Did Google and ChatGPT Just End SEO? Here’s the Truth You Need to Know

opollo5278
6 days ago
2 min read

Google’s AI Overview and tools like ChatGPT are changing how people search – and your website is likely feeling the impact. You might be seeing more impressions in Search Console, but fewer clicks. You’re not alone. This shift is gutting the way digital marketing has worked for the last 15+ years.

The reality is that Google and ChatGPT are intercepting your traffic, giving users instant answers without them ever needing to visit your site.

And most businesses have no idea what to do about it.

The Great Traffic Vanish: Impressions Are Up, Clicks Are Down

If your rankings still look great but your traffic is tanking, there’s a reason: Google is showing your content, but not sending visitors to your site.

When Google’s AI Overview appears at the top of the results page, users get a summary answer – no click required. Add ChatGPT, Bing Copilot, and other AI tools into the mix, and you’ve got an ecosystem where search engines are doing the reading for users and summarising everything before they reach your site.

In many cases:

Click-through rates drop by up to a third when AI summaries show up.
Over half of all searches now end in zero clicks.
Informational content – the kind that nurtures leads early in the funnel – is taking the hardest hit.

You’re still showing up. But you’re not getting the visit. And for most B2B and tech companies, that’s where the buying journey used to begin.

AI Just Hijacked the Customer Journey

Before AI, the buyer journey looked like this: search → click a blog → read → explore your site → download something → maybe become a lead.

Now? Users type a question into Google or ChatGPT and get everything they need in one box. Sometimes they ask a follow-up. But they rarely visit your site unless they’re already convinced you’re the one.

That means the top of funnel – the awareness and consideration stages are increasingly happening off-site. You don’t even get the chance to influence the decision.

And if your content isn’t included in those AI-generated summaries, you’re invisible.

Your 1st Ranking Doesn’t Mean What It Used To

This is the scary part: even if you rank 1st in traditional SEO, you still might not get any traffic.

That’s because Google’s AI Overview often chooses different sources to feature in its summaries – ones it considers more authoritative, relevant, or digestible. Traditional ranking factors like keyword density or backlinks don’t guarantee inclusion.

You can be at the top of the search results and still be ignored by the AI answer box.

Welcome to the new world of search.