Search has changed more in the last two years than it did in the previous decade. And if you’re a business owner or marketer still running the same SEO playbook from 2022, there’s a fair chance you’re already falling behind.
Here’s what’s happening — and more importantly, what you can do about it.
Google’s New Party Trick: AI Overviews
You’ve probably noticed something different when you search on Google lately. Instead of the familiar list of blue links, you’re now often greeted by a chunky block of text at the very top of the page. That’s a Google AI Overview — and it’s powered by Gemini, Google’s AI model.
Rather than pointing you toward a website and letting you do the reading, Gemini scans multiple websites simultaneously, pulls out the most relevant information, and stitches it together into a single, conversational response. All before you’ve clicked a thing.
It’s fast, it’s useful, and for businesses trying to drive traffic through search? It’s a bit of a problem.
The Numbers Are Hard to Ignore
Let’s talk about what’s actually happening at scale.
AI Overviews now appear in roughly 55% of all Google searches — though that figure shifts depending on whether you’re looking at mobile or desktop results. On mobile, the saturation is even higher, with over 80% of AI Overview queries occurring on mobile devices. The feature has expanded to more than 200 countries and 40 languages since its broad rollout in 2024, so this isn’t a US-only story.
And then there’s the click-through rate data — which is where things get really confronting.
Pages that previously sat comfortably at the top of search results are now seeing their click-through rates drop by an average of 34.5% on queries where an AI Overview appears. Some sites have reported organic traffic declines of 20–40% in the wake of the rollout.
The zero-click problem is real too. Around 58% of Google searches now result in zero clicks — meaning users get their answer directly on the search results page and never visit a website at all. When a searcher types “how long does it take to climb Kokoda?” or “what’s the difference between a sole trader and a company?” — they get a neat little AI summary and off they go. No click. No visit. No conversion opportunity.
It’s not Google being malicious. It’s Google doing exactly what it set out to do: answer questions as quickly as possible. The catch is that it’s doing it with your content, without necessarily sending people your way.
Why Is This Happening?
AI Overviews tend to show up most when Google believes a user wants to understand something — not browse or buy. Think “how” and “what” and “why” questions. Informational queries. The kind that have historically driven a lot of blog traffic.
Research shows that 90–100% of AI Overviews appear in response to informational queries, while commercial and transactional searches — the ones with purchase intent — see far fewer Overviews. Queries with eight or more words are about seven times more likely to trigger an AI Overview than short, punchy searches.
That distinction matters. If your business relies heavily on top-of-funnel educational content to attract new customers, you’re more exposed to this shift than a business running an ecommerce store optimised for “buy running shoes online.”
It’s Not All Doom and Gloom
Before you throw your SEO strategy out the window — don’t.
Here’s the thing Google’s own team pointed out: when people do click through from an AI Overview result, they tend to be more engaged. They spend more time on the page. They’re further along in their thinking. They’ve already absorbed a bit of context, so they arrive with better questions and clearer intent.
Google’s John Mueller put it plainly: rather than fixating purely on click volume, businesses should pay attention to the quality of the visits they’re receiving — sales, signups, engaged readers, enquiries.
There’s more good news. 63% of businesses report positive impacts on visibility when they optimise their content correctly for AI search. Some brands are even getting cited in AI Overviews for keywords they never ranked for organically. Interestingly, around 40% of the sources cited in AI Overviews would typically sit between positions 11 and 20 in traditional search — which means AI isn’t just rewarding the usual suspects at the top.
It’s a reshuffle. And reshuffles create opportunity as much as they create disruption.
So, What Should You Actually Do?
The honest answer: a combination of things you’re probably already doing, done better — and a few new habits worth building.
Write content that genuinely answers questions. Google’s advice here is refreshingly simple: create unique, non-commodity content that people will actually find helpful and satisfying. Not content stuffed with keywords. Not thin articles that skim the surface. Content with real depth, real insight, and real usefulness. AI Overviews are built from content that clearly and directly answers specific questions — so if your pages are vague or meandering, they’re less likely to be cited.
Structure your pages for scannability. About 78% of AI Overviews use list-based formatting. Short paragraphs. Clear headings. Bullet points. Concise answers near the top of your page, not buried 800 words in. Write as if someone’s going to skim your content for the key point — because increasingly, an AI system is doing exactly that.
Add schema markup. This one gets overlooked constantly. Schema markup is code that helps search engines (and AI systems) understand what your content is about at a structural level. FAQ schema, HowTo schema, Article schema — these make your content far easier for Google’s AI to parse and potentially cite. Plugins like RankMath and Yoast can handle most of this without touching a line of code.
Build your topical authority. AI systems don’t just look at individual pages — they assess the depth and breadth of your entire site on a given topic. A single article on “how to manage cash flow” is fine. A cluster of interlinked, genuinely useful content covering every angle of small business finance is much better. The sites dominating AI citations are the ones that have established themselves as comprehensive, trustworthy sources on their subject matter.
Lean into your E-E-A-T signals. Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness — the framework we covered in a recent piece — is even more critical in the AI era. The top 50 domains capture nearly 30% of all AI Overview citations, and they got there by demonstrating real credibility over time. Author bios, genuine case studies, external mentions, reviews — all of it counts.
Don’t neglect local search. If your business has a local component, here’s a bright spot: AI Overviews appear in only around 7% of local queries. Local SEO — your Google Business Profile, map pack rankings, local reviews, consistent business details across directories — remains relatively insulated from the AI disruption. That’s where to keep your attention if you’re a tradie, a clinic, a restaurant, or any other locally-oriented business.
Diversify where your traffic comes from. This is the broader strategic lesson. Organic search has always been one channel among many — but the businesses that leaned on it too heavily are feeling the squeeze most right now. Email lists, social media, direct referrals, partnerships — these aren’t backup plans anymore. They’re essential parts of a resilient traffic strategy.
The Shift Isn’t Coming. It’s Here.
The “ten blue links” era of search isn’t dead, but it’s sharing the stage now — and AI is taking up more and more of it. The businesses that adapt their content, their structure, and their strategy for this new reality will keep their visibility. Those that don’t will gradually find themselves pushed below the fold, behind AI-generated summaries, and out of the conversation.
None of this requires you to become an SEO expert overnight. It does require you to take the quality of your content seriously, think carefully about how you’re demonstrating expertise and trust, and stop treating your website like a passive digital brochure.
The fundamentals of good content — being genuinely helpful, specific, honest, and well-structured — have never mattered more. AI just made the bar harder to pretend you’ve cleared.
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