A new study from marketing agency Seer Interactive has sent ripples through the digital marketing world: organic click-through rates dropped 61% for queries where Google’s AI Overviews appear. The headlines are alarming. The numbers sound devastating. And if you run a party rental business, you might be wondering whether your hard-won search visibility is about to evaporate.
Before you panic, take a breath. This study tells an important story, but the full picture reveals something party rental operators, bounce house companies, and event equipment businesses will want to hear: your type of search traffic is among the least affected by this change.
Understanding the nuance behind this research matters because it determines whether you need to overhaul your entire marketing strategy or simply stay aware of evolving trends while continuing what’s already working.
What the Study Actually Found
The Seer Interactive research, published in November 2025, analyzed 3,119 search queries across 42 organizations, tracking 25.1 million organic impressions and 1.1 million paid impressions between June 2024 and September 2025. The findings paint a stark picture of how AI Overviews affect search behavior.
For queries where AI Overviews appear, organic click-through rates fell from 1.76% to 0.61%—that 61% decline making headlines. Paid search fared even worse, with CTR dropping 68% from 19.7% to 6.34%. Perhaps most concerning, even queries without AI Overviews saw a 41% decline in organic CTR, suggesting broader shifts in how people interact with search results.
The study also revealed a significant upside for brands that appear within AI Overview responses. Businesses cited in AI Overviews earned 35% more organic clicks and 91% more paid clicks compared to those not cited. Being mentioned in Google’s AI-generated summary has become valuable search real estate.
These numbers demand attention. They represent fundamental changes in search behavior that every business owner should understand. But context matters enormously, and the context changes everything for local service businesses.
Why Party Rental Businesses Are Largely Protected
Here’s the critical detail that most coverage of this study overlooks: the 61% CTR decline applies specifically to informational queries—searches where people seek knowledge, definitions, how-to guidance, or general information.
The Seer Interactive study explicitly focused on “informational and educational queries” because these are “most vulnerable to AI Overviews.” This makes sense. When someone searches “what is the capital of France” or “how does photosynthesis work,” an AI-generated summary can fully satisfy their need without requiring a website click.
Party rental searches work fundamentally differently.
When a parent searches “bounce house rental near me” or “party tent rental [city name],” they aren’t seeking information—they’re looking to hire a local company to deliver equipment to their home. No AI summary can fulfill that need. The searcher must connect with an actual business, check availability, get pricing, and book the rental.
Research confirms this protection extends to local businesses broadly. According to seoClarity data, AI Overviews appeared for just 0.01% of local keywords as of September 2025—essentially zero. WordStream research found AI Overviews only appear on approximately 7% of local queries, and other studies show only a 10% chance of AI Overviews appearing for commercial or transactional keywords.
Industry analysts specifically identify local service businesses and real estate as “relatively protected” from AI Overview disruption. The queries that trigger AI Overviews most frequently—informational searches starting with “what,” “why,” or “how”—rarely apply to someone actively looking to rent party equipment.
The Types of Searches That Are Affected
Understanding which searches see dramatic CTR declines helps clarify why party rental businesses face less exposure to this trend.
Informational queries take the biggest hit. Searches like “what causes inflation” or “how to train a puppy” now frequently receive comprehensive AI summaries that satisfy the searcher’s need directly on Google’s results page. Content publishers, educational sites, and blogs focused on answering questions have experienced significant traffic declines.
Health and medical queries have seen some of the highest AI Overview penetration rates, with AI providing synthesized information from multiple authoritative sources. Food and recipe content has experienced rapid growth in AI Overview appearances, challenging food bloggers and recipe sites.
Entertainment, restaurant recommendations, and travel planning queries have seen dramatic increases in AI Overview presence—categories where Google can summarize reviews and options without users needing to visit individual websites.
The pattern becomes clear: AI Overviews thrive where Google can provide a complete answer. They struggle where users need to take action—book something, buy something, or connect with a specific local provider.
What This Means for Your Party Rental Marketing
Even though local service businesses face less direct impact, the broader shifts in search behavior matter for your long-term strategy.
The Local Pack Remains Your Priority
With AI Overviews minimally affecting local searches, your Google Business Profile and Local Pack visibility remain your primary paths to search-driven bookings. The three-pack of local results with the map continues appearing prominently for location-based searches.
When someone searches “party rentals near me” or “bounce house rental [your city],” they see local business listings before anything else. This hasn’t changed, and current data suggests it won’t change soon.
Double down on Google Business Profile optimization: complete every field, add all services you offer, specify your service areas, upload quality photos showing your equipment at actual events, and post regular updates about availability and seasonal offerings.
Reviews Matter Even More
In an environment where AI increasingly mediates between searchers and information, trust signals become more important. Your review profile serves as social proof that helps potential customers feel confident choosing your business.
The businesses that thrive in AI-influenced search are those demonstrating clear expertise, authority, and trustworthiness. For party rental companies, this translates directly to review quantity and quality. A strong review profile doesn’t just help you rank—it helps customers choose you over competitors.
Implement systematic review requests after successful events. A text message the day after delivery thanking the customer and including your Google review link consistently outperforms other approaches.
Content Strategy Shifts for Information-Seekers
While your core booking traffic comes from local transactional searches, some potential customers do conduct informational searches before they’re ready to rent. Someone might search “how to plan a backyard birthday party” or “what size tent do I need for 50 guests” before searching for rental companies.
This informational traffic has become harder to capture as AI Overviews answer questions directly. However, there’s an opportunity: brands cited within AI Overviews see significantly better performance than those not cited.
