In this article, we’ll explore how Google’s AI-powered search works, what has changed following the latest Core Updates, which types of websites are most affected, and the strategies businesses can use to protect – and grow – their organic traffic in the age of AI Search.
What Is Google AI Mode and How Is It Different from Traditional Search?
That model is now evolving.
How Does Google AI Mode Work?
For example, imagine a user searching for:
Which mirrorless camera is best for travel photography under $1,500?
In traditional Google Search, the user would see links to reviews, buying guides, YouTube videos, and online stores.
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AI Mode vs. AI Overviews
Although both features rely on generative AI, they serve different purposes.
AI Overviews enhance traditional Google Search by displaying an AI-generated summary above the standard list of search results. Users still browse the familiar search page and can choose whether to visit one of the listed websites.
AI Mode, on the other hand, represents an entirely new search experience. Instead of reviewing individual search results, users interact with Google through an ongoing conversation. They can ask follow-up questions, refine previous queries, compare products or services, and explore complex topics without starting a new search each time.
In other words, AI Overviews improve traditional search, while AI Mode fundamentally changes how users interact with Google.
How AI Mode Is Reshaping SEO?
The biggest shift for SEO isn’t the technology itself – it’s the way people search. For years, clicking through to a website was an essential part of the search journey. Today, many informational queries can be answered directly within Google’s interface through AI Overviews or AI Mode. This is particularly true for searches such as:- What is…
- How to…
- Best…
- Comparison…
- Benefits of…
- Step-by-step guide…
Key Takeaways
Google AI Mode doesn’t replace traditional search – it transforms it.
Instead of simply presenting a list of links, Google is increasingly delivering complete answers generated from multiple trusted sources. For businesses and website owners, success is no longer determined solely by ranking at the top of search results. It’s about becoming one of the trusted sources Google chooses to cite and reference in its AI-powered search experience.
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Why Websites Are Losing Organic Traffic
One of the biggest concerns among SEO professionals since the rollout of AI Overviews and Google AI Mode has been the decline in organic traffic. However, in many cases the issue isn’t lower rankings – it’s a fundamental shift in how people search and how Google delivers information.
Google is no longer just a search engine directing users to websites. Increasingly, it’s becoming an answer engine, designed to solve users’ questions directly within Search. According to Google Search Central, AI-powered Search helps users explore topics more efficiently by synthesizing information from multiple trusted sources rather than simply listing web pages.
Search Is Becoming an Answer Engine
For decades, Google Search followed a predictable pattern: users searched, Google displayed links, and users clicked through to websites.
Today, that journey often ends before a single click.
For many informational queries, users first see an AI Overview or switch to AI Mode, where Google provides a complete answer, comparison, recommendation, or step-by-step guide directly within the search results.
For example, someone searching:
How to choose a robot vacuum cleaner?
would previously browse several buying guides and product reviews before making a decision.
Today, Google can summarize the key buying criteria, compare popular models, and recommend products within seconds – without requiring users to visit multiple websites.
This shift has a measurable impact on organic traffic.
AI Overviews Are Reducing Organic CTR
Several independent studies have confirmed that AI-generated answers reduce clicks on traditional organic listings.
A study by Ahrefs, which analyzed more than 300,000 keywords, found that when AI Overviews appear in search results, the click-through rate for the #1 organic result drops by an average of 34.5%. The impact is even greater for informational, non-branded searches, where users are more likely to find sufficient information directly within Google’s AI-generated answer.
Another study conducted by Amsive across 700,000 keywords reported an average CTR decline of 15.49%, with significantly larger losses when AI Overviews appeared alongside Featured Snippets. Non-branded keywords experienced nearly a 20% decrease in click-through rates.
Zero-Click Searches Continue to Rise
The rise of AI-powered search is accelerating another long-term trend: zero-click searches.
A zero-click search occurs when users receive the information they need directly on Google’s results page without visiting another website.
According to SparkToro, using clickstream data from Similarweb, 68.01% of all Google searches in the United States ended without a click during the first four months of 2026. That’s up from 60.45% in 2024, representing a 7.5 percentage point increase in just two years.
The same study also found that the percentage of searches resulting in any click – whether organic, paid, or to Google’s own properties – declined by nearly 23% over that period.
This trend existed long before generative AI, but AI Overviews and AI Mode are significantly accelerating it.
AI Overviews Are Already Changing User Behavior
The impact of AI-generated search results isn’t just theoretical – it is already reflected in user behavior.
According to a 2025 Pew Research Center study that analyzed browsing behavior across hundreds of U.S. internet users, people were nearly twice as likely to click on a traditional search result when no AI Overview was present. When Google’s AI-generated summary appeared, users clicked on an organic result only 8% of the time, compared to 15% for searches without an AI Overview.
Not Every Website Is Affected Equally
Despite headlines claiming that “SEO is dead,” the reality is much more nuanced. The biggest impact is being felt by websites whose primary purpose is answering informational questions.
