AI overviews reduce clicks for funeral directors, report finds

Google’s AI Overviews (AIOs) are diminishing website traffic for funeral directors by taking a larger share of search visibility, according to a report by marketing agency Jukebox.

The firm, which provides marketing support to funeral businesses, said AIOs – which generate answers from multiple sources – now appear at the top of more than 20% of Google search results, diverting clicks away from traditional websites.

Jukebox’s survey of consumers found that 39% trusted answers from AIOs, but 46% disliked the feature and preferred visiting websites. Nearly 40% said they already knew their local funeral director and did not rely on Google, yet 45% still trusted Google to recommend local services.

The findings also highlighted that 44% of respondents struggled to tell paid adverts apart from organic results, and 49% said they used Google Maps first when searching for local businesses.

Stephen Jury, managing director of Jukebox, said: “With many planning the perfect funeral for their lost loved ones, it’s important that your business stands out from the rest to get as many clicks as possible. But, with the increasing use of AI overview and adverts from Google, being ‘top’ of the organic search results might no longer be enough.

“With Google continuing to change its search algorithm, it’s important to continue to have a marketing budget for local PR, social and branding.”

He added: “AI overview is taking clicks to your website away for terms like ‘how much does a funeral cost’ which is automatically pulled from source websites. Encouragingly, nearly half of the people surveyed told us they would prefer to visit a website instead of using the AI information.”