AI hasn’t just changed where people search; it’s changing how people make decisions.

As AI Overviews, ChatGPT and other answer engines become part of everyday discovery, more searches are ending without a click. But what if zero-click behaviour isn’t really about clicks at all?

Drawing on the latest SearchPulse research, Becky Simms explores the psychology behind modern discovery behaviour: when users trust AI summaries without verification, when they seek additional reassurance, and where the line sits between searching for information and delegating decisions.

This session explores concepts including cognitive ease, scroll fatigue, trust, verification behaviour and the growing expectation that technology should reduce effort and make decisions easier.

Attendees will learn:

What zero-click behaviour actually means psychologically
Why "good enough faster" is reshaping user expectations
How trust, verification and cognitive ease influence decision-making
Where audiences still want exploration versus where they want delegation
The difference between search-support and decision-support content
What these behavioural shifts mean for future search and content strategies

Combining behavioural science, search strategy and fresh consumer research, this session will help marketers understand what is really happening behind declining clicks and how to adapt their strategies accordingly.