Google answers for itself now: how your organisation stays visible when search becomes AI
Is your organisation getting fewer visits to its website than before? It may be due to a big change few have noticed: on July 10, Google made AI-generated answers the default for all searches. Instead of a list of links, users now get a ready-made answer written by Google’s AI model, Gemini, at the top of the page. The classic "blue links" are pushed down below the answer.
For small organisations and founders who depend on being found – without a budget for ads – this is important to understand. The good news: the steps that help cost nothing, and most you can do yourselves.
What happened, briefly?
Google now reads several web pages, writes one combined answer, and shows the sources as small references within the text. Often the user gets what they need without clicking through – so-called "zero-click searches" now make up around 60% of all searches. Websites worldwide report sharp traffic drops as a result.
How your organisation stays visible
1. Be the source Google cites
The goal is no longer just to "rank top on Google", but to be the source the AI draws its answer from. Write clear, concrete answers to the questions people actually ask about your cause or service: what the organisation does, who can get help, how to apply, what it costs (if anything). Clear facts get cited; vague text gets skipped.
2. If you own the contact, you are safe
The most important lesson for a small organisation: build channels where people reach you directly, without Google in the middle. A newsletter and email list is the single most important – a list you own yourself, that reaches donors, members and volunteers no matter what Google does. Combined with social media and an active local network, it makes you far less vulnerable.
3. Think beyond visitor numbers
If your organisation is mentioned in a Google answer without anyone clicking, you have still been seen. Do not be discouraged by falling visitor numbers alone – instead watch whether people search for your name, sign up for the newsletter, or get in touch. That says more about how you actually reach people.
4. Keep the human element
An AI answer can summarise a text, but it cannot replace a relationship, an event or personal help. For the nonprofit sector, the human encounter is the very core – and that is what Google can never summarise away.
A bigger picture to be aware of
When one actor decides both the answer and which sources are visible, the diversity of voices online becomes less visible. Small organisations, local causes and niche topics risk being drowned out in favour of the big players. That is an extra reason to own your own channels and build direct relationships – so your voice gets through regardless of how search engines change.
The blue links’ time as the main route to your website is over. But organisations that are clear, honest and own their own contact channels stand firm – whatever happens in the search box.
