61 of Australia's 100 biggest websites get less search traffic than two years ago.

31 of them still rank in Google's top three for as many keywords as before. The median site is −13%. Total estimated traffic across the 94 sites we could compare is −4%, with a few giants pulling it down further. 6 sites have no comparable earlier reading. Ahrefs estimates for Australia, Oct 2024 against Oct 2026.

49

fell 10% or more

17

roughly flat

28

grew 10% or more

median site −13%

Biggest fall nytimes.com −82%Biggest gain fifa.com +453%

Each bar is one site, sorted from biggest fall to biggest gain. Change in Ahrefs estimated organic search traffic, Oct 2024 to Oct 2026. Gains above 100% stop at the top of the chart. 6 sites are left out because their Oct 2024 reading can't be compared. Estimates, not measured clicks.

median change per site: −13%; median change per site
of 94 sites down since Oct 2024: 61; of 94 sites down since Oct 2024
sites down 20% or more: 35; sites down 20% or more
sites that kept their top-3 rankings and still lost traffic: 31; sites that kept their top-3 rankings and still lost traffic

Where this ends up

When the clicks hit zero, the job is all that's left.

People are starting to hand the assistant the whole errand. Book the flight, fill in the form, buy the thing. Nobody reads an answer or sees a citation. The brand that wins is the one the agent can finish the job with.

Citations tell you whether an assistant talks about you. Task gain, a measure we defined at AI Search Leaders, tells you whether it can complete a real task on your site, how often a human had to step in, and which brand ended up with the transaction. We think it becomes the number that matters for AI search, the way rankings and then clicks did before it.

0
Refused
1
Advice only
2
Stalled
3
Decision point
4
Done with help
5
Task done

Read the task gain research

Rankings held. The traffic went anyway.

Each dot is one site. Across means it ranks in Google's top three for more keywords than it did in Oct 2024. Down means less estimated search traffic. Sites in the red corner did the SEO job and still lost the visit.

↑ Change in estimated search traffic

Change in keywords ranking top 3 on Google →

publishereveryone elseDot size is Oct 2024 estimated traffic. Values beyond 100% sit on the edge. Ahrefs estimates, Oct 2024 vs Oct 2026.

Biggest falls in Australia

Biggest gains in Australia

Some industries are falling faster than others.

Median change in estimated search traffic by industry, Australia, Oct 2024 to Oct 2026. Industries with fewer than three sites are left out.

Government and public services6 sites

−26%

Retail and ecommerce18 sites

−18%

Health and medical6 sites

−16%

Travel and local9 sites

−7%

Finance and insurance7 sites

−7%

News and media9 sites

−6%

Reference and knowledge4 sites

−3%

Entertainment and streaming6 sites

−2%

Marketplaces and classifieds9 sites

+10%

Technology and software4 sites

+15%

Sport5 sites

+16%

Social and video platforms7 sites

+29%

Every industry in all three markets

AI names these sites. It links to far fewer.

We asked ChatGPT, Google AI Mode and Gemini five questions built from each site's own top Google keywords, 4,497 checks in all.

54%

of answers named the site

41%

of answers linked to it

Automatic check of a fixed question sample, captured to 2026-11-04. Not a measure of real demand.

See who gets the link instead

Publishers are saying it out loud.

What publishers and analysts have reported since AI Overviews launched. These are their numbers, quoted with the source and date.

−40%

Google Search referrals to publishers in the year to July 2026, after a 21.9% fall the year before.

Chartbeat 2026 Publisher Playbook, reported by Search Engine Journal, 24 Sep 2026.

−55%

Google referrals to Reach plc, publisher of the Mirror, Express and Manchester Evening News, in the first half of 2026. Page views fell 40%.

Reach plc interim results, 22 Jul 2026.

−63%

Google-referred traffic to People Inc, publisher of People and Allrecipes, over two years. Google went from 55% to 25% of its core sessions.

IAC results, reported by Press Gazette, 6 May 2026.

1M+

Google search referrals a week Reddit says it lost in October 2026. Its CEO told investors AI Mode does not drive traffic.

Reddit Q3 2026 earnings call, 29 Oct 2026.

−35%

Search traffic to one top Australian news site a year after AI Overviews launched here. Most top Australian news sites were losing search traffic.

Similarweb data reported by ABC News, 8 Oct 2025.

−55%

Tom's Guide UK audience against July 2024, the month before AI Overviews reached the UK. TechRadar was down 35%.

Ipsos iris data reported by Press Gazette, 5 Oct 2026.

≈½

How far organic search to The Washington Post fell in three years, according to its executive editor, as it cut more than 300 jobs.

Axios, 4 Feb 2026.

−43%

Further fall in search traffic media leaders expect over the next three years. 280 leaders across 51 countries.

Reuters Institute, Trends and Predictions 2026, Jan 2026.

“Relatively stable”

Google's head of Search on total organic click volume to websites, year on year. Google published no figures with the claim.

Liz Reid, Google, 6 Aug 2025.

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