{"id":3034,"date":"2025-07-23T09:00:05","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T09:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/what-we-learned-from-studying-our-own-ai-proof-keywords\/"},"modified":"2025-07-23T09:00:05","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T09:00:05","slug":"what-we-learned-from-studying-our-own-ai-proof-keywords","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/what-we-learned-from-studying-our-own-ai-proof-keywords\/","title":{"rendered":"What We Learned From Studying Our Own &#8220;AI Proof&#8221; Keywords"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p> Ever since AI Overviews began decimating clicks in organic search, I\u2019ve had two questions on my mind: \u201cWhat kind of AI Overview keywords still drive clicks?\u201d, and \u201cIs there a way to engineer more clicks from zero-click search?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I asked our ace data scientist, <a href=\"https:\/\/sg.linkedin.com\/in\/xibeijia-guan\">Xibeijia<\/a>, if she could help me build a profile of \u201cAI proof keywords\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>By \u201cAI proof keywords\u201d I mean queries that keep (or increase) their clicks, even when AI Overviews are present in the\u00a0SERP.<\/p>\n<p>Xibeijia ran a small-scale study on Ahrefs\u2019 keywords to find\u00a0out.<\/p>\n<p>Read on to see what she\u00a0found\u2026<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"AI Overviews usually reduce clicks\" data-section=\"aios-reduce-clicks\">\n<h2><a id=\"post-190141-_cdy9s1suhblw\"\/>AI Overviews usually reduce clicks<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>AI Overviews tend to steal clicks.<\/p>\n<p>Google now fields questions natively in the search results using AI, meaning that users don\u2019t always need to click through to websites to find an answer.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/uk.linkedin.com\/in\/thinkingslow\">Ryan Law<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/sg.linkedin.com\/in\/xibeijia-guan\">Xibeijia Guan<\/a> ran a (now famous) study back in April into the <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/ai-overviews-reduce-clicks\/\">CTR impact of AI Overviews<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>They found that pages lose 34.5% CTR, on average, when the AI Overview is present on the\u00a0SERP.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-190142\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-1.png\" alt=\"Ahrefs AI Overview CTR study showing a CTR loss of 34.5% as a result of AI Overview presence\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1239\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-1.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-1-549x425.png 549w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-1-768x595.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-1-1536x1189.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>But, what about the keywords that <em>don\u2019t<\/em> experience a CTR drop\u2014what do they look like, and do they have anything in common?<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Profiling our own \u201cAI proof keywords\" data-section=\"ai-proof-keyword-profiling\">\n<h2><a id=\"post-190141-_sbzmgpfxsz6n\"\/>Profiling our own \u201cAI proof keywords\u201d<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Xibeijia ran a very small-scale check on <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\">ahrefs.com<\/a> to see if we could learn anything from our own \u201cAI proof keywords\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>It involved:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Heading to the Keyword report in Google Search Console via Ahrefs<\/li>\n<li>Finding US keywords with 0-100% increase in\u00a0CTR<\/li>\n<li>Setting a date filter for March 13th (this is when <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/ai-overview-growth\/\">AI Overviews doubled<\/a>, following the March Core Update)<\/li>\n<li>Applying the filter \u201cimpressions &gt;=\u00a0100\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Adding those keywords to a keyword list<\/li>\n<li>Filtering that list based on whether AI Overviews were present on the\u00a0SERPs<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<div id=\"attachment_190143\" style=\"width: 2058px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-190143\" class=\"wp-image-190143\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-2.png\" alt=\"Ahrefs GSC Keywords report showing keyword performance for the United States, filtered by impressions over 100 and improved CTR. The table displays keywords with metrics such as clicks, impressions, CTR, position, and associated URLs, for the time range 13 Mar \u2013 4 Jul 2025.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1343\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-2.png 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-2-648x425.png 648w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-2-768x504.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-2-1536x1007.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-190143\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-190143\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-2.png\" alt=\"Ahrefs GSC Keywords report showing keyword performance for the United States, filtered by impressions over 100 and improved CTR. The table displays keywords with metrics such as clicks, impressions, CTR, position, and associated URLs, for the time range 13 Mar \u2013 4 Jul 2025.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1343\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-2.png 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-2-648x425.png 648w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-2-768x504.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-2-1536x1007.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-190143\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Google Search Console performance in Ahrefs Dashboard<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>In total, 97 out of 1,393 keywords (~7%) also ranked in a SERP topped with an AI Overview.<\/p>\n<p>As I said, the study was pretty small\u00a0fry.<\/p>\n<p>But, even so, Xibeijia spotted some interesting patterns in the\u00a0data.