Comms and marketing agencies have been talking about zero-click search for a while. It is a real concern for brands, and it may be about to get worse.
Google is testing citation links that don’t lead to the source
Google is testing a version of AI Overviews where links at the bottom of the answer don’t take you to the source website. Instead, they open a follow-up question in Google’s AI Mode. Search Engine Roundtable covered the test in September 2026, after it was spotted by SEO consultant Gagan Ghotra.
In other words, a link that looks like a citation can keep the user inside Google. Your content is used, your brand may even be named, and nobody reaches your website.
Google Discover is testing the same pattern
Two days earlier, Search Engine Roundtable reported a near-identical test in Google Discover. A “Dive deeper” button shows an AI-written topic summary with links to other articles, rather than sending readers to the story Discover recommended in the first place.
Neither test comes with hard numbers. Google hasn’t published data on either, and both look like early, limited rollouts. But the direction is the same across two different products: even when your content is the thing Google chooses to surface, that no longer guarantees a visit.
Being cited no longer means being visited
The SEO industry spent years asking, “How do I get cited?” Getting cited is still valuable, because it shapes how buyers understand your category and your brand. But if Google keeps users inside its own environment, standard website attribution breaks, a problem that ChatGPT’s ad business is already exposing. Traffic becomes a weaker proxy for influence.
For B2B companies with long buying cycles, that is a measurement problem as much as a traffic problem. A buyer may form a firm view of your company from AI answers and only arrive at your website, or your sales team, much later.
Three things B2B brands can do now
This space is moving fast, and it’s easy to get lost between AI Overviews, AI Mode, Discover and everything else Google is testing. Three actions make sense whatever happens to these tests.
- Build direct relationships through owned channels. Email newsletters, events and communities give you a route to buyers that doesn’t depend on Google sending traffic.
- Keep your messaging simple and consistent everywhere. If AI systems are going to describe you without a click, the description needs to be accurate. That starts with saying the same clear thing on your site, in coverage and in third-party profiles, because AI rewards consistent brand mentions.
- Create proprietary assets worth visiting. Original data, tools, benchmarks and reports give buyers a reason to come to your site that a summary can’t replace.
Are you acting on any of these now, or waiting to see how Google’s tests play out?
SOURCES
Questions
What is zero-click search?
Zero-click search is when a user gets the answer they need on the search results page, often from an AI Overview, and never clicks through to a website. It reduces traffic even for brands whose content was used to create the answer.
Does being cited in an AI Overview still drive traffic?
Sometimes, but less reliably. Google is testing citation links that open AI Mode instead of the source page, so a citation can count as visibility without sending anyone to your website.
What should B2B brands do about zero-click AI search?
Build direct relationships through owned channels such as email, keep messaging consistent everywhere AI systems read about you, and create proprietary assets like tools, data and reports that buyers need to visit your site to use.
Nick Clark is the founder of Datum Point, a B2B consultancy for AI visibility and presence. He has spent 25 years in B2B, technology and corporate comms and marketing, including as CEO of Nelson Bostock Group and Publitek. First published on LinkedIn on 25 September 2026. Follow Nick on LinkedIn.