Precision acousto‐optic transducer calibration requires an understanding of the influence of the nearfield of a transducer on the integrated optical effect. This influence has previously been studied theoretically for continuous waves from circular and rectangular plane piston transducers [F. Ingenito and B. Cook, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 45, 572–577 (1969)]. For pulsed ultrasonic transducers, the nearfield can be considerably different than for continuous waves. The influence of the differences on the integrated acousto‐optic effect is analyzed by linear superposition. For a circular transducer with piston motion, it is possible to reduce the formulation with appropriate approximations and restrictions to a universal form. For long pulses, i.e., greater than ten wavelengths, the integrated acousto‐optic effect is the same as for continuous waves. For shorter pulses, the nearfield can influence the pulse shape, but not substantially. This influence is dependent on field position and can be minimized.