Comparing products, booking a trip, buying a car, or looking for a lawyer or a doctor? In all of these situations, more and more buyers now ask an AI assistant first instead of Google. This is not a prediction but a measurable process — so let us look at the numbers, and at which industries are affected most.
The numbers that show the speed of the shift
Gartner has forecast that by 2026 traditional search traffic could fall by as much as 25% as users turn to generative AI assistants (Gartner, 2024). The full 25% has not materialised yet, but the direction is unambiguous — and in the same analysis Gartner also states that companies will need unique content that demonstrates genuine expertise and experience.
Google AI Overviews already reaches 2.5 billion users a month, and AI Mode — the Gemini-based conversational search interface — passed 1 billion monthly users barely a year after launch (Google I/O 2026).
According to Semrush research, a visitor arriving from an AI source is on average 4.4 times more valuable than one arriving from traditional organic search (Semrush AI Search Study). There are fewer clicks, but each click is worth more: by the time an AI-using prospect reaches your website, they have already compared their options and half-made their decision.
Which industries are affected most?
The change is not evenly distributed. A few areas are particularly exposed:
E-commerce and product research. Pre-purchase comparison is increasingly done by the AI on the buyer’s behalf — at product level. AI no longer recommends only a brand, but a specific product type.
Travel and accommodation. “Where should we go” and “which hotel should we choose” are exactly the questions that now go to an AI.
Car dealerships. Recent surveys show that close to a third of buyers use an AI tool to compare models, specifications and prices before setting foot in a showroom. Anyone absent at that stage is left out of the research phase — by the time the prospect calls, the decision is already made.
Finance, law and healthcare (YMYL sectors). High-trust areas, where the AI quotes only the sources it judges most reliable.
B2B software and services, media companies, local services. Because of AI summaries, click volumes have fallen significantly in several of these categories.
SEO did not die — it gained a companion
Until now the question was: “do we appear among the first results?” Now it is: “do we appear when an AI answers our customer on our behalf?”
AI does not give ten blue links — it gives three to five company names. There is no second page where you can still squeeze in. If a company is not present at the point where the decision is actually made today, then in the customer’s eyes it simply does not exist.
The good news: the field is still open. Our own tests show that it is not a question of size — smaller, well-optimised companies get into AI answers while market leaders are left out. For what that looks like in practice, see our test of twelve industries, and for the underlying concepts our guide to what GEO is.
Want to know whether the AI recommends your company — or your competition? Get in touch and we will run the test on your market.
Written by Endre Kovács, SEO and GEO specialist, managing director of Marketing Kalkulátor Kft.