The ten blue links had a good run
Updated: Oct 23
For most of the past 25 years, the rules of being found online were simple enough to fit on a whiteboard: rank on page one, ideally in the top three, and the phone would ring. Before that, the rule was simpler still. Be in the directory, in the right category, with a big enough ad, and customers would find you. Both rules worked for a long time, until they didn't.
Google is now changing what a search result looks like. Instead of a list of ten blue links for the searcher to work through, more and more searches return an AI-written answer first, with the links placed underneath, sometimes well underneath. If your business relies on a strong ranking to win enquiries, this matters, and it matters now rather than in a few years' time.
Traditional links still exist, but for many informational questions the searcher now receives a complete answer before seeing a single website. For businesses, the goal shifts from ranking in a list to being one of the sources the AI draws on and recommends. That requires content that answers real questions directly, demonstrates specific and checkable expertise, and is structured so AI tools can extract it accurately.
What has changed in Google Search?
The change has been building for two years, but the past two months have moved it from experiment to default. AI Overviews, the AI-written summaries that sit above the traditional results, arrived in 2024. AI Mode, a fully conversational version of Search, followed in 2025 and expanded globally, including to Australia, in October last year.
At Google I/O in May, Google made Gemini 3.5 Flash the default model in AI Mode for everyone, worldwide, and rolled out a redesigned search box that accepts photos, video and files alongside typed queries. Google's head of Search, Liz Reid, described it as the biggest change to the search box in more than 25 years. On 3 June, Google said AI Overviews had passed 2.5 billion monthly active users and AI Mode had passed 1 billion.
AI answers are no longer something a minority of curious users opt into. They are the version of Google most of your customers now see.
Are the blue links really disappearing?
Not entirely, and it's worth being precise here because a lot of the commentary isn't. Google's own announcements describe changes to AI Mode and AI Overviews, not the removal of the traditional results page, and Google continues to describe links as part of the product. Organic results still appear, still get clicked, and still matter.
What has changed is their position and their job. For many questions, particularly informational ones, the AI answer now does most of the work the links used to do. The searcher reads a summary, sees a shortlist, asks a follow-up and often makes a decision without visiting a website at all. Links have gone from being the answer to being the evidence behind it.
A business that ranks third for "how much does a hot water system replacement cost" used to receive a predictable share of the clicks. Today, whether that business benefits depends far more on whether its content was used to build the answer, and whether its name appears in it.
Which businesses will feel this first?
In our experience working with businesses across finance, property, wine and trades, the impact won't land evenly. It depends on the kind of question your customers ask before they contact you.
Finance and accounting: definitional and explanatory questions ("what is a self-managed super fund", "how does negative gearing work") are the type AI answers completely. If your website relies on explainer articles for traffic, expect fewer clicks unless your content is the source being cited.
Property: buyers and investors now run suburb research, price comparisons and process questions through AI first. The agency whose local market insight is specific and current is far more likely to be referenced than one whose suburb pages repeat the same generic copy as every other site.
Wineries: recommendation questions ("best small wineries in the Barossa for a quiet tasting") produce a shortlist, not a list of links. If you're not on the shortlist, you're not in the conversation.
Trades: "how to" and "how much" questions are increasingly answered on the results page. The enquiry still goes to a business, but the AI has often narrowed the field before anyone picks up the phone.
The common thread is that the decision is moving earlier, and it's happening inside the answer rather than on your website.
What does ranking mean when the answer comes first?
The goal used to be position one. The goal now is to be part of the answer: cited as a source, named as an option, or both. That isn't quite the same thing as ranking, although strong rankings still help, because Google's AI features draw on the same search index that powers its traditional results.
From what we see, AI tools favour content that does three things well. It answers a specific question directly, near the top of the page, without making the reader wade through a long preamble. It demonstrates expertise that can be checked: named people, qualifications, years in a specific region or industry, real examples. And it is structured clearly, with headings that reflect the questions people actually ask, so a machine can extract the relevant part with confidence.
Content that is vague, generic or purely promotional gives an AI tool very little to work with. It's not that the AI dislikes it. There's simply nothing there worth citing.
What should your business do now?
None of this requires starting again, but it does require looking at your website through a different lens. We'd suggest starting here:
List the questions customers ask before they contact you. Your front-desk staff, advisers or apprentices already know them. These are the questions AI is now answering on your behalf, or on a competitor's.
Check whether your website answers them directly. Not on a services page that mentions the topic in passing, but in a clear, self-contained answer someone could quote.
Make your expertise specific. Replace "experienced team" with who, how long, which qualifications and which regions.
Keep your Google Business Profile complete and current. AI-powered local answers draw heavily on it.
Watch Search Console. In June, Google began testing reporting on how sites appear in its AI features, starting with a group of UK site owners ahead of a wider rollout. When it reaches your account, it will be the first direct view of your AI visibility.
Every few decades, the way customers find businesses changes underneath everyone at once. The directory gave way to the search engine, and the search engine is now giving way to the answer engine. The businesses that adapted early last time didn't do anything magical. They simply noticed the shift while their competitors were still buying bigger directory ads.
If you'd like to see how your business currently appears when customers ask AI tools the questions that matter in your industry, we're happy to take a look with you. It's the most useful place to start.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Has Google removed the ten blue links from search results?
No. Traditional links still appear in Google Search, but for many queries they now sit below an AI-generated answer from AI Overviews or AI Mode. Google continues to describe links as part of Search, and its 2026 announcements relate to its AI features rather than removing the results page. The practical change is that links are now often the supporting evidence for an answer rather than the answer itself.
Is Google AI Mode available in Australia?
Yes. Google expanded AI Mode beyond the United States in 2025, and it is available to Australian users. In May 2026, Google made Gemini 3.5 Flash the default AI Mode model for everyone globally, so Australian searchers use the same core AI experience as users in other major markets. Some newer features still launch in the US first before reaching Australia.
Will my website get less traffic because of AI search?
It depends on the kind of searches that currently bring visitors to your site. Informational questions, such as definitions, explanations and general how-to queries, are the most likely to be answered without a click. Searches with strong commercial intent, where someone is ready to book, buy or request a quote, are more resilient. The most effective response is to make sure your content is the source AI tools draw on, so your business is named even when fewer people click through.
Do I need to throw out my SEO strategy?
No. Google's AI features draw on its existing search index, so the fundamentals of good SEO, including technical health, relevant content and authority, still matter. What changes is the emphasis. Content now needs to answer specific questions directly, show checkable expertise and be structured so AI tools can extract it. AI search optimisation builds on SEO rather than replacing it.
What kind of content gets cited in AI answers?
AI tools tend to cite content that answers a question clearly and early, comes from a source with visible expertise, and is easy to extract. In practice, that means direct answers near the top of a page, headings phrased the way people ask questions, specific facts rather than general claims, and named authors or businesses with verifiable credentials. Generic or heavily promotional content is cited far less often because it gives the AI little of substance to use.
