Search is dead.
The killer is the AI Overview – the baddest gunslinger in the West – and it won’t stop until it’s taken the whole eCommerce space down. Run for the hills. Protect your keywords. Panic!
How many times do you think you’ve heard something similar over the last decade? Featured snippets reduced clicks. Mobile reshaped layouts. Google Discover rewired how demand is surfaced.
It’s all a bit exhausting, really.
Search has always been a slow-motion exercise in metamorphosis. It’s going through a change, shedding its proverbial skin to take on a new form.
AI Overviews are a signal of a deeper shift that has been building for years. What makes this different is scale and speed.
In case you’ve managed to avoid Googling anything for the past year, Google’s AI Overviews now sit above the organic results for a growing proportion of informational searches. They answer questions directly from multiple sources, and often remove the immediate need to click.
Rankings can remain stable while traffic declines. Visibility can improve while sessions fall.
If that feels counterintuitive, it’s because we spent the last decade telling everyone that rankings and traffic were interchangeable. They no longer are.
This creates friction. Reports look worse while teams feel the pressure despite doing everything right.
The higher-ups start asking whether organic search is still worth the investment, usually in the same breath as they ask why paid media is getting more expensive.
So, let’s deal with that issue head on, shall we?
Today, we’ll look at what AI Overviews are doing to search behaviour, why the idea that they are “killing SEO” is misleading, and how brands should adapt their strategies in response.
What are Google’s AI Overviews, and why do they exist?
Google’s AI Overviews are generative summaries shown directly within the search results. They are designed to help users understand a topic quickly by combining information from multiple sources into a single, clear response.
It’s also worth noting that Google’s AI Overview and AI Mode are two separate things.
AI Mode is a conversational search experience designed for deeper exploration. AI Overviews are static summaries. Surprisingly, the same query usually generates different results between the two, though that is a topic for another time.
Crucially, they did not emerge because Google woke up one morning and decided to compete with publishers for a laugh. They emerged because user behaviour changed, and because Google is structurally incentivised to remove friction wherever it can.
Many searches today are exploratory rather than transactional. Users search to understand a concept, compare options, or do a quick sanity-check a decision before acting.
Historically, that meant multiple queries, several page visits, and hours wasted. AI Overviews compress that journey into a single source of knowledge.
From Google’s perspective, this improves efficiency, and makes them look - in the eyes of the casual viewer - like the bee’s knees.
From a performance perspective, it changes where value is captured.
AI Overviews appear above the organic results and below paid listings. On many screens (especially on mobile) they dominate the above-the-fold experience.
This explains much of the CTR decline. By the time a user scrolls, the initial informational need may already be satisfied. Not because your content is bad, but because it’s already been partially consumed.
The writing was on the wall when Google launched the featured snippet function. These snapshots extracted a single passage from one page and presented it clearly to the user before they dove into a suggested link.
Now, AI Overviews synthesise information across multiple sources and present it as a unified answer.
That distinction matters more than it first appears.
Google is no longer rewarding the single best sentence. It is selecting a set of trusted inputs and rewriting them into something that stands on its own.
In other words, the SERP is no longer just pointing to answers.
It is the answer.
The real impact of AI Overviews
The easiest mistake to make with AI Overviews is to reduce their impact to a single metric.
Yes, clicks are down. That much is abundantly clear. But stopping there misses the structural nature of the change.
AI Overviews change how users consume information, when they decide to click, and what kind of content makes the cut.
What does the data actually show?
Let’s turn our attention to the clever folks over at Ahrefs who have been delving deeper into this topic than we would ever have the patience for. And what did they have to say?
Well, in December 2025, they ran a little test, and discovered that when AI Overviews appear, this now correlates with a 58% lower average click-through rate for the top-ranking page.
Oh, great…
But before we all pack our bags and become stoic sheep farmers in the Scottish Highlands, there is an important point to make:
Users aren’t ignoring organic content. It’s just that the first interaction now happens inside the SERP.
Instead, users arrive at organic results with more context than before. The click is no longer required to understand the basics. It is required only when the user wants more depth, reassurance, or action.
This explains why many sites see traffic decline while rankings remain stable. The content is still considered relevant and authoritative. It is simply no longer the first step in the journey.
AI search is growing fast, but traffic is not following
AI-native search behaviour is no longer fringe. According to research published by Ahrefs, ChatGPT now processes approximately 2.5 billion prompts per day (roughly 12% of Google’s traditional search volume when adjusted for search-like queries).
