Google dominates search in most of the world. Partly in response to competition from AI tools replacing traditional search, Google is increasingly using AI Overviews.
While there are small icons for links to the original content, in many cases people are not following those links, ending their search with the overview.
So what does that mean for domain names? If people are not even visiting sites, does the domain name still matter?
Two Views
I think there are logical arguments on both sides of the question.
(1) If people are getting information from AI tools, or from AI overviews in search tools, surely the domain name becomes less important, since the searcher is not even visiting the site. Sure, the domain name still has importance for things like email or a repository of information, but it becomes less central, and less valuable.
(2) Exactly because AI overviews are so prevalent, it makes it even more important to have a domain name that people will respect and remember, since that may be the only way to get a direct audience for your products or services. You need people to remember your domain name so they will visit it directly. The importance, and monetary value, of a domain name becomes even more important.
Zero Click Searches
When a person simply uses the summary or overview, and does not click through to the source document or site, it is called a zero-click search. This is not to be confused with zero-click as a parking term.
So the first question to ask is: How prevalent are zero-click searches?. Clearly it will vary with the information being sought and the searcher. Anthony Cardillo, writing at Exploding Topics, recently summarized this and other search data in the article How Many Google Searcher Are There Per Day? Citing different sources, it appears that more than 58% of searchers do not click through to any site, with the data not much different between Europe and the U.S.
Just to place this into context, Google still dominates global search in almost every country except a few that has banned Google: China, Iran and Syria. How Many Google Searcher Are There Per Day? quotes that that Google handles 13.6 billion searches per day, and has about 90% of global search. While there has been a slight drop in desktop search percentage, Google dominance in mobile has remained strong.
Coupling the data, that is a lot of people no longer visiting sites.
People Spending More Time Daily With AI Apps
But it’s not just the AI summaries that are part of the search engines, people are increasingly using the AI apps as a daily part of their routine. Olivia Moore recently reported that on average users are now spending almost 20 minutes per day on average on Chat GPT, almost 4x the figure from the months after introduction. That is for various functions, but much of it is replacing website visits.
Semrush Research Study
Recently a major research study from Semrush looked at how Google AI Overview is impacting traditional research. It is an in-depth study with many facets, and I strongly urge you to read it in full Semrush AI Overviews Study: What 2025 SEO Data Tells Us About Google’s Search Shift.
Author Jana Garanko leads with
The research used just over 10 million keywords to see which keywords were more likely to trigger a Google AI Overview. For about 200,000 of those, they tracked how AI overview trends changed over a three month period from January through March of 2025.
There is a lot in the study, but here are points that stood out to me as particularly relevant from a domain name perspective:
Google AI Overview Misses the Domain Name Aftermarket
I wondered how good Google AI Overviews would be for topics related to domain names, so tried a few trials with long-tail searches. For example, I entered:
and the Google AI Overview responded:
Even when I expanded for more information, it only provided an overview of the main registrars, no mention of marketplaces.
I decided to give AI Overview another chance, this time prompting:
The Google AI Overview:
When I expanded the overview, there was some useful information, such as the possibility of using an agent service such as GoDaddy, or employ a backorder or an auction. But not once in the entire response does it mention the domain marketplaces as a place to search.
It is incredible, and deeply concerning, that none of the brandable marketplaces, Atom, BrandBucket, BrandPa, etc., or any general purpose marketplaces, like Afternic and Sedo, were mentioned in response to either query. The entire idea of the aftermarket was missing from the Google AI Overviews, even though my query just said I wanted to purchase a domain name, no specification that it was to be hand registered, and the second query pointed out that the domain was currently held by someone.
As a domain community we need to somehow influence Google AI Overviews to adequately reflect the domain name aftermarket.
Google Agentic Shopping
But it is not just diverting people from visiting websites to get information – there is a grander mission in the planning. In May 2025 Google surprised many with the ideas in Shop with AI Mode, use AI to buy and try clothes on yourself virtually. The idea of using artificial intelligence to help imagine different clothes choices was to be expected. See how different clothes would look on you, and try different combinations. The AI assistant will have options from different suppliers, and can monitor pricing for you.
But the surprising thing was that Google went on to describe what they called Google agentic checkout. After you authorize it to act on your behalf, Google describes it this way:
This development is of interest to those investing in agentic domain names, a topic covered in the NamePros Blog a few months ago: Agent, Agentic and More: Domain Name Investment Opportunities. No doubt more within the general public will become familiar with the term ‘agentic’ though this Google initiative.
