Web Traffic Is Collapsing. Clicks Are Vanishing. Google Doesn't Care. Now What?

Yesterday I stumbled upon an article by Thomas Coëffé on Blog du Modérateur.
A solid, well-written piece with fresh stats on what many of us are already feeling:
web traffic is bleeding out.

Read it here: Web traffic is collapsing with AI: everyone agrees, except Google --- July 25, 2025

We saw this coming.
Google hoovers up our content, summarizes it, and answers instead of us.
So let's stop hoping for scraps. Let's build something else. Now.

Because I have no intention of watching my site dry up in silence.
And I'm guessing neither do you.

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The study that lays it all bare

The Pew Research Center ran an independent study, and the numbers are brutal:

• When an AI Overview is displayed:
  → Only 8% of users click a link (vs. 15% with classic results)

• Links embedded within AI Overviews?
  → 1% click-through rate. Yes. One. Percent.

• 26% of people seeing an AI summary... stop browsing right there.
  (Compared to 16% when only classic links are shown.)

• The study covered 68,000 search queries in the US, with a panel of 900 participants.
  And it showed that long, well-formed queries are most likely to trigger AI Overviews.

Bottom line: fewer clicks, more leaks, less living web.

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And it's not an isolated case

This isn't just a blip --- it's a pattern:

• April 2025: Ahrefs shows a 35% drop in traffic on top-ranking results.
• Early July 2025: Similarweb reports a surge in zero-click searches caused by AI Overviews.
• Mid-July 2025: GrowthSRC notes a 32% drop in clicks on result #1, with slight gains for results 6 and beyond.

Impressions go up. Clicks go down.
Two curves drifting apart.
As Thomas Coëffé brilliantly put it:
it's the jaws of a crocodile.
That image says it all --- and it's what we're seeing in our analytics.
This slow, inevitable opening... swallowing our visibility whole.

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And Google? Flat-out denial.

The official statement is a masterpiece of gaslighting:

"Flawed methodology.
Biased queries.
No significant traffic loss observed."

But of course: no proof provided.
And still no way to isolate AI Overview impact in Search Console.

Translation: "Yes, we're siphoning your traffic --- but we'll never tell you how much."

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What this changes (spoiler: everything)

For 20 years, the rule was simple:

Create good content → Get traffic → Monetize or connect.

That model is broken.

• Ranking #1 on Google? Not enough.
• Being cited? Doesn't mean clicks.
• Content is now raw material for Google, not for users.

The web has flipped.
Publishers are becoming invisible.
And Google doesn't redirect anymore --- it digests.

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The solution? Three levers. Pull them now.

I didn’t come up with SocialRally or Murmure on a whim after reading some article.
I started building them long before that --- because it was already clear that algorithms were tightening their grip,
and the open web was slipping away.
Two different tools, same goal: give creators and brands a way to reconnect, directly.

This article --- and the data it shares --- only confirms
that it wasn't a vibe.
It was a shift.

So now it's time to act.
I chose to build my own tools.
You might do something else.
But one thing's clear:
doing nothing is no longer an option.

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1. Adapt your content to the new rules

Want to be picked up by AI --- without being erased?

• Be fast. Short. Clear.
• Structure your content: headings, tables, lists.
• Drop your name and brand marker right in the phrasing.
• Use AI-resistant formats: storytelling, humor, narrative, emotion.

AI will keep summarizing your work.
So make sure they know it was you.

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2. Build paths you control

I kept asking myself:
How do I get people to click --- without sounding like "click here"?

That's how SocialRally was born.

I wanted a format that was:

• interactive
• shareable
• natural
• action-triggering without looking like an ad

A rally. A mini-adventure. Something you want to show a friend.

Because a link? You scroll past.
But a game? You give it a shot.

And most of all --- you decide what happens next.
Not some algorithm.
Not some edge rank.
You.

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3. Keep the conversation on your turf

The other question I asked was:

"And once they land... what do I tell them?"

Because a site is often just a monologue.
But I wanted a dialogue.
Without being tied to a live chat or a contact form that dies in a spam folder.

So I created Murmure.

An AI assistant in your voice.
Not a random bot. Yours.

You pick the tone, the answers, the prompts.
You fill it with what you want people to remember.

And when someone speaks to it, they stay with you.
On your site. In your world.

It's not just a chatbot.
It's how you keep existing beyond the click.

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In a nutshell

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This isn't a tragedy. It's a declaration of independence.

I'm not saying it's easy.
I'm saying it's time.

You can watch your traffic disappear in silence.
Or you can build new entry points.
Real ones. Smart ones. Beautiful ones.

And maybe along the way, you'll build your own tools too.