This shows us that there is a behavioural shift happening at a global scale. Users are already comfortable asking AI interfaces questions they once typed into Google.
Unfortunately, volume does not equal traffic.
Despite handling 12% of Google’s search-like query volume, ChatGPT drives dramatically less outbound traffic to websites.
Estimates show that Google sends well over 100× more referral traffic than ChatGPT. Google’s ecosystem is designed around linking out. Even when zero-click behaviour increases, the model still points to pages.
ChatGPT and similar interfaces are designed around self-contained answers. The experience prioritises completion inside the interface rather than progression to a site.
If AI-native search grows from 12% to 20% or 30% of search-like activity over the coming years, and if those interfaces continue to generate comparatively minimal outbound clicks, that is a significant compression of organic traffic.
The web is not just competing for rankings anymore. It is competing against interfaces designed to eliminate the need to visit it.
This gives us far more understanding as to the existence of AI Overviews. They are Google’s response to this behavioural trend. If users are increasingly comfortable receiving synthesised answers from AI interfaces, Google must offer a comparable experience inside its own ecosystem to prevent that behaviour from migrating elsewhere.
In other words, AI Overviews are defensive as much as they are innovative.
Which queries are most affected?
The fact is, not all search queries are treated equally.
AI Overviews appear most frequently on informational and question-based queries, particularly longer searches where users are trying to understand something rather than buy something.
On the contrast, they are far less common on branded, navigational, or clearly transactional searches.
That’s an important distinction. AI Overviews disproportionately affect early-stage research and top-of-funnel content, not the entirety of organic search.
Ranking number one is no longer the finish line
For years, we’ve all treated ranking improvements as a reliable proxy for traffic growth. That assumption no longer cuts the mustard.
In a SERP with an AI Overview, the summary becomes the primary interface. The number one organic result is effectively repositioned beneath it, competing for attention only after the user has consumed a condensed version of the answer.
And organic search isn’t the only one to feel the strain. Paid ads are experiencing a lower click-through rate on the same queries for the same reason. Users are less inclined to click anything.
This contradicts the assumption that paid media can simply compensate for organic losses. When the structure of the SERP changes, buying visibility does not guarantee interaction. Instead, it exposes the truth:
Attention, not placement, is the resource that matters.
Of course, ranking still matters. It determines which sources are eligible to be cited. But ranking alone just delivers visibility, not guaranteed visits.
So if the user already understands the topic at a high level, what additional value does the page provide that justifies the click? We’ll get to that in a little while.
AI isn’t the only force reshaping click distribution
It would be convenient to blame AI Overviews for every organic traffic decline, but the data suggests the reality is more complex.
Recent SERP analysis by Aleyda Solís shows that organic click share has dropped significantly year over year from roughly 73% to 56% of total clicks.
But what’s important is where those clicks are going.
While AI Overviews are certainly hoovering up informational interactions, they are not the only winners.
Expanded text ads and product listing ads are actually capturing a growing share of clicks. So part of what looks like AI disruption is SERP re-monetisation.
If organic click share declines purely because users are satisfied by generative summaries, the strategic response focuses on differentiation and depth.
But if organic click share declines because paid placements are occupying more visual real estate and absorbing more attention, the response must also account for competitive media pressure.
AI Overviews and increased ad density often appear together, meaning a commercial results page can now look like this:
Paid ads -> AI Overview -> more ads or shopping modules -> organic listings
By the time a traditional organic result appears above the fold, the user has already been exposed to multiple monetised touchpoints. If we think about that old metric that 60% of traffic goes to the top 3 search results, we’re now dealing with top organic traffic stuck down near position 8 or 9.
It’s unsurprising and certainly not an accident. Search engines are a business and thus operate within the commercial incentives. As more informational queries become “answerable” inside the interface, the most monetisable space on the page becomes even more valuable.
How Google selects sources for AI Overviews
Before we dig into the impact AI Overviews have had on organic search, let’s wrap our noggins around how they gather their information.
Despite the generative interface, AI Overviews are not arbitrary in how they source information. They are built on top of Google’s existing search infrastructure and draw heavily from the same systems that have governed organic rankings for years.
Studies have found that AI Overviews overwhelmingly cite pages that already perform well in traditional search.
In other words, AI Overviews are not discovering new content in isolation. They are amplifying content Google already understands and trusts.
Rankings still gate visibility
Studies analysing thousands of AI Overview citations have found that the majority of cited URLs already rank on the first page of Google, often within the top three positions.
If a page does not rank well organically, it is unlikely to be used in an AI Overview. Generative search does not bypass relevance and authority. It depends on them the same way people have for years.
