Google’s AI Overviews Just Changed Search. Here’s What It Means for You.
If your web traffic took a dip lately, it’s not your Wi-Fi.
Google quietly launched AI Overviews, and it’s rewriting how travelers find you.
This isn’t another algorithm tweak.
AI is now summarizing entire web pages and deciding which brands make the cut.
What’s Actually Happening
AI Overviews pull short answers from multiple sites and show them before the regular list of links.
So instead of ten blue links, travelers now get one tidy summary, often built from someone else’s content.
Your property might appear in that box.
Or it might vanish beneath it.
Traffic Down, Authority Up
The data backs it up:
Ahrefs: 34.5 percent lower click-through rates when AI Overviews appear.
Amsive: 15.5 percent CTR drop across 700,000 keywords.
Pew Research: Users clicked 8 percent of traditional links when an AI summary appeared, down from 15 percent.
Branded searches still hold strong.
Why? Authority.
When Google trusts your brand, you’re more likely to show up even if travelers never click.
The New Reality: AI Reads Reviews
AI isn’t just scanning websites. It’s reading guest reviews and summarizing sentiment.
If multiple guests mention “dated decor,” that language could appear in your summary.
Reputation management just changed.
Don’t only collect five stars. Pay attention to what keeps coming up. AI certainly does.
The Visibility Gap
Big OTAs and high-authority publishers dominate most AI Overviews.
Independent hotels, vacation rentals, and DMOs need credible backlinks, partnerships, and distinctive local storytelling to compete.
Collaboration is now a visibility strategy.
Your Quick Wins
Add three traveler-style questions to your best-performing blog post.
Answer each briefly in bullet points.
Re-submit the page in Google Search Console.
Review your top guest feedback and update your website language to reflect it.
Small steps can have real impact.
Where This Leaves You
Impressions may rise. Clicks may fall.
But visibility still builds awareness, and awareness drives trust.
AI Overviews reward brands that publish clear, credible, human content.
The ones that adapt early won’t just stay visible. They’ll shape what travelers see next.
Because hospitality storytelling, rooted in real places and people, is the kind of content AI can’t fake.