AI Search Just Ate Half Our Traffic
Google AI Overviews launched in your category. Your organic traffic dropped 38%.
"Our traffic is in freefall - AI Overviews are answering queries we used to rank #1 for. The board is asking what we're doing about it. I need a plan by Friday."The line that opens this conversation
Applies when · a renewal, QBR, or budget conversation puts the same line — or a near cousin — in front of you. Substitute your client name, ARR, and tenure mentally; the move stays the same.
Patterns drawn from real conversations. Names, numbers, and details are stripped. These are situations to work from.
You're Head of SEO at a reference publisher. Your CEO emails the marketing leadership Slack: "Our traffic is in freefall - AI Overviews are answering queries we used to rank #1 for. The board is asking what we're doing about it. I need a plan by Friday."
Organic traffic down roughly a third in 90 days
Affected queries skew informational (exactly where Overviews dominate)
Your AI visibility is low - citations exist, but they're going to the wrong pages
How you pitch
3 minutes to position AI visibility as the answer rather than another budget ask in a crisis. Read the room - your CEO is panicked.
What makes it exciting
Existential moment for the company and your function. You can either be the calm voice that points the way, or another team asking for headcount during a fire.