If you’ve noticed a dip in your website traffic lately, you’re not alone. It’s not just market shifts or algorithm updates there’s a new player changing the game: artificial intelligence. AI isn’t just reshaping how people search it’s also flooding the internet with bot activity that’s starting to outweigh human visitors. And yes, that’s affecting everything from your SEO to your bottom line.

Here’s what’s going on, why it matters, and what you need to do about it.

The Rise of Bots: Not All Traffic Is Good Traffic

In 2024, for the first time, bots officially overtook humans in terms of website traffic volume. And we’re not just talking about helpful search crawlers or digital assistants this new wave includes malicious bots that are scraping content, stealing data, and even launching automated attacks.
The big shift? AI has made it easier than ever to build sophisticated bots that can mimic human behavior. That makes them harder to spot and a lot harder to block.

How AI Is Changing User Behaviour (and Your Web Traffic)

AI-powered search engines and chatbots are doing more than just answering questions they’re cutting out the middleman. Instead of clicking through to your site, users get their answers directly on platforms like Google SGE, Bing Copilot, or ChatGPT.

What this means:
Less organic traffic: Users get what they need from AI summaries without visiting your site.

Lower referral traffic: Even if you’re ranking, AI may not be sending people your way.

Revenue risks: Sites relying on ad impressions, affiliate links, or subscriber views are starting to feel the pinch.

SEO Is Evolving Fast
Traditional SEO alone isn’t cutting it anymore. To stay relevant, you need to think about Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and LLM-SEO. That means creating content that doesn’t just rank but answers questions clearly and concisely enough to get featured in AI outputs.

And with AI platforms multiplying, you’re no longer optimizing for one Google result—you’re optimizing for multiple AI-powered ecosystems. It’s content chaos if you’re not prepared.

Who’s Getting Hit the Hardest?

Some industries are already feeling the full weight of the AI + bot combo:

News & publishers: AI summaries mean fewer visits to original articles.
E-commerce: Bots scrape product data, manipulate pricing, and attempt account takeovers.
Finance: APIs are under attack as bots try to access customer data and initiate fraudulent transactions.
Healthcare: Sensitive data becomes a prime target through bot-driven API exploits.

If your industry relies on digital trust, traffic, or transactions this is your wake-up call.

What You Can Do Right Now

It’s not all doom and gloom. There are proactive steps your business can take:
1. Get Serious About Bot Protection
Invest in better bot detection tools, from Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) to advanced bot mitigation platforms. Think beyond basic CAPTCHAs.

2. Write for AI and Humans
Structure your content to answer questions clearly. Use structured data, FAQ blocks, and semantic markup. Make it easy for AI to pull the right info and credit your site.

3. Own Your Audience
Email lists, private communities, and loyalty programs are back in style. Build direct relationships instead of relying solely on search or social platforms.

4. Secure Your APIs
Lock down your APIs with strong authentication methods. Monitor traffic closely and look for unusual patterns.

5. Know Your Rights
In extreme cases, legal action against data scraping or misuse of content may be worth exploring especially if you’re seeing significant damage.

Final Thoughts

AI isn’t just changing search—it’s changing everything. From how users discover you to how bots interact with your content, the web is shifting fast. At Smashing Pixels, we’re already helping local businesses navigate this change—and build digital strategies that go beyond chasing rankings.
Want to future-proof your website? Let’s talk.

Key Takeaways:

AI-driven search is reducing organic and referral traffic to websites.
Malicious bots now generate more web traffic than humans.
Businesses must pivot to AEO, secure APIs, and build direct relationships.
Industries most affected include publishing, e-commerce, finance, and healthcare.
The solution starts with awareness—and a willingness to adapt.

Categories: Search Engine Optimization /

About the Author: Trevor Cherewka

For over 20 years, I’ve been immersed in the world of sales and marketing, but my real passion took off in 2008. That’s when I noticed a growing need for local businesses to be found online. People were searching for services in their area, yet many businesses didn’t have the tools to be visible. So, I began building websites for small businesses, ensuring they had an online presence that helped them get noticed. In 2010, I dove into social media, understanding how it could transform the way businesses engage with their audience. I wanted to help my clients connect with their customers in meaningful ways. By 2013, my attention shifted to SEO, where I invested in learning everything I could through conferences across the U.S. and Canada. SEO was the future, and wanted to make sure my clients were ready.

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