I've noticed a significant decrease in page views across several communities, and I’m not the only one. The reason? AI-powered search.
Traditionally, search worked like this:
- You type in a question
- Get a list of links
- Click into one
- Explore until you find your answer
Each of those clicks = traffic to your community.
But now, AI tools like Google SGE and ChatGPT are summarizing answers right in the search result. Fewer people are clicking through. Content is still being used…but it’s often not visited or credited.
I’ve seen some communities experience 30–40% traffic drops, especially for:
- “How-to” content
- Support Q&As
- Niche insights
This is especially relevant for community-led support and education strategies. And it begs a bigger question:
If users aren’t clicking into our communities…
How do we stay relevant?
I’d love to hear from you:
- Are you seeing changes in your analytics or behavior trends?
- Do you agree with this shift — or have a different perspective?
- How are you adapting your content strategy (if at all)?
Let’s open up the conversation. Drop your thoughts below — even a quick gut-check is helpful.
Bonus: Here's the graphic that sparked a conversation on LinkedIn