Shane’s Thoughts
I have no clear answer to the question posed in the title. Certainly the way people traditionally visit sites is changing.
This week Shane Cultra reminded us that at various points we have been warned of the latter days of domains. But domain names have persisted, even grown in importance.
Update – Check Related Article and Poll:
Unbeknownst to me, as I was researching and writing this article, @Eric Lyon was also researching and writing about the same topic. His article was published the day before my article. His article goes further in looking at AI summaries from a variety of different engines, including a nice informative graphic.
I think the two articles nicely complement each other. Please give a read to: Google AI Overview and Similar AI Tools Impact on the Domain Industry. Also, vote in the poll associated with that article.
My apologies for not checking for any related recent postings on NamePros just before I posted this article.
Updates:
June 1, 2025 Added last section pointing out a recent article on NamePros on the same topic.
I want to thank Bogdan Vovchuk for posting the link to the SEMRush research study, and Shane Cultra for permission to quote his thoughts in the final section. I also wish to acknowledge the studies and articles mentioned in the article, especially the Semrush research on AI Overview impact.
While there are small icons for links to the original content, in many cases people are not following those links, ending their search with the overview.
So what does that mean for domain names? If people are not even visiting sites, does the domain name still matter?
Two Views
I think there are logical arguments on both sides of the question.
(1) If people are getting information from AI tools, or from AI overviews in search tools, surely the domain name becomes less important, since the searcher is not even visiting the site. Sure, the domain name still has importance for things like email or a repository of information, but it becomes less central, and less valuable.
(2) Exactly because AI overviews are so prevalent, it makes it even more important to have a domain name that people will respect and remember, since that may be the only way to get a direct audience for your products or services. You need people to remember your domain name so they will visit it directly. The importance, and monetary value, of a domain name becomes even more important.
Zero Click Searches
When a person simply uses the summary or overview, and does not click through to the source document or site, it is called a zero-click search. This is not to be confused with zero-click as a parking term.
So the first question to ask is: How prevalent are zero-click searches?. Clearly it will vary with the information being sought and the searcher. Anthony Cardillo, writing at Exploding Topics, recently summarized this and other search data in the article How Many Google Searcher Are There Per Day? Citing different sources, it appears that more than 58% of searchers do not click through to any site, with the data not much different between Europe and the U.S.
Just to place this into context, Google still dominates global search in almost every country except a few that has banned Google: China, Iran and Syria. How Many Google Searcher Are There Per Day? quotes that that Google handles 13.6 billion searches per day, and has about 90% of global search. While there has been a slight drop in desktop search percentage, Google dominance in mobile has remained strong.
Coupling the data, that is a lot of people no longer visiting sites.
People Spending More Time Daily With AI Apps
But it’s not just the AI summaries that are part of the search engines, people are increasingly using the AI apps as a daily part of their routine. Olivia Moore recently reported that on average users are now spending almost 20 minutes per day on average on Chat GPT, almost 4x the figure from the months after introduction. That is for various functions, but much of it is replacing website visits.
Semrush Research Study
Recently a major research study from Semrush looked at how Google AI Overview is impacting traditional research. It is an in-depth study with many facets, and I strongly urge you to read it in full Semrush AI Overviews Study: What 2025 SEO Data Tells Us About Google’s Search Shift.
Author Jana Garanko leads with
Google’s rollout of AI Overviews is arguably the most disruptive change to the search landscape since the introduction of featured snippets.
The research used just over 10 million keywords to see which keywords were more likely to trigger a Google AI Overview. For about 200,000 of those, they tracked how AI overview trends changed over a three month period from January through March of 2025.
There is a lot in the study, but here are points that stood out to me as particularly relevant from a domain name perspective:
- Keyword searches where an AI Overview was provided tended to have higher zero-click rates. That seems logical, but, as we see below, the type of keywords that trigger an AI overview might have an impact.
- More AI Overviews are being presented each month. The study found just under 6.5% included an AI Overview in January, increasing to just over 13.1% in March.
- It turns out that long-tail multiword queries, especially ones asking for a definition, clarification, or comparison, are more likely to lead to an AI summary.
- So far at least, the high cost-per-click single-word or short searches are not very impacted with AI Overviews. Of course, that may change over time.
- I had not noticed this personally, but in general there are not many ads presented on pages with a Google AI Overview. The research found that “95% of keywords with AI Overviews either have no ads or extremely low CPC.”
