A new analysis of one million keywords has produced the clearest picture yet of how AI is transforming Google search. The findings are striking: nearly half of all tracked keywords are losing search volume, while a fifth are growing. The divide maps almost perfectly onto how AI Overviews interact with different types of search intent.
The Core Finding: A Search Volume Split
Researchers analyzing one million keywords across categories found:
- 40.7% of keywords show declining search volume - AI Overviews answer these queries directly, reducing the need for users to click through to websites
- 20.1% of keywords show growing volume - largely queries that AI tools have created demand for, or action-oriented searches where users still need to click
- 39.2% of keywords show stable volume - AI Overviews have limited presence for these query types
The split follows a clear pattern: informational queries ("what is X," "how does Y work") are the losers. Action and commercial queries ("buy X," "hire Y near me," "X pricing 2026") are the winners or stable performers.
AI Overviews in Google Search: Where They Appear
AI Overviews now appear in an estimated 47-64% of all Google searches as of mid-2026, depending on the query category. The rollout has been progressive - English-language queries were impacted earliest, while non-English markets (including Polish) saw AI Overview expansion with some delay.
High AIO presence: Health, how-to, historical and factual, definitions Low AIO presence: Local search, commercial queries, navigational, breaking news
The CTR Impact Is Measurable
Position 1 organic CTR has dropped from approximately 27% to approximately 11% in high-AIO categories. For publishers targeting English-language queries on Google.pl or international English content, this shift is already visible in Search Console data.
What Survives the AI Overview Shift
Surviving formats: Original research with unique data, step-by-step implementation guides, time-sensitive event analysis, comparison content, commercial and transactional pages.
Declining formats: Evergreen "what is X" articles, definition pages, general overview content without original data.
Polish Market Context: AI Overviews on Google.pl
For businesses and SEOs focused on the Polish market, AI Overview rollout on Google.pl has been more gradual than in the US market. Polish-language informational queries currently have lower AIO coverage than their English equivalents. This provides a narrowing window for informational content in Polish - the gap will close as Google expands AI Overview coverage to additional languages and markets.
Priority for Polish market SEO: commercial and local intent pages targeting Google.pl queries remain largely unaffected by AI Overviews and represent the highest-value traffic in 2026. This aligns with the core SEO strategy for businesses operating in Poland, where Google.pl organic visibility for commercial queries directly drives qualified business inquiries.
