Something’s shifted in how Google Search works, and the data’s finally in to quantify it. Adthena just published analysis of 21 million search engine results, and the findings are stark: Google’s AI Overviews are measurably reducing paid ad visibility across search results.
For anyone spending money on Google Ads, this is worth paying attention to. The SERP layout has fundamentally changed, and it’s affecting how and when your ads actually appear.
AI Overviews Are Pushing Ads Down the Page
Here’s what’s happening: when Google’s AI Overviews appear—those AI-generated answer boxes at the top of search results—they’re taking up prime real estate that used to go to paid ads. Your ads are still running, but they’re appearing lower on the page, sometimes pushed below the fold entirely.
The Adthena research shows this isn’t uniform across the board. Different industries are experiencing varying levels of impact. Some sectors are seeing minimal changes, whilst others are watching their paid ad visibility drop significantly. Product searches tend to still show shopping ads prominently, but more informational queries are seeing ads displaced.
What makes this particularly challenging is that it’s not something you can simply optimise around with better bid strategies or ad copy. The SERP structure itself has changed, and adapting requires rethinking campaign approach rather than just tweaking existing settings.
What This Means for E-commerce
Lower visibility typically means fewer impressions, which affects overall traffic from paid search. For e-commerce businesses, this changes the economics—you’re potentially getting less exposure for the same spend. It’s something I’m watching closely because it fundamentally alters how paid search performs compared to historical benchmarks.
The key is understanding that this is a platform-level shift, not an account-level problem. Everyone’s dealing with it, which means competitive dynamics are shifting across the board.
The CTR Quality Question
There’s been interesting discussion this week about click-through rates and whether high CTR is actually desirable. The argument—which makes intuitive sense—is that CTR alone doesn’t tell you much about campaign success. What matters is whether those clicks convert into customers.
Think about it: if your ads are getting loads of clicks from people who aren’t interested in buying, you’re just burning budget faster. A lower CTR that represents more qualified traffic could actually deliver better business outcomes and profitability.
Quality Over Volume
This reframes the traditional approach to campaign optimisation. Rather than chasing every possible click, there’s value in ad copy that actively qualifies potential customers before they click. If someone sees your ad and recognises they’re not a good fit, that’s actually a win—you’ve saved the cost of that click.
For e-commerce, this might mean being more specific about pricing, product details, or who the product is actually for. The goal shifts from maximum clicks to maximum relevant clicks that actually convert.
Q4 Preparation Is Now
For online retailers, Q4 is make-or-break season. Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas shopping compress into a few intense weeks where both traffic and competition spike dramatically. The time to prepare isn’t when you’re in the middle of it—it’s now.
What works adequately during normal periods can fall apart under Q4 pressure. CPCs typically increase 30-50%, traffic surges, and competitors who’ve been coasting all year suddenly get aggressive with their budgets.
Critical Preparation Areas
Google Shopping feeds need to be accurate and comprehensive—current pricing, detailed product data, quality images. Performance Max campaigns benefit from having multiple asset variations ready before the traffic surge hits. And conversion tracking absolutely must be working correctly, because discovering tracking issues during your busiest sales period is a disaster.
Budget planning is essential. Understanding in advance whether to increase budgets proportionally with CPC increases or accept reduced impression share prevents nasty surprises when costs spike mid-November.
The Common Thread
What connects these three topics—AI Overviews, CTR quality, and Q4 prep—is the need to focus on actual business outcomes rather than surface metrics. Visibility matters less if traffic doesn’t convert. CTR matters less if clicks aren’t qualified. Q4 volume matters less if the economics don’t work.
The Google Ads landscape keeps evolving, and what worked last year might deliver different results this year. The constant is keeping focused on what actually drives revenue for your business, even when the platform keeps changing underneath you.