Is Your website losing traffic? Here’s why AI overviews are killing Your SEO and how to fix it

In recent months, more and more businesses have noticed a decline in organic traffic from Google, despite active SEO efforts and valuable blog content. The reason? The way people use search engines and make online purchasing decisions is fundamentally changing.

Phenomena like AI Overviews and zero-click searches are becoming real threats to companies that have traditionally relied on organic traffic as the cornerstone of their marketing strategy. In this article, we’ll explain what these changes mean, their implications, and how you can adapt effectively.

What are AI overviews and how do they affect Google traffic?

AI Overviews are AI-generated summaries introduced by Google that appear above traditional search results. Their purpose is to provide users with ready-made answers without the need to visit any external websites.

This means that even if your website ranks high in search results, users might never see it, because their question is already answered by an automatically generated snippet.

This is part of a broader trend known as zero-click search, situations where users get the information they need without ever leaving the search engine.

The data speaks for itself

According to data from sources like Cloudflare and internal market analyses, the percentage of queries that trigger AI Overviews is now between 30% and 50%, and that number is steadily growing. (Source: Cloudflare Radar, 2024) Additional studies by SparkToro and SEMrush confirm that zero-click searches now account for over 60% of total search volume. This means that up to half the traffic that might have landed on your site a year ago is now being intercepted by Google's AI.

As a result:

• Organic search traffic is decreasing,

• Conversions from SEO are declining,

• Google Ads click costs are rising,

• And the overall Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is going up.

Why traditional strategies are no longer working?

Companies that have invested for years in classic SEO, building backlinks, optimizing site structure, and regularly publishing blog posts are finding these strategies less effective.

The issue isn’t with the quality of those efforts, but with a fundamental shift in the ecosystem. Algorithms are no longer just indexing content, they’re reading and interpreting it, creating summaries and answers without referencing the original source.

As a result, your main competition isn’t other businesses anymore - it’s the search engine itself, powered by advanced language models.To stay visible, you must now adapt not only to algorithms but to AI summarization behavior.

It’s crucial to rethink content strategy around how machines interpret, select, and present information in snippets.

New sources of visibility: Large Language Models (LLMs)

Traditional search engines are gradually being replaced, or at least supplemented by large language models like ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity. Users now ask questions directly to these systems and expect well-structured, synthesized answers.

This raises a critical new question: Is your company visible in the world of LLMs?

If not, now is the time to act. Companies that move quickly to establish their presence within language model ecosystems will gain a serious competitive advantage.

What can You do to regain visibility?

1. Optimize Your content for language models and featured snippets

AI models learn from publicly available content, but not all content is created equal. Models process and prioritize information that is:

• Clearly structured (headings, paragraphs, bullet points),

• Rich with data and definitions,

• Written in concise, precise language,

• Tagged with schema.org or other structured data formats. 

• Designed to directly answer questions in a format that fits snippet-friendly layouts (e.g., step-by-step, lists, or definitions)

This isn’t traditional SEO. It’s LLM-ready content, specifically crafted for how language models read, understand, and respond to information.

2. Show up in new search channels

Tools like Perplexity allow users to ask questions and get answers pulled from multiple sources, often with clear citations. If your website is recognized as a valuable source, you can regain some of the traffic lost on Google. Make sure your content is citation-worthy: fact-based, structured, and up to date.

There are also growing opportunities to integrate with ChatGPT (e.g., through GPTs, plugins, or custom APIs), allowing users to access your knowledge directly in conversational environments.

3. Build Your own AI-powered solutions

Consider developing your own tools that leverage language models - like smart chatbots, contextual search engines, or recommendation apps. These tools can support sales, enhance customer service, or automate your marketing efforts.

How we can help

As a software agency specializing in AI-based solutions, we provide full support to help your business adapt to the new visibility landscape online.

We offer:

• Visibility audits for your content within language models,

• AI solution development (chatbots, contextual search, assistant apps),

• GPT system implementation and integration with OpenAI or Perplexity ecosystems,

• Website and app redesign tailored to new content consumption behaviors.

Our goal is not just to restore your visibility, but to give you a competitive edge in this rapidly evolving environment.

What’s next?

If you are wondering how these changes might be impacting your business and what steps make the most sense moving forward, the best way to find out is to talk to us.

Let’s schedule a short conversation. We will review your current situation and explore what is possible based on your goals, your industry, and your available resources.

Get in touch today. The sooner you act, the greater your advantage.