Is search in decline? Is AI stealing your traffic? What should you do?

The marketing industry is transforming significantly due to generative AI and increasing market complexity.

Gartner's prediction of a 25% decline in traditional search traffic suggests that the era of search engines is dying. AI tools, particularly GenAI, chatbots, and platforms like Google's Search Generative Experience (SGE), are increasingly providing answers directly on search pages, eliminating the need for users to visit external websites. Early tests show that SGE has led to declines in organic clicks, affecting businesses reliant on search traffic for conversions. Estimates range from 18-64% declines in organic traffic for some sites, particularly for informational queries (Insight Partners). This will be painful for website owners and publishers. 

While AI-driven recommendations are a key factor, they're only part of the broader fragmentation of how users engage with information. Increasingly, people are turning to conversational AI, voice search, social feeds, video streaming, influential personalities, and content aggregators for immediate access to information. Websites that once thrived on search engine-driven traffic are seeing their dominance fade as new engagement pathways—particularly AI and content aggregation—emerge. 

Traditional Search is in Decline

For years, websites have focused on SEO to generate leads, conversions, and traffic, but trends show that traditional search engines are losing their stronghold. Google's SGE and other AI-enhanced tools provide users with instant answers, reducing users' need to visit external websites. This shift is reflected in decreasing organic traffic, which is crucial for businesses dependent on SEO for their online presence.

The challenge is more significant than just AI. The internet ecosystem has become fragmented, with users relying on various platforms beyond traditional search engines. These include social media hubs, video platforms, and aggregated content providers, leading to a more diverse and less centralized web traffic model.

Factors Contributing to Traffic Declines

Several key factors are leading to significant drops in organic traffic:

1. AI Summaries: AI-generated answers, often displayed at the top of search results, reduce the need for users to click on organic listings.
2. Decreased Screen Space: AI features take up more real estate on search results pages, leaving less space for traditional organic results.
3. Disrupted Ranking Patterns: Only 57% of links cited by Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) come from the first page of organic results (Insight Partners).
4. Zero-Click Searches: Users are increasingly getting their answers directly in search results, bypassing websites entirely.

Rethinking Engagement Channels

As traditional search engines decline, businesses must rethink how they capture digital visibility. Google's dominance is fading, with AI-driven pathways and shifting user behaviors taking over. To stay relevant, companies must adopt multichannel strategies beyond SEO. This means leveraging diverse formats, cultivating strategic partnerships, and focusing on owned media to maintain visibility and engagement. By exploring multiple platforms, businesses can effectively reach their target audiences in this evolving landscape.

AI-Optimized Content

• Chatbots and AI Search Platforms: Structure content for digestibility by AI tools, ensuring relevance within AI-powered search environments like ChatGPT and Google’s SGE. SEO becomes AI-powered optimization, where user engagement can be analyzed with more powerful tools to understand buyer needs and intent. 

Social Media Platforms (Tired & Crowded)

• Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn: These platforms are becoming oversaturated, with diminishing returns on organic reach. While short-form videos (Reels, Stories) can still engage, businesses must compete heavily for attention amid algorithm changes and ad fatigue. Innovation is needed with social media. Fresh perspectives, unique insights, and engaging personalities will be rewarded. 

Video and Streaming Platforms

• LinkedIn and YouTube: Video content, especially long-form and live video, is increasingly valuable on LinkedIn for professional audiences and on YouTube for broad and niche topics. These platforms continue to support deeper engagement through educational and explainer content.

Aggregators

1. News Aggregators: Platforms like Google News and Flipboard provide curated news content from multiple sources.
2. Social Media Aggregators: Tools like Feedly and Pocket allow users to collect and view content from various social platforms.
3. Blog Aggregators: Platforms such as Medium offer aggregation of blog posts, with opportunities for businesses to reach broader audiences.
4. Video Aggregators: Services like YouTube, Vimeo, and Dailymotion enable video content discovery across diverse topics.
5. Digital communities: Gartner, Vistage, and YPO provide specialized content and networking opportunities for professionals in specific industries, with digital platforms that focus on collaboration, insights, and sharing industry-specific content.
6. Niche-Specific Aggregators: Specialty platforms like Reddit and Substack offer targeted aggregation for specific communities, enabling businesses to connect with well-defined audiences.

Rethinking SEO for the Future

While the traditional methods of SEO may no longer guarantee success, SEO will not disappear entirely. Instead, it will need to evolve in response to the changing landscape, but it will not yield the sizeable results it once did. Businesses must optimize for AI-driven search results, ensuring that their content remains accessible to AI algorithms while still delivering value to users.

Key considerations for SEO in the AI age include:

• Concise, Authoritative Content: As users shift toward AI-generated search summaries, businesses should create concise, high-quality content that AI tools can easily reference.
• Continuous Monitoring and Adaptation: The SEO landscape will change, and businesses must adapt quickly. Tracking how AI impacts search traffic and improving content strategies will be key.

How to Prepare for the Future

The decline of traditional search engines is inevitable, but businesses that diversify their digital presence and embrace new platforms will thrive. SEO will evolve, with AI and alternative formats becoming central to user interaction. Success will rely on optimizing content for both AI and human audiences while exploring emerging opportunities in owned media, social platforms, video, and AI-driven content. As search traffic fades, businesses must adopt multichannel strategies to maintain visibility and engagement.

Success will require a holistic approach, leveraging multichannel strategies, new content formats, and direct engagement through owned media where brands battle, not using low-quality/high-volume content but a unique perspective.

References:

• Insight Partners. Generative AI & SEO: Zero Click Searches and the Impact on Organic Traffic. Insight Partners. Published 2023.
• Webbiquity. How AI Results are Impacting Organic Search Traffic and What You Can Do About It. Published 2023.