If the AI said it, it must be true.
AI hands us a finished answer, so fewer people ask how it knows. We’re trusting the screen instead of thinking it through.
When Google shows an AI summary, U.S. users click through to a website in 8% of visits, against 15% when there is no summary. They click the summary’s own sources just 1% of the time, and 26% stop browsing right there, compared with 16% on pages without a summary.1
Google users click a source inside AI summaries in just 1% of visits (Pew Research Center, 2025).
The trend
More numbers
Google searches in the study ended without a click on any link at all.1
of the U.S. adults studied ran into an AI summary in a single month of searching.1
of Americans say AI in daily life worries them more than it excites them. Only 10% are more excited.2
The other side
Many users say they distrust AI and know they should check it. The gap is in behavior, not awareness.
of AI users say checking AI answers is their own responsibility. F-Secure, 2026 ↗
of Americans say they are more excited than worried about AI. Most are skeptical. Pew Research Center, 2025 ↗
Why Anthony still holds this view
Knowing you should check is not the same as checking. Behavior lags belief.
For marketers
If AI summaries are where answers live, aim to be the source AI cites. Being quoted now matters as much as being clicked.
For you
When an AI answers you, open one of its sources before you repeat it.