- The study found significant differences between different sectors. Near the end of the article is a graph showing the percentage of AI overviews by subject. At the top, science and health have AI Overviews presented for more than 20% of searches. At the other end, sports, games, home and garden, shopping and real estate each have AI summaries less than 3% of the time. This may be important intelligence for domain investors, but keep in mind that this could well change.
Google AI Overview Misses the Domain Name Aftermarket
I wondered how good Google AI Overviews would be for topics related to domain names, so tried a few trials with long-tail searches. For example, I entered:
Where can a startup owner purchase a domain name?
and the Google AI Overview responded:
A startup owner can purchase a domain name through various domain registrars. Popular choices include GoDaddy, Namecheap, Domain.com, Google Domains, and Bluehost.
Even when I expanded for more information, it only provided an overview of the main registrars, no mention of marketplaces.
I decided to give AI Overview another chance, this time prompting:
Where can I buy a domain name that is already registered?
The Google AI Overview:
To purchase a registered domain name, you need to contact the current owner. You can use domain search tools like Namecheap's WHOIS service or ICANN's lookup tool to find the owner's contact information. Some domain registrars also offer brokerage services to facilitate the purchase.
When I expanded the overview, there was some useful information, such as the possibility of using an agent service such as GoDaddy, or employ a backorder or an auction. But not once in the entire response does it mention the domain marketplaces as a place to search.
It is incredible, and deeply concerning, that none of the brandable marketplaces, Atom, BrandBucket, BrandPa, etc., or any general purpose marketplaces, like Afternic and Sedo, were mentioned in response to either query. The entire idea of the aftermarket was missing from the Google AI Overviews, even though my query just said I wanted to purchase a domain name, no specification that it was to be hand registered, and the second query pointed out that the domain was currently held by someone.
As a domain community we need to somehow influence Google AI Overviews to adequately reflect the domain name aftermarket.
Google Agentic Shopping
But it is not just diverting people from visiting websites to get information – there is a grander mission in the planning. In May 2025 Google surprised many with the ideas in Shop with AI Mode, use AI to buy and try clothes on yourself virtually. The idea of using artificial intelligence to help imagine different clothes choices was to be expected. See how different clothes would look on you, and try different combinations. The AI assistant will have options from different suppliers, and can monitor pricing for you.
But the surprising thing was that Google went on to describe what they called Google agentic checkout. After you authorize it to act on your behalf, Google describes it this way:
So with Google agentic checkout the user does not even visit the website to complete the purchase, the Google agent does that for them.Behind the scenes, we’ll add the item to your cart on the merchant's site and securely complete the checkout on your behalf with Google Pay. This agentic checkout feature will be rolling out in the coming months to product listings in the U.S.
This development is of interest to those investing in agentic domain names, a topic covered in the NamePros Blog a few months ago: Agent, Agentic and More: Domain Name Investment Opportunities. No doubt more within the general public will become familiar with the term ‘agentic’ though this Google initiative.
Shane’s Thoughts
I have no clear answer to the question posed in the title. Certainly the way people traditionally visit sites is changing.
This week Shane Cultra reminded us that at various points we have been warned of the latter days of domains. But domain names have persisted, even grown in importance.
AI is going to kill domains. Where have I heard this before?
- Google Search= Going to kill domains
- Apps = Going to kill domains
- Social Media = Going to kill domains
- QR Codes= Going to kill domains
- Voice Search and Activation= Going to kill domains
- Decentralized Naming= Going to kill domains
Wise words from Shane.Domains are the doorway, the brand, the moniker. There will always be products that change how you go in the door, but commerce and content will always need a place to live. Some places to live will be better than others.
Update – Check Related Article and Poll:
Unbeknownst to me, as I was researching and writing this article, @Eric Lyon was also researching and writing about the same topic. His article was published the day before my article. His article goes further in looking at AI summaries from a variety of different engines, including a nice informative graphic.
I think the two articles nicely complement each other. Please give a read to: Google AI Overview and Similar AI Tools Impact on the Domain Industry. Also, vote in the poll associated with that article.
My apologies for not checking for any related recent postings on NamePros just before I posted this article.
Updates:
June 1, 2025 Added last section pointing out a recent article on NamePros on the same topic.
I want to thank Bogdan Vovchuk for posting the link to the SEMRush research study, and Shane Cultra for permission to quote his thoughts in the final section. I also wish to acknowledge the studies and articles mentioned in the article, especially the Semrush research on AI Overview impact.
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