TL;DR: AI tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini reduce website traffic by summarising content, costing you visitors, data, and sales. Google dominates search, but AI’s role is growing.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, from the original ChatGPT to Google Gemini 2.5 Pro, are transforming how we work and search.
As a digital assistant, AI streamlines tasks; coding more efficiently, crafting content swiftly, and answering queries faster than a traditional Google search.
Yet, while users revel in this speed, website owners face a new challenge.
The Shift in Search Behaviour
Google, still the titan of search, has integrated AI into its results, ads, and information panels, responding to the growing trend of users turning to AI for answers.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT captures only a sliver of Google’s billions of daily searches, but the impact is undeniable.
AI delivers instant summaries, often bypassing the need for users to visit your website.
What This Means for Your Site
For informational or commercial content, AI’s ability to crawl and summarise your website can erode your traffic.
Fewer visitors translate to:
- Reduced data for retargeting ads or market insights.
- Missed opportunities to sell products or services.
- Lower engagement for publishers and bloggers.
A CloudFlare video highlights this trend with hard numbers, underscoring the urgency to adapt:
How to Respond
To thrive in this AI-driven landscape, rethink your strategy:
- Prioritise Transactional Content: Focus on content that drives action, such as purchases or sign-ups – not sharing information.
- Protect Valuable Content: Use paywalls or email funnels to retain control and build direct relationships.
- Leverage Social Media: Break content into bite-sized pieces for platforms like LinkedIn or Instagram. While AI may still scrape it, you’ll gain visibility and traffic.
- Emphasise Uniqueness: Share reviews, video testimonials, case studies, and personal stories. These human elements foster trust and authority, qualities AI has little use in replicating.
- Service based businesses: Focus on Local SEO and collecting reviews from completed jobs.
AI Search: A Word of Caution
Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT aren’t true search engines.
They excel at pattern recognition, summarising, or generating content, but their “recommendations” lack reliability.
Future updates may integrate search capabilities, but for now, approach AI-generated information with scepticism.
The Path Forward
The rise of AI demands a shift from merely providing information to delivering exceptional, human-centric experiences.
By focusing on quality, connection, and strategic distribution, you can safeguard your website’s relevance and continue engaging your audience effectively.
