Google’s AI Overviews are changing how we search and interact with the results that show up, and the trends are leaving bloggers and news portals extremely concerned. Following the release of AI summaries last year, many websites have seen their online traffic drop significantly due to the easy availability of information without having to navigate to any of their content. Regardless of whether users navigate to the AI Mode section or not, a large majority of searches now feature a brief AI summary of the relevant topic.
While there have been many instances where the information provided by the AI Overviews has been incorrect, the convenience of such easily accessible information recaps has captivated audiences worldwide. While Google is celebrating this as a victory, the last year has been stressful for businesses and website owners who have spent the last decade building their content around Google’s SEO metrics in order to stand out from the crowd.
The relationship between AI summaries and the declining click-through rate is not something that Google appears to be concerned with, but businesses will now have to adapt to this new era of AI-powered search and browser prioritization.
AI Overviews Are Changing Search as We Know It—A New Era of the Internet Awaits
With the advent of AI Overviews, more often than not, users are able to find the information they need without having to navigate through multiple websites or sit through a personal history lesson before they find the information they want. The convenience of this search tool is undeniable, making it hard to fault users for choosing to rely on the overviews instead of conducting more research of their own.
That said, many users are still aware of the shortcomings of AI and are committed to conducting more thorough research of their own on a topic of interest. This should mean that the search engine changes due to AI Overviews should not feel as significant, however, this is not the case.
AI Overviews Are Appearing With Greater Frequency
A Pew Research Center report recently conducted a survey with regard to online browsing activity and found that 6 in 10 respondents, or 58% of them, conducted at least one Google search in March that resulted in an AI-generated summary. Users who encountered the summary stated they were less likely to click on result links and follow through to search results that also showed up at the same time. Those who did not encounter AI summaries clicked on the search results twice as often as those who did see them.
While the AI Overviews often cite sources for the information they consolidate and present, users are usually disinclined to cross-check the data and read what the authors and experts have to say on the matter. This is primarily how AI Overviews are changing click behavior, summarizing and providing responses built on the backs of others with some knowledge in the matter.
These AI Overviews often cite Reddit posts and YouTube videos as well, drawing from Google’s own partnerships and platforms to provide responses. Again, this might lead to traffic directly to these platforms if users do decide to explore the topic in greater detail, leaving other websites and site owners out of getting their fair share of the proverbial pie.
AI Summaries Online Are Causing Traffic to Drop
Google has been extremely proud of its AI Search capabilities, altering how the internet works, even indicating that its AI Mode is capable of helping users with “deep research” by serving up a plethora of articles to explore a topic in great detail. This, however, has not calmed the concerns surrounding the AI tool as most users appear to be satisfied with the generic summary results, avoiding the labor of looking for their own trusted sources for a particular query.
“In our biggest markets like the U.S. and India, AI Overviews is driving over 10% increase in usage of Google for the types of queries that show AI Overviews. This means that once people use AI Overviews, they’re coming to do more of these types of queries, and what’s particularly exciting is how this growth increases over time. And we’re delivering this at the speed people expect of Google Search—AI Overviews delivers the fastest AI responses in the industry.”
A study by Semrush found that Science, Health, People and Society, and Government-industry topics are seeing the largest share growth of AI Overviews, signaling that a lot of information-dense categories are being handled by AI. These areas require heavy research and expertise to build content around, and they are often vulnerable targets to misinformation, which makes the presence of AI here all the more concerning.
The drop in traffic to platforms has already been felt by many. According to The Guardian, the MailOnline claimed it had personally seen how AI Overviews had caused a decline in the click-through rate, with traffic dropping by 56.1% on the desktop site and 48.2% on mobiles. The shift in consumption habits might be a win for Google, but it leaves many concerned for the future of the web.
Websites Need to Evolve to Keep up with the Changing Search Status
The many search engine changes due to AI Overviews still require further study, but it cannot be denied that the internet is evolving. AI Overviews might be changing search dynamics on the Google search platform, but the AI incursion goes beyond just one search engine. Google’s Chromium base provides the framework for many other browsers, so a mere switch to a different platform is not enough to change the prevalence of AI-based features.
It is also true that other platforms like Microsoft Edge have also begun offering AI-assisted search tools, and we’ve even begun migrating to AI-based browsers where search results are entirely reliant on AI. Perplexity’s AI Comet browser is the first of its kind, but OpenAI is expected to catch up soon. It has already released agentic AI tools to help users rely on AI to not just inform their search but also act on their behalf for simple tasks.
AI masterminds are working tirelessly to put AI-based search at the forefront of the conversation, and while they see this as the start of a new era of the internet, most experts and analysts remain unsure about this new path forward. The internet as we know it is changing, and considering the heavy environmental demands made by a single callous AI search, there are more reasons to be concerned than just the state of web traffic today. Ultimately, websites will have to evolve beyond the SEO search optimization metrics they have followed so far and find more novel ways to reach their target base.
Are you happy with how AI Overviews is changing search, or do you think there are more concerns here that aren’t being discussed? Let us know what you think. Subscribe to Technowize for more insights into how the internet is evolving right now.
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