What do you think with the growth of generative AI engines, do you anticipate a 25% decrease in the amount of traffic that comes from search engines to your website by the year 2026?
Well, Gartner, a company that specializes in technological research and consultancy, is forecasting that this will happen.
Why It Matters
There is a tremendous amount of value in both SEO and PPC. Through the conversion of search traffic into leads, sales, or any other sort of conversion that is relevant to your brand, income and profit can be generated. Search traffic is what can lead to revenue and profit.
Some real concerns have been voiced as a result of the emergence of generative artificial intelligence. These issues include the possibility that Google’s Search Generative Experience (and other AI-driven answer engines) may “steal” traffic that would have otherwise been directed to your website or drastically increase prices for marketers. In addition, many people are of the opinion that ChatGPT is already snatching market share from Google.
But will it happen?
It is the opinion of Gartner that people will choose to use generational artificial intelligence conversational assistants (such as ChatGPT) rather than traditional search engines (such as Google). Should this be true, it would imply a significant change in search marketing techniques, including both paid and organic approaches.
“By the year 2026, the volume of traditional search engines will decrease by twenty-five percent, and search marketing will lose market share to artificial intelligence chatbots and other virtual agents,” says Gartner.
However. Simply said, a prediction is nothing more than a guess. This particular prediction was published in a press release today and is based on extensive study that requires a subscription. Even though Gartner’s forecasts are often well-informed, they are still considered to be best guesses.
Because people rarely go back and check, respected analyst firms are rarely called out when they are wrong. This is because people rarely check. As a recent illustration, Gartner issued a surprising projection that fifty percent of customers will either reduce their engagement with social media or completely forsake it by the year 2025. However, the company eventually retracted this statement.
What Does The Report Says
According to the prediction made by Gartner, “organic search traffic will decrease by 50% or more as consumers embrace generative AI-powered search.” This was based, in part, on the results of a poll that was conducted in August 2023 with 299 customers and discovered the following:
- The majority of respondents (79%) anticipated using AI-enhanced search capability within the next year.
- At least some level of trust in generative AI search results was held by seventy percent of users.
According to that forecast, Gartner urged brands to get ready for disruption as a result of AI-based search.
Conclusion
Although it is possible that Gartner is correct, we won’t know for certain until the year 2026. However, I strongly recommend that you read Gartner’s projections in the same manner that you would read a ranking factor correlation research that was published by an SEO tool or platform.
