Surviving the AI Traffic Drop: The Rise of Search Everywhere Optimisation

Noticing a drop in organic traffic even though your rankings haven't changed? You're not alone. With Google AI overviews now triggering on 48% of all search queries, organic click-through rates are dropping by 61% when these overviews appear. To put it simply, users are getting their answers directly from AI, eliminating the need to click through to your website.   In this episode of Digital Marketing from the Coalface, Dave and Julie explore the 2026 remix of the classic debate: Is SEO dead? Together, they dive deep into the necessary pivot towards "search everywhere optimisation".   For tech and engineering brands, the goal is no longer just ranking on page one of Google; it is ensuring your brand and products are cited by AI engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity.   So, what are the new rules of content, and how to prevent AI from simply hoovering it up? Might the answer lie in injecting unique company insights, hyper-specific geographic data, and proprietary case studies that AI cannot replicate? Who knows!   What about the very real anti-AI content backlash? The discussion also focuses on how to leverage AI for rapid data analysis without producing unreadable, mass-produced content.   It's all very confusing, but that's no reason to let AI run wild with your website. You have to start positioning your engineering or tech firm to win in the era of AI search.