<\/p>\n<p>The keywords that saw <em>stable<\/em> or <em>increased<\/em> CTR fell into three categories:<\/p>\n<h3><a id=\"post-190141-_mpos7561nkga\"\/>1. They were \u201cfree tools\u201d keywords<\/h3>\n<p>Xibeijia noticed that our \u201cfree tools\u201d keywords didn\u2019t experience as much of a CTR decline, despite growing AI Overview presence.<\/p>\n<p>Meaning that utility pages like our <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/traffic-checker\">Website Traffic Checker<\/a> and our <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/keyword-generator\">Free Keyword Generator<\/a> still caused users to\u00a0click.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/zero-click-search\/\">Zero-click search<\/a> summaries weren\u2019t enough for users in this situation\u2014they had a job-to-be-done, and they required a tool to do it\u2014which meant they needed to\u00a0click.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_190144\" style=\"width: 2058px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-190144\" class=\"wp-image-190144\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-3.jpg\" alt=\"SERP overview comparison in Ahrefs for the keyword &quot;free website traffic&quot; between 10 Mar and 26 Jun 2025. The chart highlights that the Ahrefs traffic checker URL retained visibility but changed position slightly, while other URLs shifted or dropped out of the top 10.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1288\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-3.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-3-676x425.jpg 676w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-3-768x483.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-3-1536x966.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-190144\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-190144\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-3.jpg\" alt=\"SERP overview comparison in Ahrefs for the keyword &quot;free website traffic&quot; between 10 Mar and 26 Jun 2025. The chart highlights that the Ahrefs traffic checker URL retained visibility but changed position slightly, while other URLs shifted or dropped out of the top 10.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1288\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-3.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-3-676x425.jpg 676w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-3-768x483.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-3-1536x966.jpg 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-190144\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ahrefs SERP Overview in Keywords Explorer showing Ahrefs\u2019 free tool\u2014Traffic Checker\u2014losing one organic position, but gaining an AI Overview citation, giving us two chances for clicks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3><a id=\"post-190141-_lx6fc57stgig\"\/>2. They didn\u2019t rank originally<\/h3>\n<p>Some keywords didn\u2019t rank on page one originally, but began ranking in the top 10 or in an AI Overview post-March 13th.<\/p>\n<p>This reaffirms the importance of\u00a0SEO.<\/p>\n<p>If you optimize your content well, it <em>is<\/em> still possible to improve CTR in AI Overview SERPs\u2014though some industries and content types will likely fare better than others.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_190145\" style=\"width: 2058px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-190145\" class=\"wp-image-190145\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-4.jpg\" alt=\"Ahrefs SERP comparison for the keyword \u201cgomovies alternative\u201d between 13 Mar and 3 Jul 2025. Shows 10 changes in the top 10, with an Ahrefs URL appearing in the AI Overview box and improved rankings for several other URLs. Highlights include newly added and lost entries.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1294\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-4.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-4-673x425.jpg 673w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-4-768x485.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-4-1536x971.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-190145\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-190145\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-4.jpg\" alt=\"Ahrefs SERP comparison for the keyword \u201cgomovies alternative\u201d between 13 Mar and 3 Jul 2025. Shows 10 changes in the top 10, with an Ahrefs URL appearing in the AI Overview box and improved rankings for several other URLs. Highlights include newly added and lost entries.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1294\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-4.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-4-673x425.jpg 673w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-4-768x485.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-4-1536x971.jpg 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-190145\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ahrefs SERP Overview in Keywords Explorer showing one of Ahrefs\u2019 \u201cTop Websites\u201d pages claiming position 7 and an AI Overview.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3><a id=\"post-190141-_nodq3pm64tdl\"\/>3. They appeared in SERPs where AI Overviews ranked below position one<\/h3>\n<p>As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/patrickstox\">Patrick Stox<\/a> shared recently on the Ahrefs blog, <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/ai-overviews-positions\/\">AI Overviews aren\u2019t always in the first position in the SERPs<\/a>\u2014they can actually rank in positions one through six.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, ~8.5% of the time they\u2019re not in position one.<\/p>\n<p>In our study, we saw either <strong>click-parity<\/strong> or<strong> click-growth<\/strong> across SERPs where AIOs ranked lower than position one.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, our data indicates that when AI Overviews are not in position one, they don\u2019t take as many clicks away.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_190146\" style=\"width: 2058px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-190146\" class=\"wp-image-190146\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-5.jpg\" alt=\"SERP comparison in Ahrefs for the keyword &quot;steamunlocked alternatives&quot; between 11 Mar 2025 and 1 Jul 2025. It highlights 7 changes in the top 10, including position gains, losses, and an &quot;AI overview&quot; result appearing at position 6 on the latest date.