicks are invisible in Search Console and attributed as "Direct" traffic in Analytics.
in other words, we're not allowed to see the direct impact AI Mode has on our website traffic. (because, let's face it, it won't be a positive impact.)
as Patrick explains in his article, there's some hope that AI Mode tracking might come in the future. but for now, AI Mode clicks are invisible.
here's Patrick's article for more detail: https://lnkd.in/dF6VBDw6
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