UK website traffic growth collapses 86% since Google AI search rollout

UK businesses experienced an 86% collapse in website traffic growth following Google's deployment of AI-powered search features, according to research released October 30, 2025, by digital marketing agency Tank. The study analyzed 800 companies across 16 sectors before and after the August 15, 2024 launch of AI Overviews and the July 28, 2025 introduction of AI Mode.

Average monthly organic traffic growth across all analyzed industries dropped to 3.7% from 26.3% the previous year, representing a decline of 22.6 percentage points. The deterioration occurred despite continued global internet expansion, with worldwide users growing 2.7% year-over-year to reach 5.65 billion in July 2025, nearly double the 2.98 billion recorded a decade earlier.

Hospitality sector faces steepest decline

Hospitality websites suffered the most severe impact, recording negative growth of 6.7% in the 12 months following AI search deployment, according to the Tank research. This marked a dramatic reversal from the sector's 47.9% growth rate during the prior year, creating a 54.6 percentage point difference.

Fashion emerged as the second-worst affected sector, experiencing negative growth of 3.4% compared to 33.2% expansion the year before. Travel and tourism recorded a 1.6% decline after previously growing 34.7%, while finance dropped 1.4% following 13.1% growth. Manufacturing rounded out the five most affected sectors, declining 3.8% after achieving 2.5% growth previously.

The hospitality sector's traffic collapse coincides with broader economic pressures facing the industry. Recent labor market data showed hospitality accounting for more than half of all UK job losses since the last budget, compounding challenges from reduced digital visibility.

Zero-click searches reshape user behavior

Consumers increasingly rely on zero-click searches, with 60% of searches now ending without a click, according to the research. While fewer users reach business websites, those who do engage demonstrate deeper purchase intent, potentially generating higher-quality leads despite reduced overall traffic volumes.

Martin Harris, head of digital at Tank, stated in the research: "Thanks to the rise of AI-powered search, most consumers are now finding their answers on the first page, without having to click through to a site. It's great for the user who can now find what they need more quickly, but it could spell trouble for businesses who rely on ranking pages for traffic, clicks and conversions."

Harris added: "There is a silver lining though: while fewer users are landing on websites overall, those that do are likely to be more interested in your business and product - and therefore, more ready to buy."

IT and charity sectors demonstrate resilience

The information technology sector proved least affected by AI search implementation, maintaining 2.1% growth compared to 2.7% the previous year, representing just a 0.6 percentage point decline. Charity and non-profit organizations experienced the second-smallest impact, with growth slowing from 15% to 12.5%, a 2.5 percentage point decrease.

Healthcare maintained 10% growth in the post-AI period, down from 13.6% previously, while aviation recorded 1.8% growth compared to 17% the year before. Education completed the five least affected sectors, though growth rates also declined by approximately one-sixth.

The IT sector's resilience likely stems from the technical and solution-focused nature of IT-related searches, which extend beyond quick AI summaries and prompt users to seek original, authoritative sources. Similarly, charity sector queries often involve intent-driven actions like donations or volunteering that require trust and emotional connection beyond what AI-generated summaries can provide.

Ranking pages decline across nearly all sectors

Beyond traffic losses, brands that previously ranked prominently experienced significant visibility declines in organic search results. The research found that ranking pages—defined as the total number of pages from a domain appearing in the top 100 organic search results—decreased 11.1% on average after AI search features launched, following 14.1% growth the previous year.

Nearly all analyzed sectors experienced negative growth in ranking pages over the past year. Charity and non-profit organizations faced the steepest decline, followed by property and construction, education, fashion, and IT. Despite minimal organic traffic losses, the IT sector ranked fifth-most affected for ranking page declines.

Aviation stood as the sole exception to this pattern, with ranking pages surging even as traffic fell. Airlines publish extensive, frequently updated content covering routes, fares, promotions, and policies, which Google now indexes more broadly to populate AI Overviews and long-tail queries. However, users increasingly complete actions without clicking through, resulting in more indexed pages but fewer site visits.

Hospitality and fashion businesses saw ranking pages grow by just over one-third before AI search implementation but subsequently experienced declines of 10.3% and 20.6% respectively.

Technical adaptation strategies emerge

Jake Cassedy, Tank's SEO lead, outlined several optimization approaches for businesses seeking visibility in AI-powered search results. Recommendations included covering topics comprehensively to appear across multiple subtopics, answering real user questions rather than focusing solely on keywords, and writing for human readers while maintaining trustworthy sources.

