Emily Morales
Post Author
In May 2024, Google launched AI Overviews — a feature that summarizes search queries directly in the results. On the surface, this seemed like the future of faster, smarter information. But beneath that convenience lies a growing tension: publishers, SEO experts, and marketers are now reporting a measurable drop in organic traffic and click-through rates (CTR) — and the numbers are becoming harder to ignore.
Table of Contents
- What Are AI Overviews?
- Who Is Losing Traffic?
- Studies Showing Declines
- Why This Is Dangerous for Creators
- Possible Adaptations
- Conclusion
What Are AI Overviews?
Google’s AI Overviews (formerly known as “Search Generative Experience” or SGE) are automated summaries powered by large language models. Instead of showing traditional links first, Google now sometimes places an AI-generated box at the top of results, answering the user’s question directly — without requiring them to click.
Google says this is meant to help users “get to their answer faster.” But when users stop clicking, websites lose visibility — and revenue.
Who Is Losing Traffic?
Small publishers, bloggers, and even large media outlets are all feeling the effects. Informational sites — those answering common questions — are hit hardest. These are the same sites that used to dominate Google’s featured snippets and “People Also Ask” sections. Now, many of those answers are absorbed directly into the AI box — with no credit or link provided.
Studies Showing Declines
Several recent reports confirm the trend:
- Ahrefs: Found that CTRs dropped by an average of 34% for informational queries when AI Overviews were shown.
- Amsive: Analyzed 23,000 keywords and saw a 15.5% average CTR decline for top-ranking pages in queries with AI summaries.
- Kevin Indig: Reported an 8.7% CTR drop across high-traffic pages that had previously been in top organic positions.
These aren’t isolated anomalies. They’re the start of a systemic shift in how traffic flows on the internet.
Why This Is Dangerous for Creators
Google makes its money from ads. But publishers — bloggers, journalists, educators, experts — rely on visitors. When users don’t click, these sites don’t get ad impressions, affiliate revenue, or email signups. Worse, many AI Overviews draw from these same sources without attribution, potentially violating the spirit of fair use.
“It’s like building a library out of our content, then locking the doors so no one can visit us.” — Anonymous publisher quoted in SEO Roundtable
The long-term fear is that high-quality content will become unsustainable. Why invest in original reporting or niche tutorials if no one sees them?
Possible Adaptations
Not all is lost — yet. SEO professionals are exploring new survival strategies:
- Targeting branded and navigational queries (less likely to trigger AI Overviews)
- Focusing on experience-based or opinion content (which AI can’t replicate well)
- Optimizing for featured snippets and structured data that feed the Overviews directly
- Building loyal communities via newsletters, Telegram channels, or closed ecosystems
But these are short-term fixes. Long-term, it may require legal reform, new monetization platforms, or even a content creator exodus from traditional web search.
Conclusion
Google’s AI Overviews reflect the company’s ambition to redefine information access. But in doing so, it risks weakening the very ecosystem that fuels the internet: original content from independent creators. As search becomes answer-centric, publishers must rethink how — and where — they reach their audiences. And unless there’s meaningful transparency or partnership, AI Overviews may become the biggest disruption to online traffic we’ve seen in over a decade.