Contributors:
Amol Ghemud Published: February 17, 2026
Summary
Google AI Overviews now appear on nearly 30% of US search queries, reaching 1.5 billion users across 200+ countries. For fintech brands, the impact is stark: organic CTR drops 61% on queries where AI Overviews appear, and paid clicks crash 68%. But brands cited in AI Overviews earn 35% more organic clicks and 91% more paid clicks than they would on traditional SERPs. The question isn’t whether AI Overviews affect your fintech brand. It’s whether you’re being cited or ignored. Financial queries trigger AI Overviews at higher rates than other industries because they demand accuracy, comparison, and synthesis. Comparison queries (savings app vs savings app) and regulatory queries (RBI guidelines, SEBI compliance) almost always get AI Overviews now. Non-cited brands suffer a full 65% CTR decline, while cited brands expand their share of remaining traffic. For fintech marketers, citation has become the new position zero.
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The 61% organic CTR drop is real, but cited brands are winning bigger than ever
Your fintech organic traffic is disappearing. The numbers don’t lie. If you’re tracking traditional SEO metrics like keyword rankings and page-one visibility, you’re seeing success. But if you’re tracking actual clicks and conversions, you’re watching revenue evaporate.
Here’s what’s actually happening. Google AI Overviews now appear on roughly 30% of US queries, up from single-digit penetration just twelve months ago. The expansion grew 102% in the first quarter after the broad rollout. For fintech brands specifically, the impact is devastating. Organic click-through rates drop 61% on queries where AI Overviews appear. Paid clicks crash even harder, falling 68% on the same queries.
But there’s a counterintuitive twist that most fintech CMOs are missing. Brands that get cited in AI Overviews aren’t losing traffic. They’re gaining it. Cited brands earn 35% more organic clicks and 91% more paid clicks than they would on traditional search results. The traffic isn’t disappearing. It’s being redirected to the brands that AI Overviews choose to mention.
This creates a winner-take-most dynamic that’s unlike anything we’ve seen in traditional SEO. Non-cited brands in AI Overview queries suffer a 65% decline in CTR. Meanwhile, cited brands grow. The gap between winners and losers isn’t 10 or 20 percentage points. It’s 100+ percentage points in traffic impact.
The fintech brands that recognize this shift early are building citation strategies now. The ones that don’t are watching their customer acquisition costs spike while competitors capture the traffic that used to be theirs. This isn’t a trend that might reverse. This is a structural change in how financial information gets discovered.
This analysis breaks down the real numbers, why fintech gets hit harder than other industries, how AI Overviews choose which brands to cite, and what you should do about it right now.
The Numbers: How AI Overviews are Reshaping Fintech Search
Google AI Overviews have moved from experimental to ubiquitous in less than a year. The rollout that began at under 5% of US queries in early 2024 has since expanded across search behavior.
AI Overviews now appear on roughly 30% of US queries, up from single-digit penetration just twelve months ago. The expansion grew 102% in the first quarter after the broad rollout. Monthly, these overviews reach 1.5 billion users across 200+ countries. For fintech marketers, these aren’t vanity metrics. They represent real traffic being pulled away from traditional organic results.
The data on impact is unambiguous. According to Seer Interactive’s analysis of 25.1 million impressions (September 2025), organic click-through rates drop by 61% for queries on which AI Overviews appear. Paid clicks crash even harder, falling 68% on the same queries. But here’s the twist: even queries without AI Overviews are seeing CTR declines, suggesting a broader shift in how users interact with search results.
Similarweb data confirms this shift. Zero-click searches rose from 56% to 69% between May 2024 and May 2025. Users are getting answers directly from Google. They’re not clicking through to websites anymore.
Why Fintech gets Hit Harder than Other Industries
Fintech isn’t being hit harder by accident. Financial queries are exactly what AI Overviews were designed to handle.
Financial queries are high-information queries. They demand accuracy, comparison, and synthesis. “Best savings account interest rates,” “how to invest in mutual funds,” and “difference between mutual funds and ETFs” trigger AI Overviews at higher rates than generic product queries. Comparison queries, especially fintech-specific ones (X savings app vs Y savings app, for example), almost always get AI Overviews now.
Regulatory queries compound the problem. Questions about RBI or SEBI guidelines, GST on financial products, and compliance requirements are increasingly answered directly by AI. Users aren’t visiting compliance pages on fintech websites. They’re reading Google’s synthesis instead.
There’s also a compliance risk that most fintech brands aren’t talking about. AI Overviews sometimes cite incorrect or outdated financial information. When your brand is mentioned alongside inaccurate rates or regulatory guidance, your brand absorbs the credibility hit. Your competitors might avoid the citation altogether, thereby avoiding the risk.
The Citation Advantage: What Happens When AI Overviews Cite Your Brand
Here’s the counterintuitive part: being cited in an AI Overview isn’t a loss. It’s the opposite.
Brands cited in AI Overviews earn 35% more organic clicks than they would on traditional SERPs. Yes, the overall traffic pool shrinks because of zero-click searches. But cited brands expand their share of what’s left. They also earn 91% more paid clicks, suggesting that AI citations drive strong purchase intent.
The math is brutal for non-cited brands. Non-cited brands in AI Overview queries suffer a 65% decline in CTR. Meanwhile, cited brands grow. Citation has become the new position zero.
Size doesn’t determine citation. Navy Federal Credit Union achieved disproportionate representation in AI Overviews relative to larger competitors. Fi. Money, a smaller digital banking platform, built citation presence in smart deposit and digital banking queries through a GEO-first content strategy that emphasizes local relevance and the Indian market context.
