Partnerize, the company building the operating system for partnership value in the machine-mediated market, has released groundbreaking research revealing a major fracture in affiliate measurement caused by the rise of Generative AI search. The 2025 Clickless Affiliation™ Index Report analyzed hundreds of thousands of consumer journeys across more than 180 brands and found that publishers drive conversions at an average rate of 2.06x higher than traditional last-click attribution models.

AI has fundamentally altered last-click attribution. Supporting Partnerize’s findings, Adobe reports that Generative AI-powered chat services and browsers are already influencing holiday shopping behavior. On Cyber Monday alone, AI-driven traffic to U.S. retail sites increased by 670%, and overall AI traffic rose by 760% between November 1 and December 1. AI-assisted shopping is now a standard part of the consumer journey.

Publisher content is increasingly driving measurable conversions directly from AI-generated search results, even when no click occurs. However, because clicks are disappearing, publishers are losing visibility, attribution credit, and revenue.

Key Category Findings

The research uncovered significant differences in clickless influence by category:

• Home Improvement (2.71x): Driven by problem-solving content from publishers like The Spruce, HGTV, and The New York Times.
• Clothing & Apparel (2.70x): Influenced by GQ, Travel + Leisure, and Men’s Health, shaping decisions that convert directly on brand sites.
• Consumer Electronics (1.87x): Led by PCMag, Wired, and TechRadar simplifying complex product research.
• Beauty & Personal Care (1.50x): Powered by trusted voices like Allure and Byrdie.

“This research finally puts hard numbers behind what we’ve all known: the customer journey has fundamentally changed,” said Matt Gilbert, CEO of Partnerize. “AI now sits squarely between publishers and purchasers, shaping recommendations, collapsing clicks, and erasing the signals legacy attribution depends on.”

Introducing the HaloIndex™

The report introduces the HaloIndex™, a new benchmark that measures clickless conversions relative to traditional last-click conversions:

• An index of 1.0 means clickless influence equals click-through performance.
• An index above 1.0 shows publishers deliver more value than last-click attribution reveals.
• Categories scoring 2.5+ indicate substantial hidden value that should change commission and partnership models.

Powering the Next Generation of Attribution

The research was conducted using Konnecto technology, acquired by Partnerize in June 2025. Building on this, Partnerize launched VantagePoint™, the industry’s first GenAI conversion attribution solution. It shows how AI-surfaced content drives real outcomes and creates a shared, verifiable standard between brands and publishers.

The full Clickless Affiliation™ Index Report is available for download at: https://go.partnerize.com/2025-clickless-affiliation-index-report

About Partnerize

Partnerize is the operating system for partnership value in the machine-mediated market. As AI reshapes discovery and purchasing, Partnerize provides the infrastructure to measure influence, assign value, and drive trusted growth across modern commerce ecosystems.

About Konnecto

Konnecto is an AI-powered intelligence platform offering advanced partner discovery, competitive insights, fraud detection, and predictive analytics. Its data-driven capabilities help brands unlock new revenue opportunities and expand market reach.