If you’ve noticed your website traffic dropping lately, you’re not alone. Google’s new AI Overviews are changing how people find and interact with websites. Instead of panicking, smart business owners are adapting their strategies to work with AI rather than against it. The key is understanding how to make your content AI-friendly while still connecting with real people.
Michael Gleed, founder of Wailea Direct Marketing with over 25 years of marketing experience, has helped countless businesses navigate major search engine changes. His expertise in AI-driven SEO and structured data optimization gives him unique insight into how companies can not only recover their lost traffic but actually grow beyond their previous levels.
Google’s AI Just Changed Everything About Search
Remember when getting to the top of Google meant everything? Those days are shifting fast. Now Google’s AI gives people answers right on the search page, which means fewer people click through to websites. But here’s the thing: this isn’t necessarily bad news if you know how to play the new game.
Think of AI Overviews like having a really smart librarian who reads everything and then tells people the most important parts. If you want that librarian to recommend your content, you need to organize your information in a way that makes sense to both the AI and the people reading it.
The businesses that are succeeding right now aren’t just throwing more content at the problem. They’re being strategic about how they structure their information so AI systems can easily understand and share it. This means focusing on entities (specific people, places, and things) rather than just random keywords.
Smart companies in places like Austin and Denver are already seeing results from this approach. When AI understands exactly what your business does and who you serve, it’s more likely to feature your content when people ask relevant questions.
Why Traditional SEO Rankings Don’t Tell the Whole Story Anymore
Here’s something that might surprise you: being number one in search results doesn’t guarantee traffic like it used to. AI Overviews often appear above all the traditional results, which means people might get their answers without ever scrolling down to see your website link.
This sounds scary, but it’s actually an opportunity. Instead of fighting for position number one, you want to become the source that AI trusts and references. When Google’s AI quotes your content in its overviews, you become the authority that people remember and trust.
| Old SEO Focus | New AI-Era Focus | Why This Matters |
| Keyword rankings | Entity recognition | AI understands topics, not just words |
| Link building | Source authority | AI references trusted experts |
| Page views | Brand mentions | AI citations build long-term value |
The most successful businesses are tracking different metrics now. Instead of just watching their search rankings, they’re monitoring how often AI systems reference their content. This gives them a better picture of their true visibility and influence in the market.
When AI consistently features your business as an expert source, people start recognizing your brand even when they don’t click through immediately. This builds trust and authority that pays off in the long run through direct searches and referrals.
How People Find and Buy Things Has Totally Changed
The path from search to purchase isn’t a straight line anymore. People might see your business mentioned in an AI overview, then search for you directly later, or ask friends about you, or see you mentioned somewhere else entirely. This makes tracking customer journeys much more complex but also more interesting.
Different industries are seeing different impacts from AI Overviews. Local businesses in competitive markets like Los Angeles are finding that AI actually helps them by highlighting their unique services and expertise. Meanwhile, e-commerce companies are having to work harder to get people from AI summaries to their actual product pages.
Understanding your specific industry’s patterns is crucial. A restaurant might benefit from AI highlighting their specialty dishes and location, while a software company might need to focus on getting AI to explain why their solution is different from competitors.
| Industry Type | AI Impact | Best Response Strategy |
| Local services | Often highlighted for expertise | Focus on local entity optimization |
| E-commerce | Reduced click-through rates | Emphasize unique value propositions |
| B2B services | Mixed results by niche | Build comprehensive knowledge bases |
The key is understanding that the customer journey now includes AI as a major touchpoint. People use AI to research, compare options, and validate decisions. Your content strategy needs to support people at every stage of this AI-influenced journey.
Success means creating content that works well in AI summaries while also providing enough value that people want to visit your actual website for more detailed information or to make purchases.
Creating Content That AI Actually Wants to Share
The secret to getting featured in AI Overviews isn’t about tricking the system. It’s about creating genuinely helpful content that’s organized in a way AI can easily understand and share. This means thinking like both a helpful expert and a smart computer program.
Building connected content networks works incredibly well. Instead of creating isolated blog posts, successful businesses create clusters of related articles that link to each other and build comprehensive knowledge around specific topics. When AI finds one piece of this network, it often discovers and values the entire collection.
Your content needs to be rich with specific entities that AI can recognize. Don’t just write about “marketing strategies.” Write about “email marketing for dental practices in suburban markets” or “social media advertising for local restaurants during holiday seasons.” This specificity helps AI understand exactly what you’re talking about.
| Content Element | Traditional Approach | AI-Optimized Approach |
| Topics | Broad keyword themes | Specific entity clusters |
| Structure | Keyword-focused paragraphs | Schema-marked sections |
| Linking | SEO-driven anchor text | Contextual topic connections |
Schema markup is your secret weapon for making content AI-friendly. This is code that tells AI exactly what your content is about, who wrote it, when it was published, and how it relates to other topics. While this sounds technical, many content management systems now make it easy to add schema markup without knowing how to code.
The businesses seeing the best results are those that treat schema markup like a content strategy, not just a technical requirement. They’re systematically marking up their content to help AI understand their expertise and authority in specific areas.