How AI Overviews Choose Which Fintech Brands to Cite
AI citation isn’t random. Google’s systems follow consistent patterns when deciding which fintech brand to mention.
1. Content structure is the first filter
AI extracts from well-structured content that uses proper schema markup. The FAQ schema, Product schema, and Organization schema all signal to Google that your content is optimized for extraction.
2. Authority signals matter enormously
For financial content categorized as YMYL (Your Money Your Life), Google places heavy weight on E-E-A-T signals: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Content written by financial experts with disclosed credentials outranks generic how-to guides.
3. Accuracy and compliance boost citation
Content that explicitly references RBI or SEBI guidelines, explains regulatory changes, or includes disclaimers gets preferred treatment in financial queries. Google’s systems understand that financial accuracy matters.
4. Recency signals are critical
AI Overviews favor recently updated content, particularly content with 2025 or 2026 publication dates. An old article on interest rates, even if well written, loses to fresh analysis.
5. Third-party validation boosts citation probability
Brand mentions on G2 reviews, Reddit discussions, and industry publications all signal authority. Content isolation doesn’t work anymore. You need signals from outside your website.
What doesn’t work: thin content, opinion without data, generic advice, and keyword-stuffed pages. These are blacklisted more aggressively by AI systems than by traditional ranking algorithms.
The Cost of Ignoring AI Overviews in Fintech
If you’re not being cited in AI Overviews, you’re paying a hidden tax. Every AI Overview query where you’re absent is a query where your customer acquisition cost just went up.
CPC inflation in Google Ads has reached $5.26 on average, up 12.9% year over year. Fintech CPCs are among the highest in the industry. For specific financial product queries, CPCs have exceeded $8. As organic traffic dries up, paid search becomes the fallback. But fallback traffic is expensive traffic.
Competitor advantage compounds. Brands that get cited now build authority that makes future citations easier. Their E-E-A-T signals strengthen. Their third-party citations grow. Brands falling behind today will struggle to catch up in six months.
And here’s the critical insight: the traffic you’re “losing” to AI Overviews isn’t disappearing. It’s being redirected to the cited brands. Your competition isn’t losing traffic. You are.
Analysts predict a 20-30% further decline in CTR for high-funnel queries in 2026. If you haven’t acted on AI Overviews yet, you’re running out of time.
What Fintech Brands Should do About AI Overviews Right Now
Step 1: Audit which of your top fintech keywords trigger AI Overviews. You can do this manually by searching each query, or use tools like Profound or Scrunch to batch-check.
Step 2: Check if you’re being cited. If not, identify who is. Read the AI Overview. Understand what structure and angle Google prefers.
Step 3: Restructure content for AI extraction. Use the BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) format, add an FAQ schema, optimize entities, and include data-rich tables that AI systems can synthesize.
Step 4: Add compliance and accuracy signals. Reference RBI or SEBI guidelines explicitly. Include disclaimers. Disclose author credentials. Signal financial authority.
Step 5: Monitor citation share alongside traditional rankings. Build dashboards that track which keywords you’re cited in, which competitors are gaining ground, and where your gaps are.
This is GEO, Generative Engine Optimization. It’s not just SEO with a new name. The playbook is fundamentally different. Your content strategy, structure, and validation approach all need to shift.
Start building citation share before it’s too late
The traffic you’re losing to AI Overviews isn’t disappearing. It’s being redirected to the brands that get cited. The gap between cited and non-cited fintech brands is now more than 100 percentage points in traffic impact. That’s not a margin change. That’s business model change.
At upGrowth, we’ve helped fintech brands like Fi. Money builds citation presence in AI Overviews through GEO-first content strategies. We combine content structure, E-E-A-T signals, regulatory accuracy, and schema markup to make fintech brands the natural choice for AI citation.
The brands that move now will build authority that makes future citation easier. The ones that wait will be competing for scraps while cited competitors dominate.
Google AI Overviews are AI-generated summaries that appear at the top of search results for certain queries. They synthesize information from multiple sources and present an answer directly in Google’s interface. Users don’t need to click through to get an answer. Google does the synthesis for them.
2. How much do AI Overviews reduce fintech organic traffic?
On queries where AI Overviews appear, organic CTR drops 61%. For cited brands, the drop is offset by gains. Non-cited brands lose up to 65%. Overall, organic traffic from fintech has declined by 15-20% over the past six months for brands not cited.
3. Can fintech brands benefit from AI Overviews?
Yes. Brands cited in AI Overviews earn 35% more organic clicks and 91% more paid clicks. Citation drives intent and trust. The key is getting cited in the first place.
4. How do I get my fintech brand cited in AI Overviews?
Focus on content structure, E-E-A-T signals, accuracy, recency, and third-party validation. Use schema markup. Write authoritative content with expert bylines. Reference regulatory guidelines. Ensure your content is fresh and data-backed.
5. Are AI Overviews accurate for financial information?
Usually, but not always. AI Overviews sometimes cite outdated rates or misinterpret complex regulations. This is why accuracy and compliance signals are critical. If your content is cited, ensure it’s correct.
6. Should I change my SEO strategy because of AI Overviews?
You need a parallel strategy. Traditional SEO still matters for the 70% of queries that don’t yet trigger AI Overviews. But for the growing 30%, you need GEO tactics alongside SEO.
7. How do AI Overviews affect paid search for fintech?
Paid CTR drops 68% on queries with AI Overviews. But cited brands see 91% more paid clicks than non-cited brands. Paid search becomes more competitive as organic options shrink, pushing CPCs higher.
Amol has helped catalyse business growth with his strategic & data-driven methodologies. With a decade of experience in the field of marketing, he has donned multiple hats, from channel optimization, data analytics and creative brand positioning to growth engineering and sales.
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