The Death of the "Second Click": How Gemini 3 is Reshaping Search
The last couple of weeks marks a major shift in how the world’s most popular search engine works. Google has officially made Gemini 3 the default model for AI Overviews globally, reaching over one billion users.
This isn't just a backend update; it’s a fundamental change in user behavior. For the first time, users can flow directly from an AI Overview into a full, multi-turn conversation in AI Mode without having to start their search over. At BOND Digital, we see this as the definitive end of the "ten blue links" era and the start of search as a continuous dialogue.
Is Search Usage Actually Declining?
The data for 2025 and early 2026 shows a clear, albeit nuanced, trend. While Google still dominates roughly 90% of the market, the way we use it is shrinking.
Searches Per User are Dropping: In the United States, Google searches per user fell by nearly 20% year-over-year in 2025.
The Rise of Zero-Click: By mid-2025, between 58% and 65% of Google searches ended without a single click to a website. AI Overviews are effectively answering questions on the results page, removing the need for users to visit external sites.
AI Adoption is Exploding: While traditional search traffic remains relatively flat or slightly down (declining about 1% annually), AI search traffic grew by a staggering 150% year-over-year by August 2025.
The Displacement Factor: Gartner predicts that traditional search engine volume will drop by 25% by the end of 2026 as users pivot toward generative AI assistants.
Why This Matters for Marketers
The integration of Gemini 3 into AI Overviews brings deeper reasoning capabilities, which means Google is now better at distilling complex topics into a single snapshot.
However, this efficiency comes at a cost to publishers. Research shows that organic click-through rates (CTR) for queries featuring an AI Overview have plummeted by 20-40% on average. For some informational queries, the drop has been as high as 79%.
As marketers, we can't just aim to "rank #1" anymore. We have to aim to be the source that the AI cites. Gemini 3 uses different citation patterns than its predecessors, favoring websites that provide structured, verifiable, and authoritative data.
So SEO is dead again?
Search isn't dying; it's evolving into a more efficient, conversational interface. The "Second Click" may be disappearing, but the need for authoritative information is higher than ever. To stay relevant, brands must move beyond generic content and focus on becoming the definitive expert in their niche—the kind of expert an AI model feels confident quoting.
