Reddit's CEO: AI Mode sends traffic to nobody
"AI mode does not drive traffic. Not for us and not to anybody as far as I know." That was Reddit's CEO on an earnings call, right before the stock fell 30% in a day. Here is what the rest of the week did to the rest of us.
Why your traffic moved
Your rank tracker was feeding you fake drops again
Rank tracking tools stayed unreliable this week because Google serves fake results to the automated scrapers those tools use, and Semrush put out an official statement on it. On top of that, Barry Schwartz logged unconfirmed ranking shifts on back to back days, with Google announcing nothing. A fall in your tracker this week is not proof anything happened to your site.
Who this affects: Anyone watching keyword positions in a tracking tool.
- Check Search Console clicks before believing any tracker drop.
- Do nothing else: there is no confirmed update to react to.
Getting into AI answers
A huge site says Google's AI answers send it no clicks
Reddit's CEO told investors that AI Mode no longer sends traffic to anyone, and the stock collapsed 30% in a single day, down 44% in two weeks. A day earlier Google's own stock erased $480 billion over the same worry, and Google's @PhilippSchi said ads in AI Mode earn less than traditional search ads. If a site that big cannot count on Google clicks, neither can yours.
AI mode does not drive traffic. Not for us and not to anybody as far as I know. It used to be a traffic driver. Now it's not.
Who this affects: Anyone who gets most of their customers from Google search.
- Our take: start collecting emails from visitors you already get.
- Our take: track sales by channel, not just search clicks.
The links beside Google's AI answers are mostly gone now
Google has largely dropped the source cards that used to sit beside an AI Overview (the AI written answer at the top of results) on desktop, the same way mobile has worked for a while. Brodie Clark says this is likely why some sites saw impressions fall in recent days, and that AI Overviews now show on 83% of US desktop queries, per Semrush data.
a change needs to happen to give publishers more credit for powering Google's AI
Who this affects: Any site that used to get clicks from being cited in AI answers.
- Compare impressions and clicks in Search Console against last month.
- Our take: judge pages by sales now, not by impressions.
Google wants businesses to work inside search, not just rank in it
Google announced the Connected Apps Platform, which lets a business build an app people can link once and then use directly inside Google Search and Gemini. Marie Haynes says users can access their data and take actions in your service without leaving Google's products. Nothing to build here for most small sites, but it shows where Google thinks being found is going.
Your business will be found on Search if it helps people (and their agents) get things done.
Who this affects: Businesses with booking, accounts or software customers use online.
- Our take: do nothing this week, just know it exists.
- Ask your developer if your booking system could connect later.
Do not do this
Pages made in bulk can now get a human penalty
Google updated its spam guidance to warn sites that let people publish "shareable pages, generated outputs, or interactive tools" that new manual actions (penalties applied by a human reviewer) may be coming. It tells owners to watch the page indexing report for unexpected spikes in indexed pages, and for a small number of users creating a large share of URLs.
shareable pages, generated outputs, or interactive tools
Who this affects: Sites with user profiles, forums, comments, or anything readers can publish.
- Open Search Console, click Pages, look for sudden indexed page spikes.
- Block from indexing anything users generate that is not for Search.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my rank tracker showing drops that aren't real?
Google serves fake results to the automated scrapers that rank tracking tools use, and Semrush confirmed this is happening. A drop in your tracker this week is not proof anything actually happened to your site.
Will Google's AI answers send traffic to my site?
Reddit's CEO said AI Mode no longer sends traffic to anyone, and Google's own staff noted that ads in AI Mode earn less than traditional search ads. If large sites cannot count on Google AI clicks, most sites cannot either.
Why did my search impressions drop recently?
Google largely removed the source cards that used to appear beside AI Overviews on desktop, and AI Overviews now show on 83% of US desktop queries. This change is likely why some sites saw impressions fall in recent days.
What is Google's Connected Apps Platform?
It is a new platform that lets businesses build apps people can use directly inside Google Search and Gemini without leaving Google's products. Users can access their data and take actions in your service through this connection.
Can Google penalize me for user-generated content?
Yes, Google updated its spam guidance to warn that manual actions (penalties applied by humans) may come for sites that let people publish shareable pages or generated outputs. You should watch your Search Console page indexing report for sudden spikes in indexed pages.