THE SHORT ANSWER
Traffic to purely informational pages falls, because a complete answer removes the reason to click. Traffic to commercial pages holds up much better, because a specific price, a quote or a booking still requires contact. The rational response is not to write less but to shift the mix towards questions whose answers lead to a next step, and to stop measuring the channel by sessions alone.
Which pages actually lose traffic
Definition pages, simple how-to pages, and anything a single paragraph resolves. These were always weak commercial assets, and their decline is a reallocation problem rather than a crisis. Pages that require the reader's own numbers, local specifics, or a decision between options hold up because the answer cannot be completed without them.
The mix to shift towards
Questions where the answer depends on the reader's own situation, such as how much volume they specifically need
Comparisons that end in a choice rather than a fact
Local and scope-specific questions, where the answer is a shortlist and you want to be on it
Price questions, where the band is published and the specific figure still requires a conversation
What to measure instead of sessions
Enquiries per month, cost per enquiry, and branded search volume. If sessions fall 20 percent while enquiries hold and branded search rises, the channel improved. Judging it on sessions alone would call that a decline.
Set that reporting change up before the traffic shifts, not after, because retrofitting the baseline is not possible.
The opportunity inside the decline
Fewer competitors are writing for citation than for clicks, because citation is harder to measure and slower to reward. That gap is temporary. Businesses that publish verifiable figures now occupy the answer slot while it is still cheap to occupy.
Related answers
Frequently asked questions
Is AI search killing website traffic?
It reduces traffic to pages a single answer can close. Commercial and decision-oriented pages hold up considerably better.
Should I stop publishing informational content?
No, but shift the mix towards questions whose answers depend on the reader's own situation or end in a choice.
How should I measure content performance now?
Enquiries, cost per enquiry and branded search volume, rather than sessions alone.
Is there an upside to this shift?
Yes. Fewer competitors optimise for citation than for clicks, so the answer slot is currently cheaper to occupy than the ranking slot.
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