Why Your Website Traffic Is Falling—and How to Tackle AI Overviews

Search engine optimisation is no longer simply about claiming that coveted top spot on Google. Perhaps you’ve optimised your site well and consistently hold high rankings—yet your website traffic is stagnant or, even worse, in decline. This can be both confusing and frustrating for business owners and marketers alike.

The culprit often isn’t a flawed strategy, it’s the arrival of Google’s AI Overviews. This feature directly presents summarised answers in the search results, offering users the information they seek without needing to click through to your website. For businesses and content creators, this is a fundamental change to the digital landscape. The focus has swiftly shifted: it’s no longer just about driving clicks, but about becoming the trusted source Google chooses to reference.

At Puzzle Creative, we know that staying agile is essential in digital marketing. In this article, we’ll break down exactly how Google’s AI Overviews can affect your website traffic, and share actionable steps you can take right now to safeguard your brand’s visibility. The objective is not just to chase clicks, but to position your business as the trusted source that Google chooses to cite.

The Reality of Zero-Click Searches from AI Overviews

Google has always set out to organise the world’s information. With the advent of generative AI in Search, Google is now synthesising and presenting that information directly to users.

Previously, when a user searched for something like “How do I optimise images for SEO?”, they would see a ranked list of website links. Now, it’s much more common to find a concise summary box right at the top of the search results, Google’s AI Overview, offering a direct answer without requiring a click.

For users, this shift offers convenience. But for website owners, it creates a significant challenge: if searchers get the answer they need straight from Google’s results, they have little incentive to click through to your site. This “zero-click search” phenomenon means you may lose website visits even when your content remains highly visible in search rankings.

Yet this shift is not the end of SEO, it’s its next phase. While conventional clicks for straightforward queries might fall, the importance of being recognised as a trusted source has grown. Securing a mention in an AI Overview builds brand credibility and signals authority to both users and algorithms. Even better, when visitors do click through from an AI summary, they’re often seeking more detailed insights, making them more engaged and valuable leads for your business.

Strategy 1: The 'Bottom Line Up Front' Approach

To feature in AI-driven summaries, your content must be straightforward and machine-readable. One of the most effective adaptations is to rethink how you structure your introductions.

Journalists have long deployed the “inverted pyramid” style, and it’s ideally suited to online content in the age of AI. Don’t bury your main point, if your page answers a specific question, put that answer front and centre within the opening 200 words.

How to implement this:

• Define the answer early: If the article is about "Best times to post on Instagram," state the times clearly in the first paragraph.

• Use definitional language: Structure sentences simply. Use formats like "X is Y because Z." This helps Natural Language Processing (NLP) models understand the relationship between concepts.

• Avoid fluff: Do not spend three paragraphs setting the scene with vague statements. Get straight to the point.

Presenting a succinct summary right at the top of your page enables Google’s AI to effortlessly extract your content for its answer box, increasing the chances of your business being cited as the authoritative source.

Strategy 2: Leverage FAQs for Specific Queries

AI Overviews excel when it comes to direct questions and clear answers. One of the most effective ways to demonstrate to Google that your content provides real value is by incorporating a well-structured Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section.

This isn’t simply a matter of tacking on a handful of generic questions at the end of your page. To make an impact, your FAQs must be carefully curated, informed by genuine insights into the exact questions your audience is searching for. Consider what potential customers need to know, and structure your FAQs to deliver those answers clearly and concisely.

Optimising your FAQs:

1. Research long-tail keywords: Use tools to find specific questions people ask related to your main topic. These are often the queries that trigger AI summaries.

2. Use Schema markup: Where possible, use FAQ Schema markup. This is code that helps search engines understand that your content is in a question-and-answer format.

3. Keep answers direct: Write the answer to each FAQ as if it were a standalone snippet. Be objective and factual.

By providing direct, standalone answers to targeted questions, you boost the chances of your content being selected for an AI Overview, particularly for niche or specific queries.

Strategy 3: Authority Over Volume

Previously, it was common practice to produce “thin content”, large volumes of short, low-quality pages designed to target a wide range of keywords. This scattergun approach is now ineffective in the age of AI-driven Search.

Google’s AI places a premium on helpfulness, expertise, and authority, often described as E-E-A-T: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. While AI can churn out basic, surface-level content, it cannot replicate genuine human insight, original data, or true subject matter expertise.

Focus on Depth

Rather than producing multiple superficial articles, invest in creating a single, comprehensive resource. Examine the topic in detail from every perspective, ensuring your content stands out both for users and search engines.

• Original Research: specific data, surveys, or case studies conducted by your business are gold dust. AI cannot invent new data; it must reference it. If you are the source of the data, you get the citation.

• Expert Opinion: Include quotes from subject matter experts. Nuanced opinions differentiate your content from generic AI summaries.

• Actionable Advice: Move beyond "what" something is and explain "how" to do it in detail. AI is great at definitions but often struggles with complex, step-by-step implementation nuances.

The Goal: Becoming the Cited Source

This shift demands a change in perspective. It’s time to move beyond chasing clicks for their own sake and start prioritising visibility and authoritative mentions in search. When Puzzle Creative is credited as the source in an AI Overview for topics like “innovative content strategies,” it’s more than just exposure, t’s a mark of leadership and reliability in your field. This builds credibility and trust in your brand before a user even visits your website.

This transformation demands a shift in mindset. Rather than focusing solely on raw click numbers, it’s imperative to value prominence and credible mentions within search results. Visibility and attributio, being cited as the trusted authorit, are now the real benchmarks of SEO success.

If Puzzle Creative is credited as the source within an AI Overview for “innovative content strategies”, it stands as a strong endorsement of our expertise. This not only elevates our brand as a recognised authority but also fosters trust and confidence in our services, even before visitors arrive on our website.

Metrics to watch beyond clicks:

• Brand Impressions: Is your brand name appearing more often in search, even if clicks are flat?

• Direct Traffic: Are more people typing your URL directly after seeing your brand in search results?

• Engagement Time: Are the users who do click staying longer? This suggests they are finding the depth they couldn't get from the summary.

Conclusion

Adapting to Google’s AI Overviews isn’t about outsmarting an algorithm, it’s about aligning your content strategy with what search engines and users genuinely want: the clearest, most reliable answer available.

By placing your key answers at the top, making use of targeted FAQs, and focusing on in-depth, authoritative content, you secure your standing in the evolving search environment. This approach ensures that when Google’s AI draws on collective knowledge, it is your expertise that gets cited, placing your brand front and centre for users and search engines alike.

Keen to future-proof your content approach? Start by auditing your highest-traffic pages. Look for key answers that may be buried further down and bring them right to the top. Even simple structural changes like this can make a tangible difference to your site’s visibility and authority within AI-powered search results. Need help? Contact our team and we'll explore how we can get your website cited in AI summaries.