Knowing When to Change Your Strategy
Smart business owners don’t wait until they’re in crisis to adjust their approach. They watch specific signals that tell them when it’s time to pivot their AI optimization strategy. These signals help you stay ahead of changes rather than just reacting to problems.
Citation tracking is one of the most important metrics to monitor. This means watching how often other websites and AI systems reference your content. If your citation rates start dropping, it might mean your authority in your field is weakening and you need to create more comprehensive, helpful content.
SERP visibility changes are another key indicator. Even if your traditional rankings stay steady, you might notice that AI Overviews are featuring your competitors more often than you. This suggests you need to improve how AI systems understand and value your content.
User engagement patterns tell you a lot about how well your AI optimization is working. If people are spending less time on your site or bouncing quickly, it might mean the traffic you’re getting from AI sources isn’t well-matched to what you actually offer. This signals a need to better align your AI-optimized content with your actual services.
The most successful businesses review these metrics monthly and make small adjustments consistently rather than waiting for major problems to develop. This approach helps them maintain steady growth even as AI systems continue evolving.
Getting the Right Help and Tools
Succeeding with AI optimization requires both the right expertise and the right technology. Most business owners don’t need to become AI experts themselves, but they do need to work with people and tools that understand this new landscape.
Structured data diagnostics tools help you verify that your website is properly formatted for AI systems. These tools check whether your schema markup is correct and complete, ensuring that AI can easily understand and categorize your content. Many of these tools are free and can quickly identify issues that might be holding back your AI visibility.
AI citation tracking platforms show you how often and where AI systems reference your content. This information is crucial for understanding your true influence in the AI-driven search landscape and for identifying opportunities to improve your authority and visibility.
Working with SEO experts who specifically understand AI trends is probably the most important investment you can make. The AI landscape changes quickly, and having someone who stays current with these developments can save you months of trial and error while helping you implement strategies that actually work.
The goal isn’t to become dependent on consultants forever, but to learn enough about AI optimization that you can make informed decisions about your content strategy and recognize when you need expert help for specific challenges.
Building a Strong Defense Against Traffic Loss
The best approach to AI optimization is defensive as well as offensive. This means protecting your existing traffic while building new opportunities for AI-driven growth. Smart businesses focus on creating clear, authoritative content that serves both AI systems and human readers effectively.
Content strategy clarity is your first line of defense. When your content has a clear purpose and speaks directly to specific audience needs, both AI systems and people can easily understand what you offer. This reduces confusion and helps ensure that the traffic you do get is well-qualified and likely to convert.
Keeping your entity information current and accurate is crucial for maintaining AI visibility. This includes your business listings, social media profiles, and website content. When AI systems find consistent, up-to-date information about your business across multiple sources, they’re more likely to feature you as a reliable source.
| Defense Strategy | What It Protects | How to Implement |
| Clear content strategy | Brand messaging consistency | Audit existing content for focus |
| Updated entity data | AI recognition accuracy | Regular business listing maintenance |
| Multi-touch attribution | Customer journey tracking | Advanced analytics setup |
Multi-touch attribution models help you understand the complex ways people interact with your business in an AI-influenced world. Instead of just tracking the last click before a purchase, these systems show you all the touchpoints that contributed to a customer’s decision, including AI overview exposures.
This comprehensive view helps you make better decisions about where to invest your marketing efforts and how to optimize your content for maximum impact across all the ways people might discover your business.
The Future Belongs to Smart Adapters
Businesses that view AI Overviews as an opportunity rather than a threat are the ones seeing real growth right now. These companies understand that AI isn’t replacing human connection—it’s changing how that connection begins and develops.
The most successful approach combines AI optimization with genuine expertise and helpful content. When you become known as the go-to source in your field, AI systems naturally want to reference your content because it provides real value to users. This creates a positive cycle where AI visibility leads to more authority, which leads to even more AI visibility.
Michael Gleed’s work with Wailea Direct Marketing demonstrates this approach in action. By helping businesses align their content strategies with AI capabilities while maintaining focus on human needs and genuine expertise, they’ve helped clients not just recover lost traffic but expand into new markets and demographics they couldn’t reach before.
The companies that will thrive in this new landscape are those that see AI as a powerful ally in connecting with their ideal customers. Instead of fighting against AI Overviews, they’re learning to work with them to build stronger, more visible businesses that serve people better than ever before.
Frequently Asked Questions
How have Google’s AI Overviews affected website traffic?
Google’s AI Overviews have changed how search results work by providing direct answers on the search page, which often reduces website clicks. However, you can adapt by optimizing your content with entity recognition and structured data to help AI understand and feature your expertise, ultimately recapturing and even growing your traffic.
Can I still rank well in search results with AI Overviews taking over?
Yes, you absolutely can succeed with AI Overviews in place. The key is shifting your focus from traditional ranking positions to becoming the authoritative source that AI systems reference and trust. When you create comprehensive, well-structured content that demonstrates expertise, AI is more likely to feature your business as a reliable source.
Is traditional SEO dead because of AI Overviews?
SEO isn’t dead—it’s evolving into something more sophisticated and valuable. Modern SEO includes structured data, entity optimization, and creating content that serves both AI systems and human readers. Businesses that update their strategies to include these AI-friendly elements often see better results than they had with old-school SEO tactics.
