There is no exaggeration how important Google search is when it comes to extracting traffic to your website. According to analytics company Semrush, 20% of online traffic accessing top internet sites begin their journey with Google search responses. Also, searching is even more important for some online destinations. It accounts for 63% of Wikipedia visits around the world, and 58% of TripAdvisor visitors come from search results.
AI search replaced 10% of referrals lost by more traditional search tools
Google Search's AI overview reduces traffic to your website. | Image Credit-Phonearena
In March, Simorweb data shows that searches in AI overview only 23% of the time clicked and finished. In searches without summary, click-through rate was high at 36%. Research firm Ahrefs has discovered that Google's search results, which outline AI, have more than doubled from March 12th to May 6th. Google search is no longer a true way to try and get traffic to your site.
“When I looked at the search results that show the answers of AI, I compared it to the search results that show no answers, and found a crazy drop-off. This is a click killer.
– Kevin Indig, SEO, Consultant, and Author of Growth Memo Blog
for example, Baron's I'll report it Business Insiderthe Business and Financial News website cut staff by 21% in May, citing a decline in traffic “outside of control.” “Business models are under pressure, distribution is volatile and the competition to draw attention is more intense than ever,” said Barbara Pen, aptly named CEO of Business Insider, in a memo. Transportation to securities firm Schwab.com fell in May for the first time in two years. Even visits to Netflix fell 23% last month.
A publicly available company, Chegg offers an app to help students with their homework. The stock traded at $113.51, worth $15.1 billion in early 2021, and the stock currently traded at $144 million at $1.35. Due to a decline in traffic, the company is being forced to consider selling the company.
Chegg CEO Nathan Schultz has condemned Google's AI overview on many of his company's problems. Schultz told investors: “If Google hadn't started an AI overview, there's no need to look at strategic alternatives. It's historically sustained traffic that came to Chegg, which had a significant impact on acquisitions, revenues and employees.” Chegg claims that Google uses its control in search to insist that publishers like Chegg “force Google to “put the attention of users on the internet and provide content that unfairly competes with AI-generated answers.”
AI is much more useful than the public perceives
Many people don't know how useful AI is yet. They either view it as a threat to humanity, or at least as their work, or use it to create a message as a joke in the style of Shakespeare. However, the perception that AI could become a useful tool is slowly increasing its speed. Between December and March, the number of weekly active users on CHATGPT skyrocketed by 67% from 300 million to 500 million. Some of these users pay $20 a month for the service.
Google searches will look very different in a few years. This is why Google is working hard to make Gemini a popular AI brand. At risk is the $90 billion quarterly revenue generated by Google Search in the first quarter of 2025, the last financial report released by Alphabet.
