Remember VHS tapes? We didn't stop watching movies — we just found better ways to do it, leaving cassettes and VCRs to gather dust in attics. A similar shift is quietly unfolding in digital marketing today.
Website owners still need targeted traffic, but user search behavior is evolving, and traditional SEO — once the pinnacle of performance marketing — is starting to look like an outdated relic.
The culprit (and unlikely hero) is AI. While often criticized for generating floods of low-quality "slop" content, AI-powered search features are now serving as an effective filter against the very SEO-optimized filler that has cluttered the web for years.
Google's AI Overviews (AIOs), for instance, have led to dramatic declines in clicks: organic click-through rates (CTR) for queries featuring AIOs dropped 61% since mid-2024, with some studies showing plunges from 1.41% to 0.64%. Overall, zero-click searches — where users get answers without visiting any site — now account for 58-60% of Google queries in late 2025, up sharply from previous years.
Users increasingly prefer concise, AI-summarized answers over clicking through to websites.
This trend extends to commerce: as AI chatbots integrate direct shopping (e.g., personalized recommendations in tools like ChatGPT or Gemini), even purchases may bypass traditional sites entirely.
For SEO specialists, this feels like an extinction event — much like dinosaurs watching the meteor approach.
But adaptation is possible. The new imperative? Become the "best answer" that AI systems cite and surface — across languages, markets, and contexts. This means shifting to Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), emphasizing E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness), and creating high-value content that stands out in an AI-driven world.
Ironically, marketers will need to leverage the same AI tools disrupting the field to stay relevant.
The traffic isn't vanishing; it's just changing form. Those who evolve will survive the shift — while the pure SEO dinosaurs risk fading into obscurity.
Also read:
- Penske Media Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google Over AI Overviews
- Google Faces EU Antitrust Complaint Over AI Overviews Feature
- Google's Disco: An AI Experiment Reimagining Web Browsing with On-Demand Custom Apps
Author: Slava Vasipenok
Founder and CEO of QUASA (quasa.io) - Daily insights on Web3, AI, Crypto, and Freelance. Stay updated on finance, technology trends, and creator tools - with sources and real value.
Innovative entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in IT, fintech, and blockchain. Specializes in decentralized solutions for freelancing, helping to overcome the barriers of traditional finance, especially in developing regions.
