For some businesses, yes. As Google's AI Overviews and tools like ChatGPT answer questions directly, fewer people click through, so sites that lean on informational traffic can see it drop. The ones that hold up are cited inside those AI answers, which still send visitors, and often better-qualified ones, because the reader already saw the summary and wants more.
AI answers change where the click happens, not whether people are searching. When Google shows an AI Overview or someone asks ChatGPT or Perplexity, the engine reads across sources and writes one answer, so a searcher who just wanted a quick fact often never clicks a website at all. That mostly hits thin, purely informational pages, generic how-to and definition content that the AI can now summarize on its own. Pages tied to a real buying decision or a local need (who does this near me, what does it cost, book an appointment) are affected far less, because the searcher still needs to reach a specific business to act. The practical shift is from ranking a link to being the source the AI quotes. Businesses that get cited inside AI answers still earn visits, and those visitors tend to convert better because they arrive already informed. The way to stay in the mix is answer-engine optimization: write pages that answer real customer questions directly and clearly, keep your business facts consistent everywhere online, and make sure AI crawlers can read your site. It's also worth leaning less on borrowed traffic alone, your own list, calls, and repeat customers don't disappear when a search engine changes how it shows results.
Key takeaways
- AI Overviews and chat answers move the click, so purely informational pages can lose traffic as people get answers without visiting.
- Pages tied to a buying decision or a local need are affected far less than generic how-to or definition content.
- Being cited inside an AI answer still sends visitors, and they tend to be better-qualified because they've already read the summary.
- Answer-engine optimization, direct answers, consistent business facts, and crawlable pages, is how you stay in the mix.
- Owned channels like your customer list, phone, and repeat business don't move when a search engine changes how it displays results.
Who actually loses traffic
The pages most exposed are the ones an AI can fully answer on its own: generic definitions, broad how-tos, and thin informational articles a reader only wanted a quick fact from. Pages that map to a decision or a local action, pricing, comparisons, and 'who does this near me,' hold up much better, because the person still has to reach a real business to get what they came for. If most of your traffic was already high-intent or local, the change is smaller than the headlines suggest.
What to do about it
Aim to be the source the AI quotes rather than a link it replaces: answer the real questions your customers ask, put the answer up front in plain language, and keep your name, services, and claims consistent across the web so engines trust the page. Make sure your site is crawlable by the AI bots and renders its content in plain HTML. Then reduce your dependence on any single channel, an engaged customer list, a steady phone line, and repeat business are traffic no algorithm change can take away.
Answered by Alex Rivera, Founder · Updated September 28, 2026