Search traffic will keep getting harder to capture

This information is provided by GetResponse

By: Michael M. Ralph | Online Marketing

Google is making AI assistants the default experience.

Google just announced that Gemini 3 is now the default model powering AI Overviews in Search globally. And in Chrome, AI can now handle multi-step tasks for you — booking flights across different date ranges, comparing products, filling out forms, and even managing subscriptions.

Google calls this "auto browse." It's AI that doesn't just answer questions — it takes action on your behalf.

Getting clicks to your site was already harder with AI Overviews summarizing information directly in search results. Now there's another layer. When someone searches for product recommendations, Google's AI can synthesize reviews across sites, compare prices and shipping times, even add items to cart and apply discount codes — all before sending someone to your site.

Whether shoppers will actually use AI to make purchases is still an open question. Early data suggests people are more comfortable using AI as a shopping concierge than a buyer, especially for higher-stakes purchases. But even as a concierge, AI adds another filter between search and your site.

Not surprisingly, both Google and OpenAI are already pushing ads as the way to monetize this shift in behavior. Another platform to buy your way into visibility.

This shift won't happen overnight. But the direction is clear: search traffic will keep getting harder to capture. Which makes direct customer relationships — the ones you build through owned channels like email and SMS — more valuable than ever.

Thank you for reading.