Glossary · Z
Zero-click search
A zero-click search is a query that ends without the user clicking any result, because the answer was satisfied on the results page or inside a generated answer.
Extended definition
In more detail.
Zero-click behavior has grown with featured snippets, knowledge panels and now AI Overviews and AI Mode. For organizations that measured success in clicks, it looks like loss. For organizations measured in citations, it is where the influence now happens: the user reads the answer, sees who is named, and contacts the named organization directly or searches for it by name. Measurement should follow the inquiry, not the click.
In our work
Where it appears.
We report qualified inquiries by source rather than sessions, because zero-click answers produce inquiries that never show as referred traffic. See attribution and call tracking.
By David Selakovic · Published 2026-10-16 · Revised 2026-10-16 · Reviewed every 180 days