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1115\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-5.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-5-680x370.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-5-768x418.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-5-1536x836.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-190146\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-190146\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-5.jpg\" alt=\"SERP comparison in Ahrefs for the keyword &quot;steamunlocked alternatives&quot; between 11 Mar 2025 and 1 Jul 2025. It highlights 7 changes in the top 10, including position gains, losses, and an &quot;AI overview&quot; result appearing at position 6 on the latest date.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1115\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-5.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-5-680x370.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-5-768x418.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-5-1536x836.jpg 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-190146\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ahrefs SERP Overview in Keywords Explorer showing one of Ahrefs\u2019 \u201cTop Websites\u201d pages climbing one ranking in a SERP where the AI Overview ranks in position 6.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>This is something we\u2019re going to be testing in more detail, so watch out for an AI Overview position CTR study on our\u00a0blog.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"How to recreate this analysis using Ahrefs\" data-section=\"how-to\">\n<h2><a id=\"post-190141-_t7lpisfpsteb\"\/>How to recreate this analysis using Ahrefs<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>First off, head\u00a0to:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Dashboard<\/li>\n<li>Projects<\/li>\n<li>Google Search Console<\/li>\n<li>Find your project<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-190147\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-6.png\" alt=\"Ahrefs GSC project overview for the domain wordcount.com. The traffic graph shows a trend of increasing impressions and clicks from 2022 to mid-2025. \" width=\"2048\" height=\"1104\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-6.png 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-6-680x367.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-6-768x414.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-6-1536x828.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload alignnone wp-image-190147\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-6.png\" alt=\"Ahrefs GSC project overview for the domain wordcount.com. The traffic graph shows a trend of increasing impressions and clicks from 2022 to mid-2025. \" width=\"2048\" height=\"1104\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-6.png 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-6-680x367.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-6-768x414.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-6-1536x828.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Then head\u00a0to:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Keywords report<\/li>\n<li>Select a region<\/li>\n<li>Set an impression threshold (e.g. &gt;100)<\/li>\n<li>Set a positive CTR range (e.g. 0\u2013100) and select \u201cImproved\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-190148\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-7.jpg\" alt=\"Ahrefs GSC Keywords tab for \u201cwordcount.com\u201d showing keyword metrics filtered by impressions over 100 and improved CTR. Displays performance data for keywords like &quot;sentence counter&quot; and &quot;word count&quot; over the last 30 days, with a comparison to the previous period. \" width=\"2048\" height=\"1354\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-7.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-7-643x425.jpg 643w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-7-768x508.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-7-1536x1016.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload alignnone wp-image-190148\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-7.jpg\" alt=\"Ahrefs GSC Keywords tab for \u201cwordcount.com\u201d showing keyword metrics filtered by impressions over 100 and improved CTR. Displays performance data for keywords like &quot;sentence counter&quot; and &quot;word count&quot; over the last 30 days, with a comparison to the previous period. \" width=\"2048\" height=\"1354\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-7.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-7-643x425.jpg 643w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-7-768x508.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-7-1536x1016.jpg 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Export those keywords, open them in a spreadsheet, and copy\u00a0all.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-190149\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-8.png\" alt=\"Ahrefs GSC Keywords view for \u201cwordcount.com\u201d with filters applied (impressions over 100, improved CTR). Displays metrics for individual keywords like &quot;sentence counter&quot; and &quot;word count,&quot; including clicks, impressions, CTR, and performance changes. The export button is highlighted for downloading the data. \" width=\"2048\" height=\"1152\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-8.png 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-8-680x383.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-8-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-8-1536x864.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload alignnone wp-image-190149\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-8.png\" alt=\"Ahrefs GSC Keywords view for \u201cwordcount.com\u201d with filters applied (impressions over 100, improved CTR). Displays metrics for individual keywords like &quot;sentence counter&quot; and &quot;word count,&quot; including clicks, impressions, CTR, and performance changes. The export button is highlighted for downloading the data. \" width=\"2048\" height=\"1152\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-8.png 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-8-680x383.