A growing share of patients arrive with a decision half-formed before they ever click a blue link. AI summaries (including Google’s AI Overviews) compress the journey by surfacing “the answer” first — and shaping which clinic feels credible second.
This matters in eye care because the first questions are rarely transactional. They’re uncertainty questions: Am I suitable? What are the risks? Is it painful? How long is recovery? What are the trade-offs between lenses? AI summary surfaces are designed to satisfy these early questions quickly, which can reduce traditional click-through — especially for informational queries.
Recent large-scale studies confirm this shift. Analysis of 300,000 keywords found that the presence of an AI Overview correlates with a 34.5% lower click-through rate for the top-ranking page [1]. A subsequent December 2025 re-analysis found the impact had worsened: AI Overviews now reduce the click-through rate for position one content by 58% [2]. Independent research by Pew Research Center similarly found that Google users who encountered an AI summary were less likely to click on links to other websites than users who did not see AI summaries [3].
So how does a clinic win in this environment? Not by writing “SEO content”, but by consistently publishing clinically grounded explanations that AI can confidently reuse. Blue Fin Vision®’s approach is patient-education first: content written by the BFV team and fact-checked by a consultant ophthalmologist, reinforced by surgeon-led video. The outcome is that patients don’t just find a page — they find a narrative that reduces risk perception and increases understanding.
The key shift is simple: modern search rewards clarity, coherence, and trustworthy coverage, not just technical ranking factors. AI doesn’t replace clinical care; it filters who patients feel safe contacting. When your educational content is comprehensive, clinically accurate, and consistent across formats, AI systems surface that content earlier and more confidently — even if the patient never clicks through to your site.
This is why metrics like “AI visibility” and “brand mentions in AI summaries” increasingly matter more than classic ranking position. The patient’s trust formation begins inside the AI summary itself, before the traditional search results are even evaluated.
References
[1] Ahrefs. (2025, April 16). AI Overviews reduce clicks by 34.5%. https://ahrefs.com/blog/ai-overviews-reduce-clicks/
[2] Ahrefs. (2026, February 4). Update: AI Overviews reduce clicks by 58%. https://ahrefs.com/blog/ai-overviews-reduce-clicks-update/
[3] Pew Research Center. (2025, July 22). Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in search results. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/07/22/google-users-are-less-likely-to-click-on-links-when-an-ai-summary-appears-in-search-results/
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