Why Is My Website Traffic Dropping? The Role of AI in 2026 and What You Can Do About It

Key Takeaways

• AI Overviews are reshaping search behavior. Instant summaries give users quick answers, reducing the number of clicks required on traditional websites.
• Traffic loss doesn’t always equal lost leads. AI impacts research-focused queries more than conversion-ready ones.
• AEO is the next evolution of SEO. Optimizing for AI visibility helps your content appear in summaries, overviews, and conversational responses.
• Technical SEO and structure matter more than ever. Schema markup, clear headings, and mobile-friendly performance help AI understand your content.
• Multi-channel marketing builds resilience. Relying solely on Google traffic is risky; email, paid ads, and social help maintain consistent visibility.
• Adaptation is key. Businesses that adopt AEO early will gain a long-term competitive edge as AI search becomes the new norm.

If you’ve searched for anything on Google lately, you’ve probably noticed something new sitting at the top of your results: AI Overviews. These handy summaries answer your search queries right away, often pulling together snippets from multiple websites into one neat, AI-generated paragraph.

Pretty impressive technology, right? But for marketers and business owners, it’s also a little concerning.

Over the past year, AI-driven search results have reshaped how people discover information online. Many users now get what they need without ever clicking a single link. That shift is leaving even strong, optimized websites wondering what happened to their traffic.

The good news? This isn’t the end of SEO. Search optimization is simply evolving.

This post explores how AI is changing search behavior and why your website traffic might be dropping. It also explains how AEO (AI engine optimization) can help your content stay visible.

How AI Search Works and Why It’s Disrupting Traditional SEO

If you’ve been wondering, “Why is my web traffic dropping?”, you’re not alone. According to Search Engine Journal, many companies have seen traffic declines of 34% to 46% since AI-powered search results began appearing.

 That drop is no coincidence. AI-search engines like Google’s AI Overviews no longer just display a list of links. They use artificial intelligence to synthesize information from multiple sources and generate instant, conversational summaries that directly answer the user’s question.

 This is great for searchers but challenging for brands. When AI provides the best possible answer right on the results page, users often get what they need without clicking a single link. These AI-generated summaries also take up valuable space at the top of the page, pushing organic results further down.

 In some cases, the AI will cite its sources, linking to a handful of websites that helped form the answer. But only a select few cut. If your content isn’t written and structured in a way AI tools can easily interpret, it may never be selected for inclusion.

 That’s where AI engine optimization (AEO) comes in.

What Is AI Engine Optimization?

AEO is the next step in the evolution of search engine optimization. While traditional SEO focuses on optimizing content for search engine crawlers, AEO focuses on helping AI-driven systems understand, trust, and surface your content in generated summaries and overviews.

AI engines like Google Gemini are designed to find the most credible, well-structured, and clearly written information available. They look for pages that answer questions concisely, use clean formatting, and include structured data that clarifies the meaning of each section of the content. In other words, AEO makes your content both human- and machine-readable.

When your pages are optimized for AI interpretation, they’re more likely to be:

• Cited in AI Overviews and other generative summaries.
• Featured in conversational search responses, such as voice results or chat-style interfaces.
• Linked as trusted sources, even when users don’t scroll to traditional organic results.

In 2025 and beyond, AEO is becoming increasingly crucial to marketing strategies. It keeps your expertise visible, not buried beneath AI-generated answers.

How to Optimize for AEO

 Adapting your SEO strategy for AI search isn’t about starting over. It’s about evolving what already works. By aligning your content and technical setup with how AI tools read and rank information, you can regain visibility and stay competitive.

 What does optimizing for AI-driven answers in search results actually look like in practice? Here are a few key strategies:

1. Structure Content for AI Readability

 Use clear headings, short paragraphs, and bullet points. AI models scan for patterns and hierarchy, so consistent formatting helps them identify the most critical information. Add FAQ sections or “key takeaways” boxes that summarize answers directly.

