Why Websites Still Matter in an AI-Driven Internet

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Websites have been the cornerstones of the internet economy for years. In the new age of AI, however, many are questioning if this still rings true.

With organic traffic decreasing by up to 64 percent, a new AI browser launching every day, and consumers increasingly handling their needs through AI chat interfaces, brands are looking at their online presences through fresh eyes.

Consumers have fewer reasons to leave their favorite LLMs to browse, research, and even purchase new products. This is upending the way we use the internet, and website builders are asking themselves what role, if any, webpages will play in the future.

However, as AI tools increasingly rely on high-quality, authoritative web content to power their responses, the importance of well-optimized websites is only growing. And first movers will be able to use the new order of things to their advantage by adapting to the new internet of things (IoT).

The Rise of AI-Driven Search

AI-driven search is quickly growing.

Gartner predicts search engine volumes will drop by 25 percent in 2026.

Despite LLMs and search engines both crawling the internet, they read the web very differently. The internet is primarily optimized to be picked up by search engines through the strategic use of keywords and ranked pages based on relevant signals.

LLMs, on the other hand, prioritize context and intent. They synthesize information from multiple sources, formats, and viewpoints, prioritizing intent over keywords and surfacing the "best" information instantly inside the interface itself.

This shift is pointing even more towards a zero-click internet. As a result, raw website traffic is declining. But the value of being cited, referenced, or trusted by AI systems is skyrocketing.

The Emergence of AI Browsers

The emergence of AI-native browsers like ChatGPT, Atlas, and Perplexity Comet marks another inflection point. In these environments, the search bar becomes a conversation starter, and the user browses the internet together with an AI agent. It delivers personalized results based on user preferences, summarizes pages automatically, and performs actions such as shopping and writing emails on their behalf.

According to McKinsey, the US B2C retail market alone could see up to $1 trillion in orchestrated revenue from agentic commerce by 2030.

In an AI browser environment, brands have even less control over how users see and experience content.

The Evolving Role of Websites in the Age of AI

Target audiences for websites are no longer composed of people alone. In 2024, 51 percent of all web traffic came from automated sources, surpassing traffic from humans.

Websites serve as information depositories for AI, which leverages website material to generate answers, recommendations, and decisions for users. To stay relevant and ahead of competitors, marketers must optimize websites not only for human readers and search engines, but also for AI bots.

Additionally, traffic from AI-driven search seems to be even more valuable, with

Microsoft reporting that website traffic coming from LLMs is three times more likely to convert compared with other channels.

How Companies Can Capitalize on the AI-Driven Internet

Optimizing for AI doesn't mean starting from scratch. Many tried and true search engine tactics such as SEO rules and Google's E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) framework still apply to AI-driven search.

Set your website up for success with these strategies.

Create fresh, relevant content suitable for LLMs, written in an authoritative, high-quality, and original tone.
Provide machine-friendly versions of key content, such as schemas, feeds, APIs, and use structured data (schema markup) to help AI interpret meaning.
Publish clear FAQs, definitions, and product information, since well-structured information is easy for AI to reference and insert directly into search results.
Ensure site architecture is clear to improve crawlability and help AI systems quickly discover content.
Provide consistent metadata, such as accurate titles, descriptions, and tags, to increase AI's understanding of your content.
Optimize for natural language queries rather than keyword stuffing, since AI-search favors conversational, intent-driven content.
Implement on-site AI assistants to guide high-intent visitors to increase engagement and conversions while reducing drop-offs.

The New Role of Websites

Websites are evolving from destinations to infrastructure. They form the backbone of an AI-mediated internet, powering the tools consumers increasingly rely on to navigate the digital world.

The companies that thrive will treat websites as both human- and AI-facing platforms. Early movers can establish authority while AI indexing practices are still evolving, shaping how future LLMs understand and surface their industries.

Your website is now helping to write the next chapter of the internet.