Creating authoritative, helpful content that clearly answers common questions positions your business as a potential source for AI-generated answers. Write comprehensive guides addressing questions your customers commonly ask. Structure content with clear headings and direct answers in the first paragraph of each section.
Even if AI summarizes your content without driving a click, being mentioned as a source builds brand awareness with people who may later search specifically for party rentals in your area.
Branded Searches Remain Strong
Research shows branded searches—when someone searches your business name directly—are largely unaffected by AI Overviews. When AI Overviews do appear for branded queries, CTR for that brand actually increases.
This reinforces the value of building brand recognition through channels beyond search: vehicle wraps, yard signs at events, social media presence, and word-of-mouth referrals. When someone remembers your company name and searches for it directly, you’ve bypassed the competitive dynamics of generic search entirely.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Overreacting to Headlines
The 61% figure sounds catastrophic, but applying it to your business without understanding the underlying data leads to misguided decisions. A party rental company panicking over informational query CTR declines is solving a problem that barely affects them.
Evaluate your actual traffic sources. Look at Google Search Console data to see which queries drive your impressions and clicks. Most party rental companies will find their traffic comes primarily from local-intent searches with city names, “near me” modifiers, or specific service requests—categories with minimal AI Overview exposure.
Abandoning What Works
Some businesses respond to search landscape changes by dramatically shifting resources away from proven strategies. For local service businesses, Google Business Profile optimization, review generation, and local content creation continue delivering results.
The fundamentals of local SEO haven’t changed: accurate business information across directories, strong review profiles, location-specific website content, and responsive customer communication. These practices drove bookings before AI Overviews and continue driving bookings now.
Ignoring the Trend Entirely
While party rental businesses face less immediate impact, ignoring AI’s growing role in search entirely would be shortsighted. The search landscape continues evolving, and AI features will likely expand over time.
Stay informed about changes without overreacting. Monitor your traffic patterns for shifts that might indicate changing dynamics. Position your business to adapt as needed while continuing strategies that currently work.
Practical Steps for Party Rental Operators
Audit Your Current Search Performance
Before making any changes, understand your baseline. In Google Search Console, examine which queries drive your traffic and whether they’re informational or transactional in nature. Most party rental companies will find the vast majority of their search visibility comes from local-intent queries with low AI Overview exposure.
Check your Google Business Profile insights to see how customers find and interact with your listing. Track calls, direction requests, and website clicks originating from your profile.
Strengthen Your Google Business Profile
Your GBP likely delivers more booking inquiries than your website’s organic rankings. Treat it accordingly.
Add every service you offer as a listed service—bounce houses, water slides, tents, tables, chairs, concession equipment, games. Specify your complete service area including every city and neighborhood you serve. Upload photos from actual events showing your equipment in use at real parties.
Post weekly updates about availability, seasonal offerings, or company news. Active profiles signal to Google that your business is engaged and current.
Build Your Review Pipeline
Develop a systematic approach to review generation. After every successful rental, reach out to customers requesting feedback. Make it easy by texting a direct link to your Google review page.
Respond to every review—positive and negative. Your responses demonstrate customer service quality and contribute to the content profile Google uses to understand your business.
Create Locally-Focused Content
Develop website content targeting specific cities and neighborhoods you serve. “Bounce House Rental in [City Name]” pages with unique content about serving that area perform better than generic service area pages.
Include local details: mention popular venues where you’ve delivered, reference local parks suitable for party rentals, discuss delivery logistics specific to each area. This specificity signals relevance both to search engines and to potential customers.
Track What Actually Matters
Stop obsessing over ranking positions for informational queries and start tracking metrics that correlate with business outcomes: phone calls from Google, booking requests, direction requests from your GBP, and actual completed rentals.
These metrics tell you whether your visibility is generating business regardless of broader CTR trends affecting other industries.
Looking Ahead
AI Overviews will continue evolving. Google has announced AI Mode as the future of search, and AI features are expanding to reach 1.5 billion users monthly across 200+ countries. The percentage of queries triggering AI Overviews has grown from around 10% in early 2025 to roughly 30% by fall.
However, the fundamental nature of local service searches limits how much AI can intermediate these transactions. Someone needs to physically deliver a bounce house to a backyard. That requires connecting with an actual local business, checking actual availability, and completing an actual booking.
The party rental businesses that will thrive through continued search evolution are those focused on genuine customer service excellence, strong local reputation, and maintaining visibility where their customers actually search. The 61% CTR decline makes for attention-grabbing headlines, but for local service businesses focused on their core customer journey, the path forward remains clear: serve customers well, maintain your local presence, and stay adaptable as the landscape continues shifting.
The study reveals important truths about how search is changing. Those truths simply affect different businesses in different ways—and party rental companies find themselves in one of the more protected positions as AI reshapes how people find information online.
The Bottom Line
Yes, organic CTR dropped 61% for queries with AI Overviews. Yes, this represents a significant shift in search behavior. And yes, you should understand what’s happening in the broader digital marketing landscape.
But for party rental businesses, bounce house operators, and event equipment companies, the practical impact remains limited. Your customers search with local intent for transactional purposes—exactly the type of search least affected by AI Overviews.
Continue prioritizing your Google Business Profile, generating reviews from satisfied customers, creating location-specific content, and delivering excellent service that earns referrals and repeat business. These fundamentals haven’t changed, and they won’t change regardless of how AI continues reshaping informational search.
The headlines are alarming. The reality for local service businesses is considerably more reassuring.