2. Strengthen Your Schema Markup

 Structured data tells AI what your content means, not just what it says. Use schema for articles, products, services, reviews, and FAQs. This makes it easier for AI systems to classify and cite your pages in summaries or conversational responses.

 3. Build Accuracy and Authority Signals

 AI engines prioritize trustworthy sources. Reference reputable studies, add author bios, and keep your content fresh. Regularly updating your valuable content and publishing dates signals freshness, which AI engines use to gauge credibility.

 4. Improve Site Performance

 Fast-loading, mobile-friendly pages make your content more accessible to both users and AI. A slow or outdated website can reduce visibility and prevent AI tools from properly analyzing your content.

 5. Create Multi-Channel Touchpoints

 AI may change how people find you through search, but your audience still exists across multiple channels. Email marketing, paid ads, and social media can balance reduced organic clicks and drive qualified search traffic back to your website.

 6. Track and Adapt

 Utilize Google Search Console and analytics tools to track keyword visibility, click-through rates, and pages impacted by AI Overviews. Over time, adjust your content to better align with what AI models are surfacing for your target topics.

Does Lower Traffic Mean Fewer Conversions?

 Not necessarily. AI-powered search results primarily affect research-based queries, the kind of top-of-funnel searches people make when they’re gathering information, not when they’re ready to take action.

 Bottom-funnel searches, such as “Medical spa near me,” remain highly transactional. Users performing these searches typically want to connect with a business directly, so they’re more likely to click through to your website.

In other words, while overall traffic numbers might decline, conversion-ready visitors are still finding their way to you. The key is to understand which parts of your search funnel are changing and to keep optimizing the content that converts.

 By combining traditional SEO best practices with AEO strategies, you can protect visibility across every stage of the buyer journey, from early discovery to final decision.

 The Future of SEO Is AI-Friendly

 AI-powered search is the start of a smarter, more competitive era in SEO. The brands that adapt early will gain visibility not just in organic rankings but inside the AI summaries shaping modern search behavior.

 Optimizing for AEO means writing with both people and machines in mind. It’s about being transparent, credible, and structured so that AI systems recognize your expertise and include your content in the answers users see first.

 Final Thoughts

 If your traffic has dropped recently, it’s not a sign that your strategy failed. It’s a signal that the search landscape is evolving. Adapting now puts your business ahead of competitors who are still trying to figure out what changed.

 At Lasso Up, we help businesses navigate these shifts with data-driven strategies that blend traditional SEO and AEO. Our team can pinpoint areas where your visibility is slipping, restructure content for AI readiness, and enhance your overall search performance.

 Contact us for a free website audit to assess your position in the new AI search landscape.

FAQ: Why Is My Website Traffic Dropping?

 Q1: Why is my website traffic dropping?

 A: The rise of AI-powered search results like Google’s AI Overviews is changing how users find information. Many users get answers directly from summaries instead of clicking through to websites. Other factors, such as algorithm updates, content decay, or technical SEO issues, can also contribute.

 Q2: Does Google AI Overviews directly affect my rankings?

 A: Not exactly. AI Overviews don’t replace search rankings; they appear above them, reducing visibility and click-through rates for organic results, especially for top-of-funnel topics.

 Q3: How can I optimize for AI Overviews and AEO?

 A: Use clear formatting, concise answers, and structured data. Add schema markup for FAQs, products, or how-to guides, and focus on accuracy, authority, and up-to-date content.

 Q4: Will lower traffic hurt my conversions?

 A: Not always. Research queries are most affected, but bottom-funnel searches (where users are ready to buy or contact) still drive clicks and leads.

 Q5: Is SEO still relevant in the age of AI?

 A: Absolutely. SEO is evolving, not disappearing. Traditional SEO builds discoverability, while AEO adds visibility within AI-driven search results. Both are essential to a modern digital marketing strategy.