These include content targeting searches such as:
- What is…
- How to…
- Best…
- Comparison…
- Benefits…
- Beginner’s guide…
For these queries, Google can often generate a complete answer without requiring users to visit external websites. Commercial searches behave very differently.
When users search for:
- buy a robot vacuum;
- hire an SEO agency;
- compare CRM software;
- request a quote;
they still need to visit a website to evaluate products, compare pricing, or complete a purchase.
That’s why commercial websites, SaaS companies, eCommerce businesses, and brands with genuine expertise continue to perform significantly better in the AI Search era.
Rankings Alone No Longer Tell the Whole Story
One of the biggest mistakes businesses make after a Google update is assuming that lower traffic automatically means lower rankings. In reality, traffic losses may be caused by:
- AI Overviews replacing traditional clicks;
- declining CTR;
- new SERP features;
- changing user behavior;
- seasonality;
- stronger competition;
- Google’s latest Core Update.
Instead of focusing only on rankings, businesses should monitor Google Search Console for changes in:
- impressions;
- clicks;
- CTR;
- average position;
- query performance;
- page-level visibility.
This data provides a much clearer picture of whether traffic losses are caused by ranking declines or simply by changing search behavior.
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What This Means for Businesses
The emergence of AI Search doesn’t make websites less important – it raises the standard.
Businesses that rely on generic content will find it increasingly difficult to compete. Those that publish original research, real-world case studies, expert insights, proprietary data, and high-quality commercial content will be in a much stronger position to earn both user trust and visibility in Google’s AI-powered search experience.
As Google’s Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines continue to emphasize, the future of SEO belongs to websites that demonstrate Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) rather than simply producing more content.
Which Websites Are Most at Risk – and Which Stand to Benefit?
Since the launch of AI Overviews and Google AI Mode, many industry discussions have centered around the idea that SEO is “dying.” In reality, that’s far from the truth. What we’re seeing isn’t the end of search optimization but a significant shift in how Google delivers information and how users interact with search results.
The impact varies greatly depending on the type of website. Some publishers are already experiencing declining organic traffic, while others are discovering new opportunities to increase their visibility. Ultimately, success depends on one factor: how much unique value a website provides and whether that value can be easily replicated by AI.
Informational Content Faces the Greatest Challenge
Websites built primarily around answering common questions are likely to experience the biggest changes. Articles explaining concepts, comparing products, or providing beginner guides have traditionally attracted large amounts of organic traffic because users had to visit those pages to find detailed information.
Today, Google can often generate those answers itself by combining information from multiple authoritative sources. Queries such as “What is a CRM?”, “How to choose a laptop?” or “Best VPN services”increasingly receive comprehensive AI-generated summaries before users even consider clicking through to another website.
This doesn’t mean informational content has lost its value. Rather, the standard has become much higher. Google’s own guidance on Creating Helpful, Reliable, People-First Content emphasizes original experience, expert insights, and information that genuinely helps users instead of simply repeating what already exists elsewhere. Publishers that invest in research, first-hand expertise, proprietary data, and unique perspectives are far more likely to remain visible as AI Search continues to evolve.
Affiliate Websites Must Offer More Than Product Lists
Affiliate websites are facing similar challenges. For years, users compared multiple reviews before making a purchase, visiting different websites to evaluate products and recommendations.
AI-powered Search is changing that behavior. Google can now summarize specifications, compare features, and present recommendations directly within the search results, reducing the need to visit several review websites.
As a result, generic “Top 10” articles and rewritten buying guides are becoming less competitive. The affiliate websites most likely to succeed are those that publish original product testing, hands-on reviews, comparison videos, high-quality photography, and genuine user experience – content that cannot simply be generated by an AI model.
AI Content Isn’t the Problem – Generic Content Is
The rapid adoption of generative AI has led to millions of new web pages being published every month. However, there’s an important distinction between AI-assisted content creation and low-quality content.
Google has repeatedly stated that it doesn’t rank pages based on whether they were written by humans or AI. Instead, the company evaluates whether the content is accurate, helpful, trustworthy, and genuinely useful for users.
Problems arise when websites publish hundreds of nearly identical articles that add no original thinking or expertise. If dozens of pages simply restate information already available elsewhere, Google has little reason to rank them. On the other hand, articles supported by real experience, expert commentary, original research, or unique business insights become increasingly valuable – not only for readers but also for Google’s AI systems.
Commercial Websites Remain Highly Valuable
Unlike purely informational websites, commercial websites continue to play a critical role in Google’s ecosystem. AI can explain products or services, but it cannot replace the buying process itself.
Someone searching for an SEO agency, a CRM platform, industrial equipment, or a new laptop will still need to visit a company’s website to compare pricing, review case studies, evaluate customer testimonials, or complete a purchase.
