TLDR Tech / Marketing
Is Google stealing your clicks in AI Mode?
Google dominates citations in Google AI Mode, often keeping users inside its ecosystem. An analysis of 1.32M citations across 68K keywords shows that Google.com accounts for 17.42% of all citations, more than the next six domains combined. Its self-citation rate rose from 5.7% in June 2025 to 17.42% in 2026. Of these citations, 59% point to Google search results and 36.1% to Google Business Profiles. Google leads in 19 of 20 niches, taking 53% of Travel citations and 49% in Entertainment. This trend reduces direct traffic opportunities and makes brand visibility inside AI responses more important than website clicks.
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