Cassedy emphasized the importance of brand mentions and reviews: "Links and brand mentions help influence which sources AI trusts. Strong digital PR and thought leadership can boost your visibility in AI-generated answers." Technical considerations included placing important content in raw HTML rather than relying on JavaScript, using schema markup, and structuring content with clear formatting.

Darius Matusiak, group commercial and strategic director at recruitment firm Macildowie, described operational impacts: "We've noticed a big behavioural shift in the way customers are engaging with us. It's no longer just about ranking for one or two specific keywords on Google, searches have become far more holistic."

Matusiak continued: "Customers also increasingly expect us to be across multiple platforms. Visibility, whether on social media, a review site, or an AI-generated snippet, is a priority in the age of AI-powered search but it can't come at the expense of trust."

Research methodology and scope

Tank utilized Ahrefs traffic checker tools to estimate organic web traffic and ranking pages across 16 UK sectors before and after the AI search rollout. The agency collected and analyzed 4,800 data points covering three annual periods from August 28, 2022 through August 27, 2025.

The research compared average monthly organic traffic and ranking pages for periods spanning August 28, 2023 to August 27, 2024 (before AI search) with August 28, 2024 to August 27, 2025 (after AI search). The earlier period included two weeks of AI Overviews activity following the August 15, 2024 launch, though this had minimal impact on yearly averages. The later period encompassed one full year of AI Overviews and one month of AI Mode operation.

Google launched AI Overviews in the UK on August 15, 2024, providing AI-generated summaries by synthesizing information from multiple sources. The company introduced AI Mode on July 28, 2025, replacing traditional link-based results with a conversational interface similar to ChatGPT.

The Tank analysis examined companies across retail/wholesale, transport/logistics, charity/NFP, healthcare, marketing, property and construction, public sector/government, IT, aviation, education, legal, finance, travel and tourism, fashion, manufacturing, and hospitality sectors. Each sector contained 50 analyzed companies.

Timeline

• September 2023: Google implements Helpful Content Update affecting independent websites
• May 2024: Google launches AI Overviews feature in United States
• August 15, 2024: Google deploys AI Overviews to UK market
• March 5, 2025: Google announces Gemini 2.0 integration for AI Overviews and introduces experimental AI Mode
• April 2025: Ahrefs study finds AI Overviews reduce organic clicks 34.5%
• May 2025: Research shows users only read top third of AI Overviews
• July 2025: Zero-click searches reach 69%, up from 56% in May 2024
• July 23, 2025: Google reports AI Overviews drive 10% additional queries
• July 28, 2025: Google launches AI Mode in UK
• August 7, 2025: Google Discover overtakes search as dominant news traffic source
• October 7, 2025: Google expands AI Mode to over 40 countries
• October 30, 2025: Tank releases research showing 86% collapse in UK website traffic growth
• November 2025: Research finds AI Overviews reduce organic CTR 61%

Summary

Who: Tank, a Nottingham-based digital marketing and PR agency, conducted the research analyzing 800 UK companies. Martin Harris, head of digital at Tank, and Jake Cassedy, SEO lead, provided strategic commentary on the findings.

What: UK website traffic growth collapsed 86%, declining from 26.3% average monthly organic traffic growth to 3.7% following Google's deployment of AI Overviews and AI Mode. Hospitality suffered worst with negative 6.7% growth, while IT proved most resilient at 2.1% growth. Ranking pages declined 11.1% on average after previously growing 14.1%.

When: The research analyzed three annual periods from August 2022 through August 2025, comparing traffic patterns before and after AI Overviews launched August 15, 2024 and AI Mode deployed July 28, 2025. Data collection occurred in August 2025.

Where: The study examined UK-based companies across 16 sectors including hospitality, fashion, travel, finance, IT, healthcare, charity/NFP, aviation, and education. Impact manifested across Google search results globally, with particular focus on UK market performance.

Why: Google's AI search features answer queries directly within search results pages, reducing need for users to click through to original websites. The research indicates 60% of searches now end without clicks as AI-generated summaries provide immediate answers. While this improves user experience through faster information access, it fundamentally disrupts traditional website traffic models and challenges businesses dependent on organic search visibility for customer acquisition and advertising revenue.