Rank and AI citation genuinely diverge, but the circulating "collapse" figures are not measuring the same thing. Ahrefs' own AI Overviews number moved from 76.10% to 37.10% (blue links only) between July 2025 and March 2026 — while its parsing and its sample changed too. AI assistants are a separate measurement, not a later point on the same line: Ahrefs put that figure at about 12% in August 2025
What this covers
- Quick answer
- What we could actually trace
- The two Ahrefs AI Overview studies: 76%, then 38%
- The assistant number is a different measurement
- The number that points the other way
This is a technical summary. The full guide — with the tables and worked examples — is on our site: *When Google Rank and AI Citation Stop Agreeing*.
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