Topic ownership
Ahrefs’ analysis of AI Overview behaviour highlights the importance of what they describe as “fan-out queries”. These are related questions Google associates with a primary topic.
Pages that rank across multiple related queries are significantly more likely to be cited in AI Overviews than pages optimised narrowly for a single keyword, which implies that Google’s AI is selecting sources that demonstrate broad topical understanding.
This rewards content strategies built around topic ownership rather than keyword capture.
Quality over quantity
One of the big myths about AI Overviews is that long-form content is preferred. Unfortunately for those of us whose lexicon perpetuates a penchant for superfluous verbosity, research does not support this.
Studies comparing word count against AI Overview citations show little meaningful correlation. Short pages and long pages both appear, provided they are clear, well-structured, and useful.
Indeed, Ahrefs found that 53.4% of pages cited by AI Overviews are under 1,000 words.
Content that answers questions directly, uses clear headings, and avoids unnecessary padding is easier for AI systems to interpret and reuse.
What matters is not volume, but extractability and value.
Trust is key
Brand recognition, consistent authorship, and credible sourcing also play a role, although they are harder to measure directly.
Google’s extensive emphasis on experience, expertise, authority, and trust continues to influence which sources it is happy to use. These recognised entities reduce uncertainty, while clear authorship and transparent sourcing reinforce credibility, just as it would for us humans.
At the end of the day, it’s about confidence. And confidence favours brands and publishers that have invested in clarity, consistency, and authority over time.
Organic content in an AI Overview world
Regardless of what AI Overviews have done to the SERP, search remains one of the clearest expressions of intent available to marketers. People are still searching, more so than ever before. What has changed is how much value Google captures before the click occurs.
SEO still determines which brands appear in front of that intent. AI Overviews do not remove SEO from the equation. They sit on top of it. Every summary is built from ranked content. Visibility is still earned through relevance, authority, and trust.
Every major evolution in search has triggered predictions of collapse. Each time, the channel adapted.
AI Overviews are just another tipping point. They reward quality, clarity and differentiation, while penalising repetition.
What content is genuinely under threat?
Content that exists purely to capture clicks without adding depth is vulnerable. Google has seen what was going on and decided to strip out the faff.
Generic definitions, surface-level advice, and reformulated common knowledge can be summarised without meaningful loss. When that happens, the incentive to visit the source disappears.
This content was already under pressure. AI Overviews simply compress the timeline.
And this is ultimately a good thing. How many times have you gone in search of an honest product recommendation and been foisted with a cheap article that offers nothing beyond common knowledge, all designed to encourage you towards the website’s brand?
It wasn’t a good experience, and it was due a shake-up.
Can organic search still create value?
Absolutely. If anything, it matters more now than ever, especially where understanding alone is insufficient. For content to earn clicks now, it has to offer something the SERP cannot.
Interactive experiences remain one of the most reliable ways to earn engagement. Calculators, selectors, configurators, and diagnostic tools (aka, things that require user input) are all big winners as they turn passive understanding into active participation.
And because they are inherently personalised, they are summary-resistant. AI can explain what a concept is, but it can’t easily replicate an experience that adapts to the user.
Original insight is another strong advantage. Content built on first-party data, experiments, benchmarks, or lived experience gives Google something it cannot easily reproduce from other sources. Put what makes your brand at the top of its game into your content.
Research-led content, when genuinely original and insightful, doesn’t need to compete with AI Overviews, because it feeds them the scraps while still retaining value for users who want that juicy detail.
Decision-stage depth also continues to earn clicks, because it reaches the audience at a different stage of the journey. Users ready to delve into comparison guides, implementation advice, risk assessments, and practical frameworks don’t need a quick summary, because they are looking to address moments where understanding alone is not enough.
Structured long-form content still has a role, but only when the complexity of the topic justifies it. Length alone is not a differentiator. Structure is. It’s a classic case of quality over quantity. Well-organised long-form content that guides the user through a problem step-by-step remains as valuable as ever because it supports progression rather than explanation alone.
Does that mean that every piece of content destined for success must be 100% original? Of course not. But it must add value. You have to do to your content what Johnny Cash did to the song ‘Hurt’. Put your own spin on it, and make it worth the user’s time.
The common thread across all of these strategies is intent alignment. Content performs when it meets the user at the right stage of their journey and helps them move forward.
The differences in DTC and B2B search intent
The impact of AI Overviews on Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) and Business-to-Business (B2B) search shows the differences in engagement for those two markets.
