I had a call last week with a plumber in Ashgrove. His rankings looked the same. His site had not changed. But his traffic was down 30 per cent since March.
He thought he had done something wrong.
He had not. Google changed the rules.
Google is turning itself from a gateway to the wider web into a destination in its own right. Around 60 per cent of all searches now end without a click to any website. Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity now answer queries directly, reducing click through rates by up to 61 per cent.
This is not a theory. It is happening now. And if your traffic is down but your rankings look fine, this is probably why.
What actually changed
At Google I/O in May 2026, Google unveiled an AI-powered overhaul of Search centred around a reimagined intelligent search box, what the company describes as the biggest change to this entry point to the web since the search box debuted more than 25 years ago.
What that means in practice is this. Someone searches "best plumber near me" or "emergency AC repair Brisbane" and instead of seeing ten links, they see an AI-generated answer at the top. The answer pulls from multiple websites, summarises them, and lists a few sources.
Most people read the summary and stop. They do not click through. Your site might be cited. You might even rank first. But the visit never happens.
Chartbeat’s March 2026 analysis found that small publishers lost 60 per cent of their search referral traffic, while large publishers lost only 22 per cent. Small businesses are being hit harder because the kinds of searches we rely on, informational and local commercial queries, are exactly the ones Google now answers directly.
This does not mean SEO is dead
It means the goal has shifted. You are no longer just trying to rank. You are trying to be cited, to be named, to be the answer Google pulls from.
When a business name appears inside an AI Overview, the person searching sees it, even without clicking. Repeat that across dozens of questions your target clients are actively searching, and the brand recognition compounds.
The businesses I am working with that are holding steady or growing are doing three things.
First, they have tightened their Google Business Profile. BrightLocal’s 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey found that 74 per cent of consumers only care about reviews from the last 90 days. A consistent cadence of fresh, specific reviews outperforms a pile of old generic ones every time. Update your hours. Post photos every week. Answer questions. Google’s AI uses all of this to decide whether to surface you.
Second, they have rewritten their service pages to answer the question, not just describe the service. Instead of "We offer air conditioning repair", they write "How much does it cost to fix a split system in Brisbane?" and then answer it clearly, with a price range, a list of common faults, and what to expect. That content gets pulled into AI summaries. The business name gets shown.
Third, they have stopped obsessing over traffic volume and started watching lead quality. AI driven search often delivers more qualified users when they do click. Users are arriving more informed and closer to making a decision. You get fewer visits, but the ones you get convert better.
You are no longer just trying to rank. You are trying to be cited, to be named, to be the answer Google pulls from.
What to do this week
If your traffic is down and you do not know why, check this.
This is not going away
Google has announced more agentic features for later this year. Starting this summer, people will be able to create, customise, and manage multiple new information agents within Google Search. These agents can work in the background 24/7 to track changes on the web and alert you to new information.
The web is not dying. Local search is not dying. But the path from search to your business has changed. If you understand that, you can still win.
Prompted by TechCrunch.