Google Updates AI Features: Will your traffic drop again? | The Current Thing #1

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Google Updates: Will Your Traffic Drop Again?

If you’re feeling déjà vu about Google’s latest announcements, you’re not alone. At this year’s Google I/O, the tech giant unveiled a suite of AI-driven features that could once again reshape the digital landscape—and potentially impact your website traffic (again).

The Rise of AI Mode

Google's new "AI Mode" is designed to transform the search experience. Instead of presenting a list of links, AI Mode uses advanced reasoning to break down complex queries into subtopics, issuing multiple searches simultaneously. It then compiles a comprehensive response on the user’s behalf, pulling data from the entire web, including various Google real-time data sources like: 

• The Knowledge Graph
• Shopping Graph
• Local data (e.g. 500 million Maps contributors)

This means users receive detailed answers directly within the search interface, reducing the need to click through to individual websites. According to Google, this feature will resemble a conversation with an expert capable of answering any question.

For content creators and publishers, this could lead to a decline in organic traffic as Google AI mode becomes the primary source of information, providing deep search with a single click.

Gemini Integrated into Chrome

In addition to AI Mode, Google has integrated its AI assistant, Gemini, into the Chrome browser for desktop users in the U.S. This feature allows users to summarize or simplify web content without leaving the current page. Future updates aim to enable Gemini to operate across multiple tabs and even navigate websites on the user's behalf.

During a demo ahead of Tuesday’s announcement, Google showed how Gemini now works inside Chrome. There’s a little sparkle icon in the top-right corner — click it, and a floating Gemini chat window pops up, which you can move and resize.

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1. In the demo, Charmaine D’Silva from the Chrome team opened an REI product page for a sleeping bag. 
2. She clicked a suggested Gemini prompt to list the key features, and Gemini instantly read the page and summarized them. 
3. She then asked if it would be a good choice for camping in Maine. Gemini pulled details from the REI page and other sites to answer.
4. Next, she visited another retailer’s site with a different sleeping bag and asked Gemini to compare both. It returned a clean comparison table on the spot.

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As for now, you can keep the conversation going as you move between tabs. But later this year, you’ll be able to select multiple tabs at once and ask Gemini questions about all of them together.

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They also teased a future feature: using Gemini to actively navigate websites for you. In the demo, D’Silva asked it to scroll to the ingredients on a recipe site, and it did. She also asked it to convert sugar measurements, which Gemini handled immediately.

While this enhances user convenience, it raises concerns for website owners. If users can obtain summaries or comparisons without visiting the actual sites, the traditional metrics of page views and session durations may see a downturn.

The Glimpse of Hope: Don’t Forget About Google's Business 

Before you spiral into FOMO, scramble to overhaul your SEO strategy, or start dreading those stakeholder questions about whether search is still worth the investment. It’s worth remembering that Google's revenue model heavily relies on advertising. 

And the integration of AI doesn't change that. The company is already testing "sponsored" product recommendations and shopping ads within AI Overviews and in-chat answers. Plus, the new Gemini features won’t be for everyone, at least not yet. They’ll roll out first to users with Google’s AI Pro or Ultra subscriptions and to those on Chrome’s beta, Canary, and dev channels.

Source: Google

So maybe we’ll need to rethink our approach in the near future, but SEO isn’t going anywhere. This approach ensures that advertisers remain central to Google's ecosystem. However, it also means that paid placements might overshadow organic content. We’ll see as all of this unfolds.

OpenAI's Alternative Approach

Contrastingly, last month, OpenAI has updated ChatGPT's web search capabilities to enhance online shopping experiences. Users receive personalized product recommendations with images, reviews, and direct purchase links. Significantly, these results are determined independently and are not influenced by advertisements.

While OpenAI currently maintains an ad-free model, it's uncertain how long this will last. As the platform grows, monetization strategies may evolve, potentially introducing new dynamics into the digital advertising landscape. 

Oracle: Implications for Your Traffic + Opportunity Areas

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As search results start handing people full, polished answers right on the page, the old-school model of “search, click, visit a site” is starting to wobble. It’s a shift in how people interact with content that we can’t ignore.

From our point of view, content types most at risk include:

• Product Reviews: AI summaries might negate the need to read full reviews.
• How-To Guides: Step-by-step instructions could be condensed into succinct AI responses.
• Comparison Posts: AI can aggregate data to present direct comparisons, reducing the need for users to visit multiple sites.

Opportunity Areas: Content That Stands Out

While AI Mode challenges certain content formats, it also highlights areas where human-created content can thrive:

• Data-Rich Content: In-depth analyses, original research, and proprietary data provide unique value that AI can't replicate.
• Interactive Experiences: Quizzes, calculators, and interactive tools engage users in ways that static AI summaries cannot.
• Community-Driven Content: Forums, user-generated content, and active comment sections foster engagement and provide diverse perspectives. In fact, we’ve already noticed in recent months that Reddit is gaining some ranking across Google’s first pages.

By focusing on these areas, content creators can offer experiences that AI currently struggles to duplicate, maintaining user interest and encouraging direct engagement with their websites.

Also, don’t forget to optimize your content for AI overviews. And if you’re not sure how to do that, we have a full guide on that.

Your Northern Star in the sea of content

The integration of AI into search is not a passing trend but a significant shift in the digital ecosystem. While these changes pose challenges, they also offer opportunities to rethink content delivery, prioritize user experience, and explore new avenues for audience engagement.

• Stay informed
• Keep an eye on your metrics 
• Iterate accordingly 
• Continue to provide content that resonates with your target audience. 

After all, that’s always been something that never changed and remains the northern star.

The good news? You don’t have to navigate this alone. At Postdigitalist, we’ve weathered plenty of algorithm storms before — and not only kept our clients’ traffic alive, but continued to drive high-quality leads through shifting search landscapes. 

If you want to learn more, book a free workshop.