"Worries over whether the changing dynamics of search marketing will affect major brands have finally reached the boardroom. In several earnings calls this month, executives at high-profile advertisers like Airbnb and Expedia fielded questions from analysts over the impact of generative AI chatbots or Google's AI Overviews feature on their businesses. It's a sign that alarm bells are ringing. "It's going to be really tricky for brands to play in this new space," said Daniel Moreno, a senior SEO and GEO consultant at Dept U.K."
"According to data sourced from media agency Wpromote's Polaris IQ platform, advertisers' organic search traffic dropped on average 12% between the third- and fourth quarters of 2025. Publishing, telecom and healthcare clients saw the biggest drop offs, while e-commerce clients saw minor drops only. A clear picture has emerged across the industry. As Google increases the scope of its Overviews and AI Mode features, more users are ending their journeys in a zero-click cul-de-sac."
Earnings calls at major advertisers included analyst questions about the impact of generative AI chatbots and Google's AI Overviews on business performance. Advertisers' organic search traffic dropped on average 12% between Q3 and Q4 2025, with publishing, telecom and healthcare suffering largest declines and e-commerce seeing minor drops. As Google expands Overviews and AI Mode, more users end search journeys without clicking through. Marketers report that despite lower search traffic, sales and conversions often remain steady. Referral traffic from chatbots and platforms like ChatGPT appears to drive higher conversion rates than traditional search referrals.
Read at Digiday
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]