Two-thirds of Google searches now end clickless, and with AI summaries that share reaches 80%. Akeneo says product data, not rankings, decides visibility.
More than two-thirds of Google searches now end without a click to an external website, according to a report by Akeneo, a product information management company. When Google displays an AI-generated summary, the share of clickless searches rises to around 80%.
Akeneo's report, "The Invisible Shelf," argues that generative AI is changing product discovery. AI assistants increasingly recommend specific products rather than directing shoppers to retailer websites. The customer journey shortens, and the retailer loses control of when and where discovery happens.
Search rankings no longer decide visibility. Forty-seven percent of citations in Google's AI Overviews come from pages ranking below position five in traditional search results, Akeneo found.
Product data quality is the new filter. Incomplete or inaccurate information can get a product removed from AI-generated recommendations, the report said. AI agents compare and select items on a consumer's behalf, so machine-readable data becomes the condition for appearing in the answer at all.
"The next battle for visibility won't be fought on search engine results pages," said Justin Thomas, VP Sales EMEA North at Akeneo. "Increasingly, products will be recommended directly by AI systems. If AI cannot understand, verify and trust your product information, your products risk becoming invisible during one of the fastest-growing stages of the buying journey."
The Invisible Shelf refers to products that go unseen by consumers using AI agents because their data cannot be read or verified by machines. Akeneo says retailers should treat AI discoverability as a product data challenge rather than a marketing exercise. Structured and governed product information lets AI match items to customer intent and recommend them with confidence.
Salesforce research cited in the report found agentic search usage has grown more than 200%. Product discovery increasingly starts in AI conversations. Akeneo says the priority shifts from SEO to AI visibility, and richer, cleaner product data is the way to get there.
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