How AI is changing the rules of web traffic
AI is changing how people search, find and engage with content online, which means it’s changing how traffic reaches your website. If you’ve noticed a dip in organic search traffic or a rise in unexplained direct visits, AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity may play a more significant role than you think.
AI tools are disrupting traditional web traffic
Not a day goes by without something about AI popping up — whether on the news, in an online article or your inbox. Some people fully embrace it, others are wary, and many are still unsure what to think.
From my clients’ perspectives, I often hear one question: “What impact is AI going to have on my website?” But the more relevant question might be: “What has AI already done to your traffic?” The usual response? Crickets.
AI’s effect on website traffic is similar to what we saw when Google rolled out featured snippets. When users get a complete answer directly from an AI tool, they often stop searching — AI effectively intercepts that traffic. But if the AI response cites your website (or, on occasion, includes a direct link), there’s a chance users will click through, creating AI-driven traffic. In other cases, the AI might mention your brand, prompting users to search for it directly or try entering your URL.
The result? A drop in search-generated traffic can make it seem like your SEO efforts have taken a hit. However, some of that lost organic traffic may be categorized differently in your analytics. The challenge with measuring AI-driven traffic is that many AI tools, particularly mobile apps, don’t send HTTP header information to websites. Without this header data, referral information is lost, and AI-driven visits often appear as direct traffic.
In some cases, AI tools do send header information. Still, if your analytics tool doesn’t categorize them correctly (for example, if you haven’t set up a custom AI channel, as most analytics tools don’t do this by default), the traffic might be recorded as r