Google has talked about AI search clicks several different ways since AI Overviews launched. This week, the company added new link surfaces instead of new click data. This article traces how Google’s public language about clicks has changed, what each phase revealed, and what this week’s five new link features add to the conversation. “No Data To Share” When Google launched AI Overviews in the U.S. in May 2024, publisher complaints started almost immediately. By May 2025, Pew Research Center had tracked 68,000 search queries from more than 900 adults and put numbers behind them. Users clicked on results 8% of the time when AI Overviews appeared, compared with 15% without them, and only 1% clicked a link within the AI Overview itself. Google’s first public response came at Google Marketing Live in May 2025.…