Google CTR Changes Report for Q2 2026 advancedwebranking.com

Between aggressive AI Overviews and heavy ad placements, organic traffic drops can feel alarming. But the data tells a much more nuanced story about the changing click patterns.

Some of the key patterns we discovered:
– In Q2, the gap in CTR between a traditional SERP and one containing an AI Overview widens on desktop for the first two positions by 6.03 pp. On mobile, this difference in CTR widens for the websites ranked first only (by 3.73 pp), but it narrows for those ranked second and third by a combined 2.92 pp when compared to Q1.
– User behavior is splitting even more by device type, with mobile searchers clicking more frequently and desktop users clicking less than just a quarter ago.
– All twenty websites ranked for branded searches on desktop were heavily impacted, witnessing changes in CTR ranging from 1.47 pp to 3.08 pp decrease for a single position.
– Query length made little difference – both short- and long-tail keywords saw shifts in their clickthrough rates.
– As many as 22 distinct industries were impacted by the recent CTR shifts.
– CTR changes occurred across all types of search intent.
– Style & Fashion is the industry with the highest decline in clickthrough rate for a single position (websites ranked first on desktop dropped by 13.31 pp in CTR).
– The highest increase in CTR for a single position was recorded in the Law, Government, & Politics industry (the CTR for the websites ranked first on mobile grew by 17.31 pp).
– and more.