𝐀𝐈 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐄𝐎 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜? 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦-𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐄𝐎 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐬! 

𝘛𝘓;𝘋𝘙

The sites that win in AI-enhanced search are those focused on actual utility. A 𝐜𝐲𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲-𝐒𝐚𝐚𝐒 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲 I’ve been doing SEO for the past 2 years now pulls 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝟲𝐊 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐲 (up from ~4 K in winter). Each key page solves a concrete security task using free tools, so AI Overviews and ChatGPT still pass the click test.

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐜, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐰𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭

SEO’s and business owners are right to feel uneasy that Google’s new AI layers and ChatGPT-style engines shave top-of-funnel traffic. I see the same screenshots, but on this site, the Search Console curve keeps rising. For us, 𝐀𝐈 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜 – 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭.

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠

Back in 2023, we completely skipped the TOFU glossary fluff traffic play and built a small library of free security tools – a vulnerability scanner, a password-strength tester, a configuration checker, and a few more. Each tool gives visitors an instant solution they can act on, funneling them toward the paid platform if they need more profound insights.

Fast forward to 2025 and Google layers AI answers on top of the SERP, and while others complain about organic search traffic loss, we see only an increase, with the same set of tools doing the same job they did two years ago, only now with an even clearer runway.

Here’s what I’m seeing:

● 𝐀𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: If someone types “what is a brute-force attack,” Google’s AI Overview can cover that nicely.

● 𝐀𝐈 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: When the following query is “run brute-force password test,” the Overview points to a page that can run the test. Our tool page does that, so we get the click.

● 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞/𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Casual readers who want definitions stay in the SERP. Visitors who land on the site already have a task to complete and are far more likely to convert. Sales calls feel less like qualification and more like closing. And this is the perfect 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 everyone’s been harping on about lately.

𝐆𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝

Pages that exist only to chase volume by exchanging “fluff for clicks” will feel pressure. Pages that deliver real solutions, products or services hold their ground and often gain better-qualified traffic.

If your graph is slipping, ask whether each page moves a visitor closer to solving a problem. If it does, AI search still makes room for you.

Have you noticed the same filtering effect? Drop your observations below; I’m always keen to compare data.