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-8-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-8-1536x864.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Then go\u00a0to:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Keywords Explorer<\/li>\n<li>Paste in your\u00a0list<\/li>\n<li>Choose the same region<\/li>\n<li>Apply a \u201cSERP Feature\u201d filter<\/li>\n<li>Choose \u201cInclude &gt; AI Overview\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-190150\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-9.png\" alt=\"Ahrefs Keywords Explorer filtered to display keywords containing the \u201cAI Overview\u201d SERP feature. The table includes data for high-volume keywords like &quot;translate&quot; and &quot;english to spanish,&quot; showing metrics such as keyword difficulty (KD), search volume (SV), traffic potential (TP), and SERP features. \" width=\"2048\" height=\"1277\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-9.png 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-9-680x425.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-9-768x479.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-9-1536x958.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload alignnone wp-image-190150\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-9.png\" alt=\"Ahrefs Keywords Explorer filtered to display keywords containing the \u201cAI Overview\u201d SERP feature. The table includes data for high-volume keywords like &quot;translate&quot; and &quot;english to spanish,&quot; showing metrics such as keyword difficulty (KD), search volume (SV), traffic potential (TP), and SERP features. \" width=\"2048\" height=\"1277\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-9.png 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-9-680x425.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-9-768x479.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-9-1536x958.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Finally, apply the filter \u201cTarget &gt; [enter your domain] &gt; show ranking positions\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-190151\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-10.jpg\" alt=\"Ahrefs Keywords Explorer interface filtered to show keywords for which the domain \u201cwordcount.com\u201d ranks, including SERP features. Keywords shown include &quot;how many works&quot; and &quot;calculate number of words,&quot; with ranking positions and metrics such as keyword difficulty and search volume. \" width=\"2048\" height=\"1309\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-10.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-10-665x425.jpg 665w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-10-260x166.jpg 260w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-10-768x491.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-10-1536x982.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload alignnone wp-image-190151\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-10.jpg\" alt=\"Ahrefs Keywords Explorer interface filtered to show keywords for which the domain \u201cwordcount.com\u201d ranks, including SERP features. Keywords shown include &quot;how many works&quot; and &quot;calculate number of words,&quot; with ranking positions and metrics such as keyword difficulty and search volume. \" width=\"2048\" height=\"1309\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-10.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-10-665x425.jpg 665w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-10-260x166.jpg 260w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-10-768x491.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/word-image-190141-10-1536x982.jpg 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>This will show you your \u201cAI proof\u201d keywords\u2014the ones retaining or gaining clicks, despite the presence of AI Overviews.<\/p>\n<p>Check back on this report to see which types of keywords you can target to engineer more clicks.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"post-190141-_1tl29sxcjou2\"\/>Wrapping up<\/h2>\n<p>AI Overviews have undeniably changed the search landscape\u2014often to the detriment of organic CTR\u2014but our small-scale study shows that some keywords continue to drive clicks.<\/p>\n<p>So, what makes a keyword \u201cAI proof\u201d? In our dataset, three factors stood\u00a0out:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>It promotes free tools: <\/strong>Utility-driven queries (like \u201cfree tools\u201d) compel clicks\u2014summaries alone aren\u2019t always enough.<\/li>\n<li><strong>It didn\u2019t rank highly to begin with: <\/strong>Ranking improvements still boost CTR\u2014even in AI-dominated SERPs.<\/li>\n<li><strong>It has AIOs in lower positions:<\/strong> When AIOs don\u2019t occupy the top slot in the SERPs, your page has more breathing room.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Even in zero-click search, some keywords still\u00a0click.<\/p>\n<p>So carry on tracking your keyword performance, and keep an eye on where AI Overviews appear in your\u00a0SERPs.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script>!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\nif(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function()n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments);if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)(window,document,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');fbq('init','1511271639109289');fbq('track','PageView');<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/ai-proof-keywords\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ever since AI Overviews began decimating clicks in organic search, I\u2019ve had two questions on my mind: \u201cWhat kind of AI Overview keywords still drive clicks?\u201d, and \u201cIs there a way to engineer more clicks from zero-click search?\u201d I asked our ace data scientist, Xibeijia, if she could help me build a profile of \u201cAI [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3035,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-seo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3034\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}