Google AI Overviews: why your website is getting fewer visits even if you're in #1

Have you noticed that your website traffic has dropped even though you're on the first page of Google? You're not alone. In 2026, a major change completely transformed the way Google displays results. At Altanet Craiova We believe that any company with an online presence needs to understand this change – because it directly affects the number of visitors you receive, no matter how well you are positioned.

What are Google AI Overviews?

When you are looking for something on Google, instead of immediately seeing the list of sites, now an AI-generated block of text appears first that directly answers your question. This is called AI Overview.

Basically, Google no longer automatically sends you to a site – it gives you the answer directly on the spot. Only after this block do the classic links to sites appear.

The result? Many people find what they were looking for without clicking on any other site. Including yours, even if you're in first place.

How big is the impact?

The numbers are clear and worrying for anyone who depends on organic traffic:

• Organic clicks decreased on average by 42% on all types of searches
• On desktop, the decrease reaches 47,5% when an AI Overview appears
• By 2027, estimates show that over 60% of searches will display an AI Overview

The graph below shows how the impact of AI Overviews on organic clicks has evolved compared to those searches without AI Overview:

How AI Overview works – in plain language

Google uses geminate – its own AI model – to read and synthesize information from multiple sites and generate a direct answer. This answer appears immediately above the classic results.

Think of it as an assistant that reads the top 10 sites in Google and gives you a summary on the spot. Useful for the user, less useful for the sites from which the information was extracted.

The good news: in some cases, Google also displays the sources from which it took the information. If your site is selected as a source, you can receive visitors right from the AI block – even fewer, but more qualified.

What can you do specifically?

The situation is not hopeless. Here are three practical directions:

• Optimize content to be selected as an AI source. Clear, structured texts with direct answers to specific questions have a higher chance of being cited by AI Overview. This new approach is called GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) and complements traditional SEO.
• Strengthens EEAT signals (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). Google selects as sources the sites it considers trustworthy. Real authors, verifiable data, links from other serious sites – they all matter.
• Diversify traffic sources. If you rely solely on Google, you are vulnerable. Social media, newsletters, direct traffic – all reduce the risk of a massive drop in visitors.

What's next?

right Tech Business News, AI Overviews will expand to over 60% of searches by 2027. Brands that are not selected as trusted sources by AI will lose visibility even when they rank well in the classic way.

Traditional SEO is not dying – but it is no longer enough on its own. GEO is becoming the mandatory complementary discipline for any company that wants to remain visible online.

Do you want to know how your website is affected by AI Overviews and what you can do about it? The team Altanet Craiova can do a quick analysis and propose an action plan. Go to our page contact and let's discuss.

This article is part of the Altanet series on changes in social media and SEO in 2026. Next article: Google Core Update 2026: why you lost traffic and how to recover. See also the complete guide to the series.