Opt Out of AI Overviews? One Test Says Your Clicks Drop Too

Every few months somebody asks me how to get their website out of Google’s AI answers. Usually right after they search their own business and see a robot paraphrasing their About page better than they wrote it.

I get it. It feels like Google took your homework and turned it in under its own name. But a small test that went around this week says pulling the plug might cost you more than the robot does.

The short version

• A small case study shared this week found that when one site opted out of Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode, its regular organic clicks dropped too, not just the AI ones.
• Blocking AI training and blocking AI search answers are two different switches, and Google says it’ll support a new shared training signal in 2027.
• For most small businesses, the smarter move is making your site the clearest source the robot can find, then giving people a reason to click.

What did the AI Overviews opt-out test actually find?

It found that opting out cut the site’s AI impressions to zero and also dragged down its normal organic clicks. That second part is the surprise.

The test came from Cyrus Shepard, a well-known SEO, who posted it on LinkedIn, and Search Engine Roundtable wrote it up on October 30. He blocked one site from showing up in AI Overviews and AI Mode. His estimate for clicks from those AI appearances before the block: about 0.9%. Not huge. Not nothing.

Then the weird part. Regular blue-link clicks went down too while the site was opted out. Google still showed an AI Overview on those searches, just with somebody else in it.

Now the honest fine print, because I’m not going to sell you a single LinkedIn post as gospel. It’s one site. No sample size, no public data, and Cyrus himself called it small and said to test your own numbers. Barry Schwartz pointed out the comparison doesn’t cleanly separate pages with and without AI answers. So treat it as a smoke signal, not a law of physics.

Why would opting out hurt your regular clicks?

Probably because being quoted in the answer box makes people trust the link underneath it. If the robot just mentioned you, your plain old listing looks like the obvious next stop.

Think about how people actually search. Somebody types “how much does a gutter cleaning cost in Palm Coast.” Google’s AI answer cites three local companies. Right below it, one of those same companies shows up in the regular results. Who do you think gets the click? Not the guy who opted out to make a point.

Cyrus called it a halo effect. I call it the same reason people pick the restaurant they already heard of. Familiar beats anonymous, even when the familiarity came from a machine.

Opting out is a bit like refusing to be listed in the phone book because you didn’t like the font. Principled? Sure. Good for business? Hell no.

Is blocking AI training the same as leaving AI Overviews?

No. Those are separate switches, and mixing them up is how people shoot themselves in the foot.

Training is about whether AI companies can use your content to build their models. Search answers are about whether your site can show up as a source when someone asks a question right now. You can say no to one and yes to the other.

That distinction got a little more official this week too. Google said it plans to support a new shared AI training signal in robots.txt, a proposal being worked on at the IETF, so you can state your training preference once for multiple AI companies instead of writing a separate rule for every bot with a cute name. Google says that’s coming in 2027 and that its existing controls keep working alongside it. It’s still a work in progress, so don’t go rewriting your robots.txt this afternoon based on a draft.

If you want the longer rant on what robots.txt can and can’t do, I wrote it up here: robots.txt is a doormat, not a lock.

So what should a small business do instead of opting out?

Make your site the source the robot wants to quote, and then make the click worth it. You’re not going to out-muscle Google, so out-clarify everybody else.

I see the same problem on small business sites constantly: the services page says “We offer a wide range of solutions tailored to your needs.” Great. The robot has no idea what that means either. If an AI can’t figure out what you do, where you do it and what it costs, it’ll quote the competitor who spelled it out.

Here’s what actually helps:

• One real page per service, with plain answers to the questions people ask on the phone (price range, how long it takes, what area you cover).
• Your name, address and phone number matching everywhere, so nobody’s guessing which “Coastal Pro Services” you are.
• A reason to click through that a summary can’t steal: your actual booking calendar, real photos of your work, a quote form that doesn’t feel like filing taxes.

That last one matters more than people think. The AI answer can tell someone you exist. It can’t book them for Thursday. Your website can, if it doesn’t make them work for it.

This is basically what I build for clients now on the AI search side: clean pages, clear answers, and a site that closes the deal once the robot sends someone over.

Should you ever opt out of AI Overviews?

Sometimes, yes. If your whole business is the content itself (paid courses, original research, recipes you sell in a book), the math can be different, because the summary might actually replace the thing you charge for.

But a plumber, a salon, a dentist, a beach rental? Your content is a sign pointing at the real product. Nobody reads an AI summary of a drain cleaning and decides they’re all set. They still need the guy with the snake. Blocking the robot from pointing at you is just hiding your own sign.

And if you do opt out, measure it. Look at your Search Console clicks before and after, over a few weeks, not three days of panic-refreshing. That’s exactly what the test above did, and it’s the only way you’ll know if it’s helping or quietly costing you jobs.

Questions people ask

Can I remove my website from Google AI Overviews?

Yes. Google gives site owners controls to keep content out of its AI search features. Just know that one small test this week saw regular organic clicks drop too after opting out, so test it carefully before you commit.

Does blocking Google-Extended remove me from AI Overviews?

No. Google-Extended is about AI training and Gemini, not whether you appear in Search. Mixing up the two is one of the most common robots.txt mistakes I see.

Do AI Overviews actually send traffic to small business websites?

Some, but not much on their own. The one estimate going around this week was about 0.9% click-through on AI appearances for a single site. The bigger value seems to be visibility and trust that helps your regular listing get the click.

Look, I don’t love that a robot gets to be the front desk for half of Google now either. But being mad at the front desk and refusing to give it your number is a crappy strategy. Be the clearest, most useful source in your town, and make the click easy. If you want me to look at whether your site gives the robots (and the humans) what they need, start here.