Google Defends AI Search Features, Claims They Provide 'More Quality Clicks' as Traffic Declines

Google defended its search engine's artificial intelligence (AI) features amid growing concerns about their role in the global decline of website traffic. On Wednesday, the Mountain View-based tech giant said that third-party reports suggesting a drop in search traffic are "inaccurate" and based on "flawed methodologies." It defended features such as AI Overviews and the recently added AI Mode by stating that these features ensure websites are receiving “more quality clicks.” In May (around the same time that AI Overviews rolled out), a popular business news publication reportedly fired 21 percent of its workforce due to extreme traffic drops.

Google Says Third-Party Reports on Search Traffic Decline are 'Inaccurate'

Elizabeth Reid, Vice President and Head of Google Search, said in a blog post that the company recently heard questions from users about the search giant's AI features negatively impacting website traffic. Dismissing these concerns, Reid claimed, “Overall, total organic click volume from Google Search to websites has been relatively stable year-over-year.”

The executive also claimed that the introduction of the AI features has resulted in websites receiving “slightly more quality clicks.” By this, Reid means click-throughs that do not result in immediate click-backs, indicating that the person is interested in the content.

Criticising third-party reports highlighting declining search traffic for using “flawed methodologies, isolated examples, or traffic changes that occurred prior to the rollout of AI features in Search,” Reid claimed that AI Overviews are surfacing more links on the page than before.

Notably, she is referring to the small chain-link icon next to sentences and paragraphs in the feature, clicking which opens multiple source URLs on the right side of the page.

Reid also added that while overall search traffic to websites remains relatively stable, user trends are responsible for some websites getting less traffic and others witnessing an increase. “People are increasingly seeking out and clicking on sites with forums, videos, podcasts, and posts where they can hear authentic voices and first-hand perspectives,” Reid said, indicating that websites that were suffering from reduced traffic merely failed to evolve with this shift in user behaviour.

While Google continues to defend its AI features and shift the blame to websites being unable to evolve, the real-world impact is being felt ever since the company released AI Overviews globally. For instance, Business Insider stated the reason for laying off 21 percent of its staff was its inability to “endure extreme traffic drops outside of our control.”

It is not the only website to claim AI is taking away Internet search traffic. According to Similarweb data (via New York Post), both HuffPost and Washington Post have seen their traffic decline by as much as 50 percent between April 2022 and April 2025.

Similarweb data (via The Economist) claims that the global search traffic declined by 15 percent YoY in June. Additionally, the report also claimed that zero-clicks to news websites increased from 56 percent in May 2024 to almost 69 percent in May 2025. However, Google claims that this data inaccurate.

“As a search company, we care passionately — perhaps more than any other company — about the health of the web ecosystem. We continue to send billions of clicks to websites every day and believe that Search's value exchange with the web remains strong,” Reid added.