Bring Back Organic Search: A Blogger’s Take on Google AI Overviews

What Happened to My Website Traffic?

A few months ago — and seemingly overnight — I started noticing my website traffic slipping. Not just a slow day here and there, but an over-the-cliff drop in clicks and visits. The posts that once brought people in — especially my carefully written affiliate content — just weren’t pulling the same numbers anymore and very few were actually following my links. I went from a modest traffic level and some small commissions to nothing at all.

Be sure to read my other post Why Google Ads Is So Hard for Small Businesses after you finish here!

Illustration of a Google search page with an AI Overview box covering real search results, highlighting how AI summaries overshadow organic links.

Was it Me or Something Else?

At first, I thought maybe my SEO needed work or my content needed freshening up but I'd never seen this much of a drop since I started monitoring my website back in 2017. Maybe people were just searching for different things but how was so much of a distinct drop possible?

I then saw an article or two about what Google quietly rolled out: AI Overviews — those big summaries right at the top of the search page that pull pieces of information from other sites and package them as one “instant answer.” You probably have seen them over the last few months yourself.

My Affiliate Content

I also have affiliate analytics to double-check I wasn’t imagining it — and I wasn’t. In fact, those results produced an even worse image of the decline than my own website analytics or Google Analytics. I believe that the only reason my site was still producing any reasonable traffic at all was because I was paying for it through Google Ads and some Facebook Ads.

I was so worried that I even contacted Amazon Affiliate Support to ask if this decline across my two Affiliate accounts might get me dropped for not earning enough commissions. Their answer to me was vague and unconvincing. In fact, I think the agent avoided answering my question directly.

What Is Google AI Overview?

If you haven’t come across it yet — and for those who aren’t tech savvy or are domiciled under rock formations — Google AI Overview (sometimes called AI Snapshot) shows up when you search for certain topics. Instead of the usual list of links and meta descriptions, you get a big AI-written summary with an expandable section from multiple sources that tries to answer your question immediately — using snippets from all kinds of websites.

In theory, that might sound helpful. But if you run a small blog or website — or you’re an affiliate trying to earn a few euros or dollars through honest recommendations — it can feel like your work is being scraped, summarised, and served up without anyone needing to click through to you at all.

Oy, Google where's my royalties for this?

Why AI Overviews Hurt Small Bloggers and Affiliate Websites

Let’s be clear: this isn’t just a small drop in pageviews. When people get their answers straight from Google’s AI, they’re less likely to click through to your site to read your post, see your photos, or — in my case — click on an affiliate link you’ve included in good faith.

Those clicks matter. For a small business, they’re not just numbers — they’re income — modest income at that. Those few affiliate commissions help pay for my website hosting, my time, my effort, MY research. If the AI takes all of that and bundles it into a neat answer, what incentive does the reader have to visit the source?

I know some will argue, “Well, you should make your content better so people still want to click.” But the reality is: AI Overviews show the answer first — that’s the whole point — so the clicks naturally drop. That's just common sense deduction.

That’s a big shift in how search used to work. I've gone over all my blog posts to make sure they are still relevant and updated but what's the point if no-one visits anymore?

I have Used AI Overview Too

To be clear, I’ve used AI Overview myself — several times — so I’m not just criticising it without knowing how it works or seeing the downside/ upside of this new tool.

I found that when I was rushing to get answers, I used the suggestions — refined my search in some instances — and used it again without going down below to where the regular websites are.

What chance has a small website got?

I’d Prefer Real Search Results, Not AI Summaries

Here’s the thing: I don’t mind AI as a tool. But as a search user myself, I find AI Overviews annoying because of its abbreviated descriptions and links that don't seem to go anywhere.

I liked seeing real links, reading the meta descriptions, and deciding for myself which site looked trustworthy or interesting based on their URL.

Now, it feels like Google wants to spoon-feed me a mashed-up answer, even when it’s sometimes vague, out of date, or lacking the detail I actually want. I’d much rather opt in to that than have it forced on me by default. Your search was perfect before, why change something that works? If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

I'm now actively trying to skip AI Overview and go down to the real websites below.

Why Can’t Google Use AI in Better Ways?

If Google wants to use AI — fine. But why not do it behind the scenes? Tweak the algorithm in the background only, to find fresher results. Suggest more recent posts. Rank and reward sites that are updated more often. Surface niche sites instead of giant ones recycling the same bland info. Or why can’t it just be a button or hyperlink — optional, not forced — when you’re using Google?

In my opinion, AI should lift up small, original websites — not siphon off their traffic while giving them no credit or clicks in return.

Google also seems to be favouring larger websites with better resources and more reviews while smaller websites are seemingly not included. Am I wrong in my opinion here?

What Bloggers and Readers Can Do

So what can we do? For readers: if you appreciate small sites and real people writing real posts — click through. Spend a few seconds reading the actual page. Leave a comment. It matters more than you think. Google used to recognise this, does it still I wonder?

For other bloggers: keep focusing on what you do best. Write honestly, write what you know, and speak up when these big shifts hurt your site. If you don’t like AI Overviews, tell Google. Give feedback. They may not listen right away — but silence never changes anything.

For my own contribution, I'm writing this post. I doubt anyone in Google will read it but they are smart people and may figure out themselves that they are damaging their customers businesses and pull back instead of doubling down as they appear to be doing. AI everything is not the answer or the future!

An Open Letter to Google

This post isn’t about being anti-AI. I’m not anti-progress either — far from it . But I do believe we should bring back organic search — or at least make AI Overviews an opt-in feature, not the default.

Let AI help improve the search algorithm behind the scenes — and let real websites, real voices, and real humans stay front and centre.

You are affecting me and my ability to earn a living. I am just one of millions of business owners, so my voice may not be heard — but I hope you stay open-minded and think about all possibilities, instead of only trying to build the world’s biggest AI model.

Please do better.....we rely on you!

Thanks for reading. If you have thoughts about AI Overviews — whether you love them, hate them, or just wish you could turn them off — I’d love to hear what you think. Drop a comment below.

Thanks for reading,

David

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