If you’ve noticed your organic traffic dropping recently – even though your SEO performance looks fine – you’re not alone. In fact, we’re seeing this across multiple B2B software brands right now.
The scary part? Traditional SEO metrics might tell you everything’s improving. You’re climbing rankings. Visibility is up. But clicks are falling off a cliff.
So what’s going on?
Google AI overviews are cannibalising your clicks
Google’s AI Overviews are now occupying serious real estate at the top of many search result pages – and appearing for more and more searches. They summarise answers to user queries before anyone even gets to the blue links. Which means:
- Even if you rank #1, you’re further down the page under the AI Overview
- The answer is already there, users don’t need to click
- Your content is fuelling the overview, but you’re not getting the visit
In short: in certain cases you may be being used but not rewarded.
Look at this data if you really want to see the impact:
Users are moving to AI assistants for search
In lots of cases, users are increasingly skipping Google altogether.
Read our stats on the rise of AI search over Google here.
ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude – these tools are fast becoming the default research assistants for B2B buyers. They’re asking prompts, not typing keywords. They’re getting citations and brand names straight from the LLM’s mouth – no links, no visits, no traceable click path. AI tools are changing the B2B buyer journey, acting as buyer enablement co-pilots across the journey.
How to diagnose what if AI Overviews is causing the traffic drop
Here’s how to investigate whether AI search is to blame for your organic traffic fall.
Step 1: Head to Google Search Console
In GSC, go to the Performance section.
Google recently confirmed that AI Overviews data is now included in total impressions and clicks – but it’s not filterable (yet).
So here’s what to look for:
- If visibility (impressions) is flat or increasing…
- But clicks are falling…
- That’s a strong signal that Google’s AI Overviews are satisfying the query before users reach your site.
A classic symptom: rising visibility, plummeting click through rate.
Step 2: Analyse Specific Queries
Focus on your key commercial and high converting queries.
Look for:
- No change in ranking position (it may still say ‘1’, but the entire SERP has shifted down because of AI overviews)
- Decline in clicks with no ranking drop
- Higher impressions but flat engagement
These are red flags that the SERP layout has changed – and you’ve been pushed out by AI.
Step 3: Watch for Brand Mentions with No Attribution
LLMs like ChatGPT often mention brand names without including a link.
This creates ‘dark’ branded search behaviour: users hear about you in AI responses, then Google your brand later or go direct.
To check this:
- Look in GSC for rising branded queries even as generic queries decline
- Compare your brand name traffic against your SEO targeted pages
If branded searches are up but overall organic traffic is down, the LLM dark funnel could be at work.
Step 4: Audit Your AI Visibility
Take your most important keywords or content themes, and translate them into prompts that buyers might use mapped onto stages of their buyer journey.
Then:
- Use a tool like Peec AI to check if your content is being cited in ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google AI Overviews
- Compare your visibility to key competitors
- Note which content shows up in AI answers vs what performs in Google
This is where the gap becomes obvious.
Summary: your AI search visibility checklist
If you can answer yes to three or more of the below, it’s time to take GEO seriously:
- Organic traffic down, but rankings or impressions stable
- Drop in CTR across top queries
- Google Search Console shows higher impressions, fewer clicks
- Spike in branded searches despite drop in generic traffic
- You don’t appear in AI answers for key prompts