.webp)
.webp)
What Google AI Overviews do to your traffic – and what you should do now
Google search is no longer just a list of blue links. With AI Overviews and AI Mode, users can get direct AI-generated answers, ask more complex questions, and explore topics without necessarily clicking through to the websites behind the answer.
For Nordic businesses, this doesn't mean SEO is dead. But it does mean that organic visibility must be re-evaluated. It's no longer enough just to rank high. You also need to understand which searches still generate clicks, which searches primarily provide visibility, and how your content can be used as a credible source in Google's AI answers.
AI Overviews are AI-generated summaries that can appear directly in the search results. They gather information from various sources and provide links to pages where the user can read more.
AI Mode goes further. It's a more exploratory AI search experience where users can ask longer questions, request comparisons, and follow up with new questions along the way. It's more like a conversation than a classic search.
The distinction is important. AI Overviews affect how regular search results appear. AI Mode affects the very way people search. Both mean that businesses need to think differently about SEO, but the solution isn't to chase a new technical trick. The fundamental principles remain the same: technically accessible pages, useful content, and clear expert credibility.
International SEO datasets point in the same direction: When AI Overviews appear, the click-through rate can drop significantly, especially for information-based searches.
Seer Interactive has reported a 61% drop in organic click-through rate for searches where AI Overviews appear. Ahrefs has documented a 58% drop in click-through rate for pages ranking first in searches with AI Overviews present.
These figures should not be taken as a definitive answer for Nordic businesses. The datasets are international, search types vary, and AI Overviews do not appear uniformly across all searches. But they are a clear signal of the direction: Google is more often answering directly in the search results, and this changes how much traffic a high ranking actually provides.
At the same time, the picture is more nuanced than "AI takes all traffic." Seer data from early 2026 showed that organic CTR for searches with AI Overviews rose from a low of 1.3% in December 2025 to 2.4% in February 2026. A possible explanation is that users are increasingly clicking on the sources cited in the AI answer to read more or verify information.
The most important lesson, therefore, is not that all searches with AI Overviews are lost. The most important thing is that visibility, citation, and clicks must be evaluated separately.
For Nordic businesses, the first step should be to look at their own data, not just international studies.
Go into Google Search Console and look for pages with high impressions but declining CTR. Specifically look for searches where the average position is relatively stable, but clicks are falling. This could be a sign that the search result has changed, for example, through AI Overviews, featured snippets, ads, map results, or other SERP elements.
Pay particular attention to informational articles, guides, and "what is" searches before concluding that the entire SEO channel is declining.
Informational content is most vulnerable. Articles that answer simple questions like "what is," "how does it work," or "why" can be summarized directly by Google to a greater extent.
Transactional and commercial searches are often less susceptible. Searches related to price, vendor selection, comparison, ordering, solutions, or advice require more user consideration. Google can summarize information, but users still need to choose who they trust and who they want to contact.
Therefore, Nordic businesses should differentiate more clearly between content that generates visibility, content that builds trust, and content that drives conversions.
The most important shift is that content should not only be written to rank. It should also be written so that Google, customers, and AI systems easily understand what the page actually answers.
Articles should open with a clear answer, not a long introduction. If the page addresses a specific question, the answer should appear early. Afterwards, you can explain nuances, examples, and considerations.
Clear subheadings are becoming more important. Each paragraph should ideally cover one point, and the most important answers should be readable in isolation without the reader needing to understand the entire article first.
Q&A sections can still be useful when they actually answer customer questions. But they should not be used as a technical trick. Use relevant schema where it fits the content type, for example, Article, Organization, Product, LocalBusiness, or Breadcrumb. Do not build your strategy on FAQ-rich results.
The biggest mistake going forward is to produce content that merely repeats general information. If your article could have been written by anyone, it's also easier to summarize away.
Content that withstands AI searches better often has one or more of these characteristics: personal experiences, specific customer case studies, original data, comparisons, evaluations, or decision-making assistance.
An article explaining "what is CRM" can quickly be summarized by Google. An article comparing CRM choices for Nordic B2B companies with different sales processes, budgets, and integration needs is harder to replace. It helps the user with a decision, not just a definition.
The same applies to online stores. A generic guide on "how to choose a payment solution" is vulnerable. A specific evaluation of cards, Vipps, Klarna, invoicing, and subscriptions for Nordic online stores has more value.
Clicks and page visits are still important, but they no longer tell the whole story.
Search Console can show if your pages still get impressions even if clicks are falling. This is useful, because visibility without clicks can mean your brand is still exposed in search. But it must be linked to other signals: are brand searches increasing? Are you getting more direct traffic? Are more qualified leads coming in? Is the conversion rate increasing even if traffic is lower?
It's possible that a page receives fewer visits, but better visits. If AI Overviews capture the most superficial clicks, the users who actually click through might be more motivated. This must be measured, not assumed.
Google AI Overviews and AI Mode do not make SEO irrelevant. They make poor and generic SEO less valuable.
For Nordic businesses, the task now is to understand which searches still drive traffic, which searches primarily build visibility, and what content actually helps the customer make a decision.
Businesses that start with this now are better positioned than those waiting for traffic to return on its own. The groundwork is still the same: technically accessible pages, useful content, clear expertise, and a website that provides more value than a summary in Google.
Do you want to know more about how we can help you with visibility?
.webp)
