by Google
Until recently, when looking for answers, we would automatically open Google, read a few blogs, and compare information. Today, we ask a question directly to a chatbot, usually ChatGPT, Grok by xAI, Meta AI , or the latest Gemini by Google. We get the answer immediately, without ads, links, or long scrolling.
Sounds ideal, right? But with this change comes the question of who really creates the answers that AI serves us, and what happens to the authors who originally wrote this information? New AI features like Google's “AI Overviews” generate answers directly in search results, which leads to a sharp drop in website traffic. Some media outlets are even reporting a drop of up to 60%.
That means fewer readers, less engagement, less revenue. For content creators, brands, and marketers, it's a major change. This article looks at how AI is changing the way we search for answers, who we can trust, and what it means for us, the people who create content and strive to succeed online.
How is information search changing?
The classic Google search worked the same way for years, allowing content creators to reach readers, gain traffic, build trust, and monetize their website. However, this model is changing rapidly. The advent of AI models like ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, or Meta AI has caused a small revolution, and suddenly we get a directly formulated answer to our question. This answer is often coherent, understandable, and designed so that we don't have to click anywhere else. At the same time, we can ask for the answer in a way that we understand it, which means that we can understand even more complicated things.
Google confirmed this by launching the so-called AI Overviews, a feature that displays AI summary directly above the classic results for many searches. In practice, this means that the user gets information without opening a single article.
Why do websites like Refresher, SME, Forbes... bother?
If you are a media outlet, blogger, magazine or creator, traffic to your website is your foundation.
When AI answers for you, without a link or other mention, you lose readers, the time you invested in research and writing, and money from advertising or subscriptions. According to data from the Wall Street Journal, visits to several media outlets dropped by up to 50–60% just after the launch of AI Overviews. For many newsrooms, this means an existential threat.
Can AI chatbots be trusted?
Just because a chatbot answers quickly and confidently doesn't mean it's right. On the contrary, many answers sound credible but are not true. This phenomenon even has its own technical name “AI hallucination”. This is a situation where a language model invents information that sounds logical but does not actually exist or is inaccurate.
For example, AI can invent statistics that are not listed anywhere, attribute a statement to a person who never said it, or cite an article or study that does not actually exist. This is especially dangerous if we use these "hallucinations" when writing articles, schoolwork, or, increasingly, when making decisions at work.
Why does this happen?
AI learns from the vast amount of texts available on the Internet, and as we know, not everything online is true. AI does not have a "conscience" or verification mechanism like an editor in a media outlet. It generates outputs based on probability, not factual accuracy.
Using AI as a tool is fine, as long as we understand its limits. Chatbot can help us with the structure of the article, summarize the topic or suggest ideas, but when it comes to facts, quotes and sensitive topics, don't forget to verify them.
What does this mean for creators and marketers?
Organic website traffic is declining because more and more questions are answered directly in the AI interface, without a single click on the original article. For creators and marketers, this means that it is not enough to just write well, but you need to adapt to the new reality.
How to adapt? Build a strong brand that people remember and create a strong and consistent visual and content style so that people can connect with you and the value you bring. Communicate directly through social media, newsletters, podcasts, videos, etc. Anything that allows you to have a direct connection with your audience without an intermediary suddenly becomes even more important. Share, engage, and be where AI won't replace you (yet).
Build trust and community. Your reader, viewer, or customer needs to know that you are someone worth believing. Just because AI says something doesn't mean that someone competent said it. Human contact, transparency and long-term relationships are your best SEO.
New SEO ≠ just keywords
Search engine optimization is changing. Keywords are no longer enough. AI tools evaluate the value, structure and clarity of the text and whether it is AI-friendly text. That is, it contains headings, paragraphs, answers to questions, factual summaries. In other words, write in a way that both humans and machines can read your texts.
AI will increasingly influence how we read, write, search for information, and think. It brings us huge advantages, such as saving time or explaining complex topics, but at the same time it puts us in a position of responsibility and caution.
