The trend: Google’s AI Overviews and instant answers are reducing click-through rates (CTRs) by 34.5%, per Ahrefs. Wikipedia, which relies on Google for referral traffic—has seen a drop of 20 million visitors in the past 18 months, per Comscore.

That’s part of a broader pattern: Global visits to the top 100 web domains fell nearly 7% from March 2022 to March 2025, per Semrush, with Google’s own traffic down 6.4%, according to Similarweb as cited by DataReportal.

SEO still matters, for now: BrightEdge reports SEO accounts for 53% of website traffic—but it’s losing share fast. Forty percent of Gen Zers prefer TikTok over Google for search, signaling a massive disruption in what channels people rely on to find information.

The search landscape: 

• Organic web traffic is shrinking across the board.
• Generative AI (genAI) chatbots, AI search, and social platforms are stealing click-throughs and  discovery.
• Generative engine optimization (GEO) will matter more than SEO in generating web traffic.

Marketing impact—adapt or lose visibility: AI-native discovery is killing traditional funnels. Marketers must now shift from optimizing static content for Google to crafting brand experiences that resonate in this new reality.

To overcome the changing dynamics of search, companies should embrace GEO to capture the almost 80 million US consumers who have shifted to genAI search engines, according to our forecast. That number is only growing.

Our take: Search is no longer a neutral traffic driver. Marketers need to plan for a world where clicks don’t come easy and genAI responses, not blue links, dictate traffic and visibility. 

GEO strategies must ensure brands are surfaced in genAI outputs. Marketers should focus on first-party data, brand-owned channels, and social, especially since platforms like TikTok, Reddit, and YouTube are increasingly becoming primary search paths for younger users.