For that reason, service pages, eCommerce stores, and business websites continue to have strong opportunities for organic growth. The difference is that users now expect these pages to answer every important question quickly and clearly, providing transparent pricing where possible, demonstrating expertise through case studies and reviews, and making it easy to take the next step.
Brand Authority Is Becoming a Stronger Ranking Signal
Another major trend is Google’s growing emphasis on trusted brands. Businesses that consistently publish expert content, earn mentions from authoritative websites, and build a strong reputation are increasingly rewarded in search results.
This aligns closely with Google’s E-E-A-T principles – Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness – which play an important role in how the search engine evaluates content quality.
When several websites publish similar information, Google is far more likely to reference and rank the source it considers most credible. Building a recognizable brand has therefore become an essential part of modern SEO, not just a marketing objective.
The Future Belongs to Websites That Offer Something AI Can’t
Perhaps the biggest lesson from Google’s latest updates is that success is no longer determined by the number of pages a website publishes. Instead, visibility increasingly belongs to businesses that create content AI cannot easily reproduce.
Original research, real client case studies, first-hand experience, proprietary data, expert analysis, and transparent information about the company all contribute to stronger trust signals. These are exactly the qualities Google continues to reward – and they are likely to become even more important as AI-powered search evolves.
How to Adapt Your SEO Strategy for AI Search
AI-powered search isn’t replacing SEO—it’s changing what Google rewards. Instead of producing large volumes of content, successful websites now need to focus on quality, expertise, and creating information that genuinely helps users.
Invest in Revenue-Generating Pages
As AI increasingly answers informational queries directly in Search, commercial pages have become even more important.
Service pages, product categories, and landing pages should clearly explain what you offer, why customers should choose you, how the process works, and what results they can expect. The easier it is for visitors to make a purchasing decision, the more valuable these pages become—for both users and search engines.
Build Authority Beyond Google
SEO is no longer just about rankings. Google increasingly evaluates the credibility of the businesses behind the content.
Publishing expert insights, earning mentions from reputable websites, collecting customer reviews, and participating in your industry all strengthen your brand’s authority. These signals align with Google’s E-E-A-T principles and help establish trust with both users and search engines.
Keep Your Content Fresh
Instead of constantly publishing new articles, invest time in improving the content you already have.
Updating statistics, expanding FAQs, refreshing recommendations, improving internal links, and removing outdated information all signal that your content remains relevant and useful.
Improve Technical SEO and User Experience
Technical optimization still matters.
Fast loading speeds, mobile usability, intuitive navigation, structured data, and strong Core Web Vitals help Google better understand your website while providing a better experience for visitors.
Although schema markup isn’t a direct ranking factor, it improves Google’s understanding of your content and can increase eligibility for enhanced search features.
Use AI to Improve Productivity – Not Replace Expertise
AI is an excellent assistant for research, outlining articles, summarizing information, and generating first drafts.
However, the final content should always be reviewed and enhanced by someone with genuine expertise. Original insights, practical experience, and editorial judgment remain essential for producing content that both users and Google trust.
Measure Visibility, Not Just Rankings
Traditional rankings no longer tell the whole story. Because AI Overviews often reduce click-through rates, it’s equally important to monitor impressions, CTR, and query performance in Google Search Console. Understanding these metrics helps distinguish between ranking losses and changing user behavior.Think Beyond SEO
The businesses seeing the strongest long-term growth don’t rely solely on search traffic.
They combine SEO with content marketing, digital PR, social media, email marketing, video, paid advertising, and brand building. A diversified marketing strategy reduces dependence on Google’s algorithms while creating multiple opportunities to reach potential customers.
Final Thoughts
Artificial intelligence is already transforming Google Search, and this evolution is only accelerating. With the introduction of AI Mode, AI Overviews, and ongoing Core Updates, SEO is moving beyond traditional keyword optimization toward a model built on expertise, trust, and genuine value for users.
The future of SEO belongs to businesses that create original content, demonstrate real-world experience, build strong brands, and consistently help users make informed decisions. Companies that adapt to these changes today will be far better positioned to maintain – and even grow – their organic visibility in the years ahead.
you’ve noticed a decline in organic traffic after recent Google updates, lower click-through rates, or changes in search visibility, it’s important not to jump to conclusions. In many cases, the root cause can only be identified through a comprehensive review of your website’s technical health, content quality, Google Search Console data, and overall SEO strategy.
At DITS.agency, we’ve spent more than 10 years helping businesses across Europe, the United States, and international markets grow their organic traffic. Our team delivers comprehensive SEO audits, develops long-term search strategies, and helps companies adapt to Google’s constantly evolving algorithms – including the new AI-powered search experience.
Whether you’re looking to recover lost traffic, improve your search visibility, or prepare your website for the future of AI Search, we’re here to help.
Get in touch with our team for a comprehensive SEO audit and strategy consultation. We’ll identify your biggest growth opportunities and provide clear, actionable recommendations to help your business attract more qualified organic traffic.
