Welcome to our August Digital Digest!
There’s been plenty happening throughout 2025 and this month has been no exception. From falling CTRs to the ongoing struggle for organic visibility, the digital world continues to shift before our eyes, and we’re here to cover all of the key updates that you need to know in our monthly showcase.
AI Overviews Are Up… And CTRs Are Down
Google CTRs for top results are down – and are expected to stay there as AI Overviews hold the top spot.
Aiming for the top position in SERPs is no longer the shortcut to success that it used to be as click-through rates (CTRs) for top-ranking Google results continue to decline. Results that achieve the top rank have seen a 32% decrease in organic clicks from 2024 to 2025, whilst the CTRs of results in the top 5 positions have decreased by 17%.
Interestingly, positions 6 – 10 have seen a 30% increase in organic clicks in the same time period. This suggests that, despite Google’s best efforts to push AI Overviews, users are scrolling past these AI-generated summaries and searching for the original information further down the results page.
Google to Crawl and Index Instagram Posts
Instagram’s new option allows users to control the visibility of their posts in search results.
Seeing social posts in search results is not necessarily a new development. Links to public posts have been appearing in SERPs for a few years now, but as of July 10th, Instagram users will have the option to allow or prevent their posts from being indexed by Google.
Once a user chooses to enable this feature, Google can automatically crawl and index their public posts and include them in search results. Achieving visibility in search results is no mean feat, and with 2 billion monthly users, Instagram offers vast quantities of user-generated content, which search engines are increasingly rewarding with higher rankings.
Gen Z Shifts Towards Social Search
Googling is no longer the umbrella term that it once was as social search continues to influence search behaviour.
Looking for information online is no longer ‘Googling’: it is now simply ‘searching’. This now involves AI chatbots, social media platforms, and other search engines, and as the search experience continues to fragment based on age, intent, and preferences, social search is becoming increasingly popular.
Gen Z is leading the shift away from search engines and towards using social media for search purposes. Google usage amongst Gen Z continues to decline and 46% of this age group (16 – 27) now prefer to use social platforms over Google, whilst TikTok and Instagram have firmly supplanted it as the preferred search platform for this demographic.
How Trustworthy is AI?
AI usage continues to reach new heights, and user trust in AI platforms is just as high.
We all know that more people than ever before are routinely using AI but it now appears that they also trust it more than ever before. New statistics reveal that a staggeringly high number of users (79%) consider AI search engines to be trustworthy – despite the frequent reminders from these models that their responses may include mistakes.
These numbers put AI search engines on par with other well-known search engines. YouTube is perceived as trustworthy by 86% of users, whilst Amazon leads the way with the trust of 87% of users. However, whilst the confidence rating for AI has soared, search engines in general are still perceived as more trustworthy than their AI alternatives with a vote of confidence from 86% of users.
Does AI = Quality?
AI cannot replace the value of human-produced content that has been optimised for online search.
AI platforms are redefining the way we all search for information online, but they seem to be stalling when it comes to producing quality content. Whilst AI can produce content at scale, its limitations lie in its inability to adapt its output in line with branding guidelines and conversion goals, which are essential when producing effective content.
Without the right oversight and edits, AI content reads as generic and uninspiring, which risks damaging a brand’s standing and often incurs penalties from search engines for failing to meet quality standards. Targeted, curated content remains the key to online success and whilst AI might be a useful tool, it (for now at least) cannot compete with the value of human insight and expertise.
The Digital Digest
Want to know more about what these developments mean for your digital marketing strategy?
Our team is on-hand to talk through the challenges and opportunities facing your business, so contact us today and don’t forget to come back next month for all of our September insights.
