Zero-click search is here, and it’s not going away

How AI-powered answers are rewriting the rules for professional services marketers, and how to stay visible

Imagine a potential client searching for an area of expertise that your organisation specialises in.

The search engine delivers an instant, AI-generated answer, but your name isn’t mentioned. Or worse, it attributes the insight to someone else.

This isn’t a thought experiment. It’s happening right now.

We’ve entered the "Age of Answers".  A world where audiences no longer search, they ask.

Where clicks give way to conversations, and AI-powered overviews deliver the information directly on the results page. For professional services organisations built on visibility, reputation, and expertise, that’s a profound change.

But it’s also a rare opportunity to get ahead.

The shift you can’t afford to ignore

For two decades, the digital marketing playbook was clear: produce quality content, optimise for search, and let the clicks follow.

That model is breaking down.

According to Datos (part of SEMrush), 58.5% of Google searches in the U.S. now end without a click. In Europe, it’s closer to 60%. And as AI overviews roll out, those numbers will only increase.

of searches result in no click through to the originating website.

Our own analysis across professional services clients shows organic search referrals down by more than 25% year-on-year, even before the full rollout of Google’s AI overviews.

Instead of ten blue links, users are served summaries, knowledge panels, and AI-generated insights, often without ever visiting a site.

Meanwhile, answer engines like ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity are making tens of thousands of content requests for every single click-through. Your content might already be informing their answers.  But without clear structure, your brand may not be credited at all.

Visibility no longer starts at your website

Your expertise now appears in places your website doesn’t reach:

• AI-generated answers and chat interfaces
• Knowledge panels and overviews
• Industry platforms and data aggregators

That means visibility now depends on how readable your content is to machines as well as humans.

Google’s E-E-A-T framework:

• Experience
• Expertise
• Authority
• Trust

 now underpins not only rankings but also how AI systems decide what to cite.

Structured, well-sourced content with clear context is more likely to appear in those answers, even when no click occurs.

The new rule:

What smart marketers are doing differently

Zero-click search isn’t a passing trend. It’s the new normal.

The organisations adapting early are the ones maintaining visibility and in some cases, gaining it.

Here’s where to start:

1. Make your content readable - for machines

Add schema markup at every level:

• Site level – organisation, logo, contact, locations
• Template level – services, articles, case studies, bios
• Content level – quotes, videos, testimonials

This gives AI systems a complete, machine-readable picture of who you are and what you do. It’s UX for AI - ensuring your content is interpreted correctly, not just indexed.

2. Feed the machines with structured content

AI craves clarity and context. Repurpose existing content into formats it can easily cite:

• FAQs, How-Tos and Q&As
• Structured testimonials and case studies
• Short TL;DR summaries for long-form content

Create a simple llms.txt file to guide AI crawlers.  Think of it as an AI sitemap that introduces your organisation, audiences, and expertise.

3. Measure what matters

Pageviews are no longer a proxy for success.

Track engagement, AI referrals, and brand citations instead of clicks.

In early pilots, AI-referred visitors converted 3–5 times more often than traditional organic search traffic.