Zero-click Google searches hit a record high, AI Mode use stays flat
What this answers
- What share of Google searches now end without a click to another website?
- About 60% in the U.S. and 59.3% in the EU/UK as of June 2026 — a record low for open-web click share — per Datos and SparkToro's Q2 State of Search report.
- Is Google AI Mode usage growing?
- Not much: AI Mode accounted for just 0.13% of U.S. search-related visits and 0.29% in the EU/UK in Q2 2026, and the report says U.S. usage has plateaued or even dipped.
Just 40% of U.S. searches and 40.7% in the EU/UK sent a click to the open web in June 2026, a record low, per Datos and SparkToro’s Q2 State of Search report as covered by Search Engine Journal. The same report put Google AI Mode at only 0.13% of U.S. search-related visits (0.29% in the EU/UK) — usage it says has plateaued or dipped in the U.S. — while paid clicks fell from 2.3% to 1.3% of U.S. searches between March and June.
Why it matters: The zero-click record and stalled AI Mode adoption together undercut the idea that AI answer surfaces are what's driving traffic away from the open web — the decline looks broader and older than that.
The record: GoogleGoogle AI ModeSparkToro
Glossary: AI Mode
Posted to the wire August 3, 2026. Edited by Joe Balewski.