Zero Click Searches: What They Mean for Independent Agencies Now And Beyond
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Pathlabs Marketing |
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September 15, 2025 |
Independent agencies are working harder than ever to prove their value, but the tools they relied on are shifting beneath their feet. Clients still expect clear answers, but the familiar story they used to tell—that more clicks and more traffic mean more growth—is no longer true.
Paid search campaigns are stagnating since search query results that once drove people to sites are being replaced with zero-click searches, or searches that end without a website visit because the answer is displayed directly on the results page via a snippet, panel, or AI-generated summary.
deliver summarized answers instantly, leaving campaigns with less visibility and fewer opportunities to prove impact.
This trend is no longer just a prediction. 65% of searches in the United States and Europe end without a click, and on mobile devices, that number climbs above 75%. For agencies, the impact is just as real. Client visibility is shrinking, and so is confidence in traditional performance metrics.
In this blog, we’ll explore how agencies can thrive in a world where clicks no longer prove success to their clients, as well as the key to thriving in a clickless future.
Why Clicks Are Disappearing: A Trend Years In The Making
Zero-click searches are not a new phenomenon. It began with Google’s featured snippets and knowledge panels that were designed to give users answers without requiring them to leave the results page. At first, featured snippets were presented for the user's convenience. For publishers, it meant fewer clicks, but some visibility remained.
However, the recent surge of free and accessible AI tools has turned no-click searches from a minor issue into a paradigm shift. With AI Overviews and large language models like ChatGPT, users now see synthesized answers that completely remove the incentive to visit a website.
This change is being further amplified by generational behavior. Younger users now often turn to TikTok or Instagram before Google when they are searching for answers, while professionals use AI tools for research. Meanwhile, older audiences stick with traditional Google queries.
“We know younger generations, especially, are using social for answers more than Google these days. So, the challenge is trying to figure out how those two channels play together.”
As a result, search has splintered into multiple competing ecosystems, each demanding new strategies for visibility, leaving independent agencies searching for new ways to show the value of their campaigns.
Clicks Were Never The Full Story
The disappearance of clicks can feel alarming, but there is good news.
Clicks were never the most important measure of success.
For decades, clicks served as the easiest proxy for attention. Google Ads was built on a pay-per-click model, SEO reporting focused on traffic volumes and click-through rates, and agencies became accustomed to presenting dashboards filled with rising numbers. However, a high click-through rate did not always translate to new customers. Organic traffic spikes did not always translate into brand growth.
After all, growth, market share, loyalty, and brand awareness are the metrics that matter most to clients.
This is why the rise of zero-click searches should be seen less as a threat and more as an opportunity. If clicks are harder to come by, it forces agencies to focus on what clients really care about: how media spend translates into business impact.
By reframing success around business outcomes, agencies can thrive in a world where clicks are fewer, and past trends show that there will be many opportunities to reach a target audience through search, even in a clickless future.
“Metrics are great, but it’s all about, “are the sales in store?” “Is there a lift in awareness and loyalty?” At the end of the day, making sure your media is having the impact on the business is most important.”
Why Zero Click Will Not Mean Zero Search Advertising
Some agencies may fear that zero-click searches will end search advertising altogether due to the uncertainty around the future of search. However, the history of digital platforms shows that every successful platform has eventually monetized user behavior, even if it meant reinventing how ads appear.
Google’s advertising business itself followed this path. When Google launched AdWords in 2000, ads were simple text placements tied to queries. Over time, Google introduced Shopping ads, local packs, YouTube pre-rolls, and product listing units. Each expansion is adapted to user habits while making search more profitable.
Social platforms followed a similar arc. Facebook launched with no advertising, then added sponsored posts in 2007. Instagram resisted monetization until 2013, when image-based ads appeared. TikTok began ad-free, but by 2019, it had introduced in-feed ads and later added keyword-driven search ads that mirror the intent-based environment Google once dominated. AI-powered search will follow the same path.
Sponsored answers, brand citations, and paid prominence inside AI summaries are not just possible, they are inevitable. Those who wait for certainty around what those changes look like will find themselves behind competitors who seized the first mover advantage. Independent agencies that anticipate this change will be ready to test emerging strategies, like Answer Engine Optimization (AEO).
From SEO To AEO: The Next Evolution
Search Engine Optimization has been the backbone of digital strategy for more than two decades. In the early 2000s, ranking for keywords was enough to drive traffic, which progressed to keyword stuffing, link building, structured data, and finally, semantic search. The constant thread was the same: creating content designed to rank in a search index.
AEO represents the next step in this evolution. Instead of optimizing for a search index, brands must now optimize for AI-driven answer engines.
The future will demand that independent agencies ensure their paid search campaigns appear inside AI-generated responses. This is a different challenge than ranking on a results page, but it is one that agencies must take seriously if they want their media to remain visible.
So, how can agency leaders build their teams to thrive in an AEO future when so much is left to be determined? The answer is agility.
The Path Forward: Agility As The Agency Superpower
No one can predict exactly what search will look like in the near future. What is clear is that agility will determine which agencies succeed when it arrives.
Agility means more than making quick adjustments to campaigns. It is the ability to test, adopt, and take chances on new strategies, often before there is a clear roadmap or guaranteed return. That willingness to experiment is what uncovers growth opportunities first, but it requires patience, flexibility, and a tolerance for short-term inefficiency in pursuit of long-term advantage.
For independent agencies, this is both the challenge and the opportunity. The more agile you are, the more risk you take investing in new strategies and technology that may not provide results, but you’re also more likely to recognize when disruption signals a new way to create measurable growth.
Which leads to the next pressing question: can your agency be agile enough to scale in a world where users are not clicking?
Thriving In A Zero-Click Future
There are no guarantees on what the zero-click future will look like, but with Pathlabs as a Media Execution Partner (MEP), your agency will have the tools, processes, and people to turn uncertainty into opportunity.
Pathlabs manages campaigns across search, social, CTV, and programmatic, taking on the daily work of execution, optimization, and reporting so agency partners can focus on strategy and growth. Our depth of experience in media execution allows us to secure early access to platform betas and apply insights across industries, ensuring that partners are prepared for disruption and positioned to capture new opportunities.
We also help agencies maintain flexibility as user behavior shifts and new monetization formats emerge by building platform-agnostic strategies that avoid dependence on any single channel.
“When anything happens in the ecosystem that is disruptive, we have the tool set and the expertise and the knowledge and the services in order to pivot quickly and optimize.”
For agency margins, this model is especially valuable. Pathlabs invests in testing and refining emerging technologies before they are rolled out to clients, which allows agencies to benefit from innovative tools without dedicating budget to unproven tactics.
Independent agencies cannot dictate the direction of the platforms, but they can control their response. Those that prioritize agility, focus on business outcomes, and embrace platform-agnostic execution will be best positioned to succeed. The future of search is uncertain, yet agility and platform agnosticism provide stability, helping agencies remain visible, relevant, and effective as the channel continues to evolve.
