How Google’s Core Updates & AI Overviews Together Are Rewriting the Search Playbook
Every time Google rolls out a core algorithm update, publishers and businesses brace for impact—shifts in rankings can dramatically affect visibility and revenue. But now, Google’s increasing use of AI-powered features like AI Overviews (AIOs) is raising deeper questions: are these changes merely tweaks to search, or do they represent a fundamental threat to how traffic is generated online?
When Core Updates and AI Overviews Collide
Google’s core updates have long been significant: they adjust ranking signals to favor relevance and user experience, yet they often cause volatility in search results. Many businesses have witnessed entire traffic streams evaporate overnight due to ranking shifts. This broader challenge is the backdrop for another layer of disruption—the all-too-visible AI Overviews that now dominate search result pages.
Together, these forces are more than iterative changes; they're reshaping the economics of visibility. If your content doesn't appear within AI Overviews—or appears lower down—it's effectively invisible, regardless of your organic search rank. For deeper insights into how algorithmic shifts continue to evolve, see the analysis of Google’s core updates here.
Mail Online’s Click Journey: From #1 to Nowhere
The impact of AI Overviews on real-world sites is stark, best illustrated by Mail Online’s experience. Carly Steven, Mail Online’s SEO and editorial e-commerce director, revealed that when their content ranks number one but is accompanied by an AI Overview, click-through rates (CTRs) fall by over 56% on desktop and around 48% on mobile—a stunning drop for the top-ranking results.
Even being featured within the AIO doesn’t fully protect visibility: Mail still sees a 44% drop in clicks on desktop and 32% on mobile, even under the best circumstances. The case of a query like “Noor Alfallah news” shows the depth of this issue—clicks plunged from 6,000 to just 100 once an AI Overview was present.
This raises an urgent question: Could AI Overviews be Google’s quiet way of redirecting attention inward, favoring quick answers over destination visits? For a broader exploration into how AI is silently siphoning referral traffic, consider reading this in-depth article.
Visibility Over Clicks: A New SEO Paradigm
It’s no longer enough to rank well. With AI Overviews capturing attention, visibility within the AIO’s uppermost lines has become the real currency. Usability studies show the majority of users never scroll past the first third of AI summaries—they treat the AIO as the answer, not a gateway.
For brands, this means SEO strategy must be reoriented toward authority signals, trustworthiness, and AIO placement, rather than just targeting traditional clickthrough rates. If you want a deeper dive into how visibility and authority now outweigh raw rankings, check out our article on how the search engine economy is shifting.
Survival Tactics for Modern Publishers
Facing this brutal combination of algorithm fluctuation and AI domination, publishers like Mail Online are pushing back by doubling down on:
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Branded search resilience—focusing on queries like "Meghan Markle Daily Mail," where intent and brand loyalty persist.
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Irreplicable content—such as live blogs and opinion columns that AI can’t synthesize in real time.
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Alternative channels—building audiences via newsletters, apps, and social media to reduce dependency on Google.
Steven summarized it bluntly: relying on search traffic alone is no longer sustainable.
For a broader review of how publishers can adapt in a post-AI search world, explore this strategic guide.
Related: How Businesses Can Protect Their Rankings and Boost Organic Traffic
Can Google Sustain Itself While Silencing Publishers?
Google points to billions of clicks still being sent downstream every day and argues AI Overviews don’t appear for hard-news queries. But publisher testimony suggests otherwise. If users continue to rely on AIOs and Google shifts toward an answer-first model, publishers could become an afterthought—not by choice, but by design.
Is this a pivotal moment in the search economy—where Google’s own tool becomes its greatest threat? Only time will tell.
People Also Ask (PAA)
Will Google’s AI Mode replace websites entirely?
Potentially. As AI Mode becomes more conversational and user-friendly, referral traffic may decline further because users don’t need to click through.
Are branded searches safe from AI conversion?
For now, yes—queries with strong brand intent like “Meghan Markle Daily Mail” remain more resilient. But as AI grows more sophisticated, these may also be at risk.
How can publishers adapt to the AI-first search model?
By focusing on visibility, credibility, and building direct audience channels outside search. Content that can’t be replicated—like live blogs and expert columns—remains a strong differentiator.
Related: Could Google Updates Kill Its Own Search Empire?
