Google's AI Search Overhaul Cuts Traffic to the Open Web

Google, once the primary gateway to the open web, has revamped its search engine with AI Mode, a conversational interface powered by the Gemini chatbot. The new mode replaces traditional hyperlink results with AI‑generated answers, keeping users inside Google’s interface. Studies cited by the company and media reports show users write queries three times longer than before and spend one to nine minutes more per session. An October Growth Memo study found that about 75 % of sessions never leave AI Mode for external sites.

The shift has a measurable impact on publishers, businesses, and banks that previously relied on Google referrals for traffic and revenue. Traffic to external sites has dropped, prompting concerns from entities such as Vox Media and prompting the UK Competition Authority to request changes. Cloudflare has noted that over half of the traffic to Google now appears non‑human. AI Mode has surpassed one billion active monthly users, with query volume doubling each quarter, and AI Overviews now appear in roughly 13.7 % of all searches and 64.7 % of natural‑language questions. The changes mark a fundamental move away from the open‑web model that underpinned Google’s growth for two decades.