# Ahrefs: AI Overviews cut CTR 23% in France

Published: 2026-09-16T23:13:17.294Z · Source: Ahrefs Blog (https://ahrefs.com/blog/ai-overviews-france-impact/)
Source date: 2026-09-16
Flags: AI Overviews CTR study — vendor-published
Entities: ahrefs, ai-overviews

Ahrefs tracked 963 high-traffic French domains through Google Search Console for 28 days before and 9 days after AI Overviews launched in France on July 22, 2026. Sites most exposed to AI Overviews — more than 20% of their queries triggering one — lost 23.1% of their click-through rate; the overall median site lost 5.7% of CTR and 8.8% of clicks, and nearly 48% of sites lost more than 10% of daily clicks within nine days. Health queries were hit hardest, with a 22.2% AI Overview rate and a 20.4% CTR decline. The analysis, by Ahrefs' Juliette Begue, found roughly "one point of CTR lost per point of exposure."

Why it matters: It's independent Search Console data confirming, with a stated method and real sample, the traffic-loss pattern French publisher group APIG alleged and Le Monde's CEO downplayed on this wire Sept. 10.

## What this answers

**How much did AI Overviews cut click-through rates in France?**

Sites most exposed to AI Overviews (over 20% of their queries triggering one) lost 23.1% of their CTR; the median site across 963 tracked domains lost 5.7%, per an Ahrefs analysis of Google Search Console data comparing the 28 days before and 9 days after France's July 22, 2026 AI Overviews launch.

**Which topics lost the most clicks to AI Overviews in France?**

Health queries were hit hardest — a 22.2% AI Overview rate and a 20.4% CTR decline — per Ahrefs, which found informational queries with short answers most vulnerable overall.


Canonical: https://anythingengineoptimization.com/item/2026-09-16-ahrefs-ai-overviews-cut-ctr-23-in-france/
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