The case for and against AI-driven SEO in the zero-click era

AI chatbots have upended how people search online, creating a zero-click environment and reducing traffic to traditional search results. Publishers have taken the brunt of it, seeing dips in traffic to news coverage. Marketers too, however, are feeling the effects of lower site traffic, creating less first-party data and fewer opportunities to retarget shoppers, according to six agency execs.

Some media agencies have already started to scrutinize paid search adjustments amid the zero-click signal confusion even as Google remains the go-to search engine with more than half of U.S. consumers reportedly preferring to use it over AI platforms, according to eMarketer.

“[Clients are] building the bones right now and a lot of companies are starting, and taking it really seriously – others are further ahead,” said Brandon Biancalani, head of paid advertising at Modifly, a performance media and creative agency. There’s not, Biancalani added, “a code red where everyone needs to make the switch because they’re losing out on revenue.” 

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