Google Search increasingly combines familiar website links with AI responses that summarize information and support follow up questions. That changes how people discover businesses, but it does not mean websites or clicks have disappeared. AI responses can include links, and customers still visit websites when they want more detail or are ready to contact a company.
The search routine we recognize
For years, searching online followed a familiar rhythm. You entered a question, scanned a list of websites and chose one to explore. If the first page did not help, you returned to the results and tried another. The search engine pointed the way, while individual websites supplied the fuller response.
That experience has been changing for a long time. Maps, images, shopping results and direct responses already made search more than a list of blue links. Generative AI adds another layer, a response that can bring information from several places into one explanation.
An response can now be the starting point
Google introduced AI Overviews broadly in the United States in May 2024. In May 2025, it began making AI Mode available to everyone in the United States. AI Overviews place a summary within the results experience, while AI Mode supports a more conversational way to explore a topic.
The distinction matters to someone researching a service. A person can begin with a broad question, ask something more specific and then visit a website that helps them understand an option. The route to a business can therefore include an AI response before the customer ever sees its homepage.
Website links are still part of the experience
It would be wrong to describe this as a search page that never sends anyone elsewhere. Google describes AI Mode as an experience that includes links for exploring sources and learning more. Traditional website results also remain part of Google Search.
Some questions can be answered quickly on the results page. Others lead to a longer decision. Choosing a law firm, comparing a dental practice or planning a major home project involves more than reading a short summary. People may still want to see the business, understand its services and speak with someone before deciding.
The concern for publishers is real
An response displayed directly in search can reduce the reason to open a page for a simple fact. That creates a difficult question for the websites that invest in publishing useful information. Being used as a source and receiving a visit are different things.
The size of that effect varies with the question, the audience and the type of website. A single percentage cannot tell every business what will happen to its traffic. Claims that all searches behave the same way, or that every company will lose the same share of visitors, go beyond what a general article can establish.
What this means for a business
A customer may discover a company through a website result, a map listing or an AI response. Each encounter can influence the decision to explore further. The business still needs a credible destination when that person wants details or a way to make contact.
SEO and AEO reflect these different discovery experiences. Their value is tied to helping relevant people encounter a business and understand what it offers. Appearing somewhere online is an opportunity, rather than a promise that a visitor will become a customer.
The change in search is worth paying attention to without treating it as the end of the web. The customer journey is becoming more varied, and a useful business website remains part of that journey. StartWeb7 offers website design and SEO + AEO management for businesses that want more opportunities to be found.