How does Google AI Overview affect organic traffic in Brazil?

Google AI Overview significantly reduces organic traffic for sites appearing in results below it. When AI Overview is present, only 8% of users click on any link — compared to much higher rates in searches without the AI block. In Brazil, where 89.83% of internet searches occur on Google (Statcounter, Aug/2025), this impact is direct and affects any company with an active SEO strategy.

What is AI Overview and where does it appear

Google AI Overview is the AI-generated response block that appears at the top of some Google results pages — before traditional organic links. It's present in approximately 18% of all global Google searches and is shown primarily for informational queries: questions about concepts, comparisons, guides, and definitions.

For the Brazilian market, AI Overview arrived in 2024 with growing coverage and now already affects a significant portion of the highest-volume informational queries — exactly the searches that matter most for content and AIO strategies.

The impact in numbers: CTR drop when AI Overview is present

The most impactful data point about AI Overview is the CTR effect: when AI Overview is present on a SERP, the click-through rate of organic results drops to approximately 8%. In comparison, searches without AI Overview have much higher average CTRs, especially for top positions.

This means a page ranking first on Google for a query with active AI Overview may receive less traffic than a page in 3rd place for a query without AI Overview. The AI block's presence radically redistributes how traffic is distributed on the SERP.

Which content categories are most affected in Brazil

AI Overview appears most frequently for queries of the type:

• Informational and educational: "what is [concept]?", "how does [process] work?"
• Comparisons: "difference between [A] and [B]"
• Guides: "how to [action]", "step by step for [goal]"

These are exactly the queries that bring the most traffic to corporate blogs and content sites — making the impact especially relevant for companies with inbound marketing strategies based on content SEO.

AI Overview's dual logic: threat and opportunity

AI Overview is simultaneously a threat to organic traffic and a brand visibility opportunity. A threat because it reduces the CTR of links below it. An opportunity because sources cited within the AI block gain privileged visibility — appearing in the response before any organic result.

A company whose content is cited within AI Overview gains top-of-SERP presence even without ranking first in organic results. For high-frequency queries, this positioning is equivalent to a position zero — with the additional benefit of having the implicit credibility of being "recommended by Google."

How to adapt the content strategy to the new scenario

To coexist with AI Overview and, ideally, be cited within it:

• Structure direct answers: the first paragraph of each article should answer the title question completely and concisely
• Use Schema.org FAQPage: pages with structured FAQ have higher chances of being cited in AI Overviews
• Monitor via Search Console: the AI Overview report in Search Console reveals which queries are generating AI Overview for the site and the resulting CTR

FRT Digital includes AI Overview impact analysis in all AIO audits. Learn about the AIO service or start with the free AIO Score audit.