Search used to be a gateway to websites. Now, more often, it’s the destination.

Ian Newfeld, CEO at Appnomix

In 2024, analysis from SparkToro estimated that about 58.5% of U.S. searches and nearly 60% in the EU ended without any click to the open web. One year later, Similarweb reported that after Google’s AI Overviews expanded, the share of searches with no external click rose from roughly 56% in May 2024 to about 69% by May 2025.

That sounds bleak—until you realize the fish didn’t disappear; they moved. If answers now live on the results page, retailers must cast their line where intent gathers—on the product detail page (PDP).

What Changed in Search

AI Overviews, Bing Copilot, and other answer-engine experiences have compressed the journey. Instead of “query → click → read,” users see a synthesized response at the top of the results page and often stop there or refine the question. This isn’t just interface polish; it’s a shift in incentives. Search engines are competing to satisfy intent immediately, which reduces friction for users but removes the handoff that once sent traffic to retailers.

Discovery hasn’t vanished; it’s happening inside the answer itself.

When a shopper stops at an answer card, their needs don’t evaporate. They still want confirmation of the exact model or fit, clarity on price and stock by fulfillment option, and—if the item isn’t available—the same product from an approved partner. That’s why the product page should behave like an answer surface: resolve the question in place with model confirmation, real-time price and availability, and identical-product alternatives, then convert.

Fish Where the Fish Are

Treat the product page as the answer surface you control. A lightweight Answer-AI on the PDP can confirm the exact model, resolve price/stock questions in the shopper’s context, and, when needed, surface same-product alternatives from partners without conquesting competitors. It mirrors how an answer card resolves a query—but on a surface where you can turn certainty into revenue and relationships.

Teach the Product Page to Answer Like an Expert

For years, product pages have been static showcases: images, specs, and buy buttons waiting for clicks. But in a world where shoppers expect instant clarity, a good product page must behave like an expert. It should recognize the question behind the visit, confirm the shopper’s intent, and respond with confidence.

That starts with identity. Each PDP needs to understand what it’s showing and who’s asking. When a visitor arrives from search, the page should instantly verify the SKU, model number, or variant that matched the query and return a short confirmation such as, “You’re viewing the 512GB model of the Galaxy S23 Ultra.” It’s the digital equivalent of a store associate double-checking that a customer picked up the right box.

Next, that confirmation should trigger context-aware data—live pricing, local availability, and delivery options—drawn from the same feed that powers merchant listings and partner catalogs. If an item is unavailable, the page should offer nearby pickup, back-in-stock alerts, or identical-product alternatives from approved partners, framed as service, not competition.

Every answer should be traceable. Displaying the data source the information came from—your feed, merchant center, or partner network—builds trust and keeps compliance simple. Finally, track what shoppers ask for most often: which confirmations, stock checks, or delivery clarifications happen repeatedly. Those insights become a roadmap for improving PDP content, refining your data pipeline, and tuning future AI responses.

Teaching the product page to answer like an expert isn’t about adding a widget; it’s about turning a passive display into an active dialogue that reassures, resolves, and converts.

How to Measure Success When Clicks Fade

Search engines now satisfy more shopper intent directly, which means traditional success metrics—clicks, sessions, referral traffic—no longer tell the full story. To understand how well your product pages perform, measure what happens after intent arrives.

Focus on indicators that reveal how effectively your PDPs resolve questions and guide decisions:
Model or variant confirmation rate — how often shoppers validate that they’ve found the exact product they were searching for.

• Price and stock interaction rate — clicks, hovers, or expansions on availability data that show shoppers engaging with real-time information.
• Add-to-cart and assisted conversions — sales or cart actions that occur after a shopper interacts with Answer-AI elements.
• Time to decision — how quickly shoppers move from first interaction to cart or checkout once their questions are resolved.
• Alternative product selection — frequency with which users choose an identical-model alternative when the original offer isn’t available.

These are outcomes you can directly influence inside your own ecosystem—measures of clarity, trust, and conversion that remain steady even as external traffic patterns shift.

Why This Framing Resonates with Shoppers

Those metrics matter because they mirror how people actually shop. Most shoppers don’t think in channels; they think in tasks: is this the right item, can I get it by Friday, is the same one in stock somewhere else. The winning product page feels like a capable clerk who answers quickly, not a billboard hoping for a click. When your page confirms the exact model, clarifies price and stock, and offers an identical alternative when needed, it aligns perfectly with those tasks—and lowers the effort required to buy.

The Net Effect

Zero-click isn’t an apocalypse. It’s a redistribution of attention toward answer-style experiences. When retailers bring those answers onto the product page, they stop waiting for referral traffic and start resolving intent where it still converts. The fish didn’t vanish; they changed ponds. Go cast there.