AI search is already changing how travelers interact with search results. In Pew Research Center’s analysis of Google searches from March 2025, about 18% produced an AI summary, and users were less likely to click traditional result links when one appeared. Google also expanded AI Overviews to more than 100 countries and territories in October 2024, then to more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages in May 2025. That makes late 2024 through 2025 the right window for measuring change, and 2026 the year to respond.
For the Black Hills & Badlands tourism industry, that matters across the board. DMOs, chambers, attractions, lodging properties, communities, and tourism businesses all rely on search to inspire travel, answer planning questions, and move visitors toward action. The shift is simple: strong rankings do not always mean strong traffic anymore. If a page answers a question quickly, Google may satisfy part of that need before the visitor reaches your site.
What to watch
1) CTR drops on informational content
If impressions hold steady or rise, rankings remain solid, but clicks decline, that is an early signal. Pew found users clicked a traditional search result on 8% of visits when an AI summary appeared, compared with 15% when one did not. Pages most exposed tend to be FAQs, how-to content, definitions, and simple planning articles.
2) More zero-click behavior
You may also see impressions rise while clicks stay flat or fall. Pew found users were more likely to stop browsing after seeing a results page with an AI summary than one without it. In practical terms, visibility may still be there even if traffic softens.
3) Greater risk on question-based searches
Pew found AI summaries appeared more often on longer and question-based searches, including 53% of searches with 10 words or more and 60% of searches beginning with question words. That means content built mainly to answer simple search questions may be more vulnerable to click loss.
4) More pressure on generic copy
Pew found AI summaries frequently cited sources like Wikipedia, YouTube, Reddit, and government sites. A reasonable takeaway is that generic website copy is easier to replace than content with local specificity, expertise, and original value. That last point is an inference, but it follows from the source patterns Pew identified.
Where to measure
A simple timeline can help tourism organizations make sense of what changed:
- Pre-baseline: July to September 2024
- Inflection period: October to December 2024
- Impact window: January to March 2025
- Current state: April 2025 onward
What tools to use
If you want to verify whether this is affecting your organization, start with the tools you likely already have:
- Google Search Console for clicks, impressions, CTR, average position, and query/page trends. Google’s Performance report is the core place to spot pages with high impressions and weakening clicks.
- Google Analytics 4 for landing pages, traffic acquisition, engagement, and conversions from organic search. The landing page report helps show which pages are bringing users in first.
- Search Console + GA4 together if you want the clearest picture of visibility versus on-site performance. Google specifically documents using both together and recommends BigQuery exports for deeper analysis.
What to do next
Look beyond rankings
Rankings still matter, but they are no longer enough on their own. Watch impressions, CTR, clicks, branded versus non-branded traffic, landing pages with high impressions but low clicks, and assisted conversions from organic search. Search Console and GA4 are the best starting points for that review.
Fix the most exposed pages first
Start with FAQ pages, simple blog posts, glossary content, and basic planning pages. If a page mainly exists to answer a quick question, expect more pressure. If it helps a traveler make a decision, compare options, build an itinerary, or act with confidence, it still has room to win. This last point is an inference from Pew’s findings, but it is a useful one.
Create content AI cannot easily replace
Google’s guidance continues to emphasize helpful, reliable, people-first content. For the Black Hills & Badlands tourism industry, that means leaning into first-hand experience, local specificity, original photos, staff expertise, and practical planning detail.
Make content easy to trust and easy to understand
Clear headings, direct answers, current information, and strong organization all help. The goal now is not only to rank. It is to be useful, credible, and easy for both users and search systems to understand.
Diversify traffic sources
Email, direct traffic, branded search, social, referrals, and repeat visitation all matter more when generic search clicks are less predictable. This is an inference from the click behavior Pew documented, but it is a practical hedge for destination marketing and tourism businesses alike.
The takeaway
For the Black Hills & Badlands tourism industry, the opportunity is not to panic. It is to adapt. Watch the right signals, use the right tools, identify the pages under pressure, and invest in content that helps travelers make decisions, not just find quick answers.
Sources
- Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results — Pew Research Center (pewresearch.org)
- AI Overviews in Google Search expanding to more than 100 countries — Google Blog (blog.google)
- AI Overviews expand to over 200 countries and territories, more than 40 languages — Google Blog (blog.google)
- Performance report (Search results) — Google Search Console Help (support.google.com)
- [GA4] Landing page report — Google Analytics Help (support.google.com)
- Using Search Console and Google Analytics data for SEO — Google Search Central / Google for Developers (developers.google.com)
- Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content — Google Search Central / Google for Developers (developers.google.com)