How AI has broken 2 of my businesses (and what I am doing about it)

Has AI decimated your search engine traffic and ability to get people to sign up to your email list? You are not alone.It’s been a tough few weeks. In this episode, I'm breaking down the reality of what's happened to our two businesses - The Accountants’ Growth Club and How To Make Partner.AI has seriously disrupted our web traffic, and new international VAT rules have added another layer of complexity, forcing us to rethink our whole approach to how/when we sell digital products to consumers. A key growth stream for our How To Make Partner business.You'll hear our honest and open response to these challenges and also an overview of how we are bouncing back.In this episode, I talk through:- how AI has trashed our website traffic, (and probably done the same for you)- how AI has now made it much harder to get people to download a lead magnet and sign up for an email list.- our response and new plans.Useful links:- Read the article which accompanies this episode to see all the data visually.- sign up as a paid subscriber and use this link to get 20% off an annual membership of Start Up To Grown Up- Sign up for ScoreApp (use this link to get 50% off your first month and we get a small paid commission) to build your own assessment-type lead magnets- our Progress to partner academyCitationsThe Impact of Google's AI Overviews on Organic Traffic and How to Respond - Conductor, accessed on April 24, 2025, https://www.conductor.com/blog/ai-overviews-impact/Google AI Overviews: New CTR Study Reveals How to Navigate Negative SERP Impact, accessed on April 24, 2025, https://www.amsive.com/insights/seo/google-ai-overviews-new-research-reveals-how-to-navigate-click-drop-off/New Data: Google AI Overviews Are Hurting Click-Through Rates - Hire a Writer, accessed on April 24, 2025, https://www.hireawriter.us/seo/new-data-google-ai-overviews-are-hurting-click-through-ratesWelcome to a free podcast episode of Start Up To Grown Up: Your source for ideas, insights and tactics to take back control of your business and scale it sustainably and profitably by Heather Townsend, award-winning author of The Accountants’ Millionaires’ Club and Founder of The Accountants’ Growth ClubEach episode of the Start Up To Growth Up Podcast is based on my weekly Substack Article on the same topic. Head over to my substack to subscribe https://substack.com/@startuptogrownup so you never miss an article or episode again. Get full access to Start Up To Grown Up at startuptogrownup.substack.com/subscribe