AI answers are now a standard part of the search results page for a large share of informational queries. The effect on brand traffic is real but uneven.
Where it bites
Top-of-funnel explainer content is losing clicks to summarised answers. Transactional and branded queries are largely unaffected so far.
Three things worth doing now
- Audit which of your top landing pages serve purely informational intent. Those are the exposed ones.
- Make sure your best factual content is genuinely citable: clear claims, clear sourcing, structured data.
- Track branded search volume as a proxy for the demand your other channels are creating.
The brands doing well in AI answers are the ones that were already the clearest, best-structured sources on their topic.