When a homeowner searches “How do I fix a leaky faucet?” and gets an AI-generated answer via a Google summary that synthesizes recommendations from The Spruce and HGTV, they might head directly to Home Depot or Amazon to buy the exact products mentioned. Unfortunately, the publishers that diagnosed their challenge and recommended the solutions don’t get full credit, and the brands who benefited from that influence can’t see it in their reporting.
That’s the reality of the home improvement category in 2025 and going into 2026. Our latest research found that home improvement shows the highest clickless multiplier of any category we measured at 2.71×.
AI Tools & Their Usage
Consumer product research now happens through AI before it reaches publisher sites or retail pages. Google’s AI Overviews synthesize publisher content directly in search results, while LLM tools like ChatGPT (which holds 85-90% market share in GenAI-assisted shopping journeys) and Perplexity (emerging at 5-10%) have become the new front door to product discovery. 
What’s Clickless Affiliation™?
Clickless Affiliation™ occurs when publisher content influences a purchase without generating a trackable click, typically through AI summaries that cite publisher recommendations.This means that for every conversion tracked through traditional affiliate clicks, home improvement publishers are driving 2.71 more conversions through invisible influence through new AI-generated summaries and LLM answers.
For brands, this means you’re dramatically undervaluing your most influential publisher partnerships. For publishers, this means you’re driving far more revenue than your current compensation may reflect.
Home Improvement Leads the Clickless Economy
Three characteristics make home improvement uniquely susceptible to GenAI conversion attribution gaps:
High-stakes decisions. No one wants to buy the wrong power drill or install incompatible fixtures. These mistakes are expensive, so consumers may spend days or weeks researching across multiple publishers, reading buying guides, watching tutorial videos, and comparing product specs.
Problem-solving content dominates. Home improvement purchases often start with a specific problem that needs solving. “How do I install a ceiling fan?” or “What’s the best paint for bathroom walls?” These searches generate AI summaries that pull from trusted publishers, creating instant buying guides without a single click.
Long research cycles collapse into direct purchases. By the time consumers are ready to buy, they know exactly what they need and head straight to the retailer. The publisher influence happened, but it’s invisible to both the brand and the publisher in traditional last-click conversion attribution tracking.
The Publishers Owning GenAI Influence in Home Improvement
Our research identified the top publishers driving clickless influence in home improvement:
- Serious Eats – Kitchen renovation and appliance recommendations
- Tasting Table – Kitchen equipment and design content
- The Spruce – Comprehensive home improvement guides and product recommendations
- The New York Times (Wirecutter) – Authoritative buying guides
- HGTV – Project tutorials with tool and material recommendationsFor these brands, the 2.71× multiplier reveals massive hidden value in publisher partnerships they may be undervaluing. For publishers, it reveals revenue they’re generating but not capturing in partnership agreements.
What This Means for Both Sides of the Partnership
If you’re a brand: You’re likely undervaluing premium publishers who drive research and consideration while overvaluing bottom-funnel affiliates who simply capture existing intent. The publishers creating comprehensive buying guides, project tutorials, and problem-solving content are driving far more value than your current attribution shows.
If you’re a publisher: Your content is driving significant brand revenue that isn’t showing up in your affiliate earnings. The data now exists to prove your true influence and negotiate partnerships that reflect your full value.
The question for both sides is whether you’ll adapt your measurement and partnership strategies before your competitors do.
About the Research
This data comes from the 2025 Clickless Affiliation™ Index Report, which analyzed hundreds of thousands of consumer journeys across 187 brands and six major retail categories. Using VantagePoint™ technology, we measured how publisher content surfaced in AI-generated search results drives measurable conversions without traditional click-through attribution.
Read the full report across six top industries, including PCs, Laptops, and Computing Accessories, to learn more. Or, try our interactive demo today → VantagePoint™ On-Demand Demo