On the DTC side, brands sell directly to consumers, often in crowded lifestyle categories where educational searches are common early in the funnel. In these cases, AI Overviews often answer the initial question before the user scrolls to product pages. This isn’t because the brand’s site isn’t relevant, but because the SERP now serves a compressed explanation first.
The shopping psychology here is instructional: users want to feel informed. If the SERP provides clarity immediately, they only click when they’re already emotionally ready to buy.
This shift means that brand influence and visual impact matter more than ever. Content needs to drive desire and differentiation beyond what AI summarises.
This is vividly different from B2B contexts, where longer sales cycles and complex decision processes take precedence.
B2B buyers aren’t satisfied with a high-level summary. Their interactions involve detailed requirements made up of layers of nuance that a quick AI Overview doesn’t satisfy. They still need technical specifications, pricing tiers, SLA details, and procurement compatibility before submitting an RFQ.
Product catalogues, bespoke quote tools, detailed case studies, and integration guides: all of this content still has value, because it’s about evaluating fit and feasibility.
This change between DTC and B2B can be seen in the performance metrics.
DTC brands might see a dip in traffic, but a rise in conversion rates. This is because the smaller number of users that come to their site do so pre-qualified and more purchase-ready.
B2B teams, however, might see less of a click decline but more demand for event tracking deeper in the funnel because the user’s journey is inherently layered.
This change is simply a redesign of user psychology. It’s about stripping away the uncertainties that plague the early purchase journey.
This means DTC brands should invest in rich, experience-driven content that warrants a click, while B2B brands should double down on depth and decision support content that gets users beyond the overview and into the evaluation process.
SEO synergy
While there are those out there that treat search, AI Overviews, and agentic AI as individual battles that must be won, they’re actually layers of the same system, and they require an overlapping, coordinated response.
This all starts with the latest pillar to join the club – GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation). As with all new things, there’s a temptation to treat it as something fundamentally different from its counterpart, SEO, as if AI Overviews require an entirely new strategy summoned from the collective minds of GEO gurus to make sense of it.
But the evidence suggests otherwise.
Generative search experiences do not operate independently from traditional ranking systems. Indeed, AI Overviews are just another layer that sits on top of Google’s existing infrastructure of crawling, indexing, ranking, entity understanding, and trust evaluation.
Which creates a scenario that is both reassuring and slightly uncomfortable, depending on your stance on traditional search.
For the brands with strong technical foundations, clear topical authority, consistent credibility signals, and structured, extractable content, they’re already seeing a huge gain in citations and synthesis with AI Overviews.
But for those who are now attributing performance declines to “AI disruption”, what they’re actually discovering is that all they had in the first place was keyword visibility, not durable authority.
Trust wasn’t invented by generative systems. They inherited it from traditional search, which relied on pages that ranked consistently across related queries and demonstrated depth over surface coverage. Topical ownership was king then, and it is king now. Nothing changed.
In other words, great SEO is good GEO.
Adapting to change
For us deep down in the trenches of eCommerce performance, what do AI Overviews actually change?
Measure what matters
The most common failure point is measurement.
Traditional SEO reporting has been heavily session-led. Rankings improve, sessions rise, and conversions follow. AI Overviews disrupt that feng shui.
It’s a necessary change. After all, traffic is a vanity measurement if it doesn’t convert.
This means sessions alone no longer reflect the full value of organic visibility. Metrics need to shift to measure what still drives outcomes, be it visibility and impression share on priority queries, branded search demand, or assisted conversions where organic supports later actions.
Click scarcity drives CRO dependency
When fewer users reach the site, each visit becomes more valuable.
AI Overviews increase the proportion of users who arrive already informed. That changes expectations. Rehashing what users already know will just frustrate them. Pages that help them act will perform better.
This places CRO, UX, and content quality at the forefront of search performance.
Research across eCommerce and B2B shows that better clarity, reduced friction, and stronger trust signals improve conversion rates regardless of traffic volume. In an AI-shaped SERP, those gains become more important because conversion opportunities are far rarer.
SEO, CRO, and UX cannot be treated as separate disciplines. They are a single system.
Work with an AI-first agency
AI Overviews change the value of search, not whether search matters.
The brands that win will build visibility, create irreplaceable content, and convert better when users arrive.
If you want to stand out in the AI Overview landscape, you’re in the right place. At Velstar, we’re taking AI seriously, providing positive and effective solutions for our clients.
If you’d like to learn more about how we can help your business implement AI, speak to the Velstar team today.