Search with Candour What happened in SEO in 2025? SEO Predictions for 2026
Jan 5, 2026
The hosts dive into the significant SEO trends of 2025, highlighting a sharp rise in zero-click searches and their impact on click-through rates. They explore the surge in video and visual search, emphasizing the importance of community-focused marketing. The rollout of Google's AI mode is another hot topic, with predictions on its potential to reshape search functionalities. Challenges like automated advertising and scraping are discussed, along with exciting predictions for the future of SEO and personal AI tools in everyday use.
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AI Summaries Reduced Organic Clicks
- Zero-click searches increased in 2025 as AI summaries reduced organic CTR and shifted influence off-site.
- Mark and Jack observed AI overviews peaked then partially retreated, suggesting Google is calibrating balance.
Google Calibrated AI Overviews
- Google experimented heavily with AI-generated PAA answers, reaching ~41% then dropping to ~30% by November.
- This suggests Google is testing and adjusting AIO prevalence based on signals and user feedback.
Lens Use For Everyday Questions
- Mark and Jack described frequent personal use of Google Lens for identifying places, dog breeds, and appliance settings.
- They highlighted multimodal search becoming a fast, practical part of daily life.