Losing Traffic and Don’t Know Why? Google’s AI Overviews Are Already Shaping the Future

The Invisible Revolution Already Happening

If you work in digital marketing in Bulgaria, you’ve probably noticed that Google search results have started to look… different. I’m not talking about a new layout or another minor algorithm tweak. This is something deeper: AI Overviews – summarised answers that Google now displays directly in the results for specific queries.

This isn’t some change that “might come one day” — it’s already here. And it’s happening in Bulgaria, on real search terms that directly impact the traffic and visibility of local online businesses. It’s not just a technical issue — it’s a strategic question: How do you stay visible in a search engine that now answers on your behalf?

Critical Reality: While everyone debates the future of AI search, Bulgarian businesses are already losing traffic to it.

What is Google AI Overviews — in plain language

AI Overviews (also known as Search Generative Experience) is Google’s new way of responding to queries: not with a traditional list of links, but with AI-generated summaries, compiled from multiple sources.

Here’s how it usually works:

• The user asks a question (e.g. “best tea for sleep”)
• Google displays a direct answer above all organic results
• In many cases, only 1–2 links are shown — or none are clicked at all

Visually, it’s convenient. For SEO? It could be a serious challenge.

Visual Impact: Here’s an example of what AI Overviews currently looks like in Bulgaria.

Strategic Insight: The traditional click-through model is being completely disrupted.

The Bulgarian Reality: What We’re Seeing in Bulgaria

As a consultant working closely with Bulgarian online retailers, I’m seeing the effects of AI Overviews firsthand.

The Traffic Disaster Nobody Talks About

Informational traffic is no longer “safe”

E-commerce sites with active blogs and solid SEO foundations have started reporting drops in impressions and clicks on long-tail informational queries.

In one example — an article titled “How to choose Japanese green tea” — impressions dropped by about 40%, even though the ranking remained in the top 3. The reason? Google’s AI Overview is now answering the query directly.

Shocking Loss: 40% traffic drop while maintaining top 3 rankings—the rules have completely changed.

The Safe Zone (For Now)

Commercial queries are stable… for now

Searches like “organic cosmetics”, “perfumes under 50 BGN”, or “sports accessories” haven’t been hit as hard — yet. But we’re already seeing AI-generated blocks appear for some of them, summarising product categories, offering recommendations, and sometimes even highlighting specific brands.

Future Warning: Commercial queries are next in line for AI Overview takeover.

A Real Example: What We Did for a Bulgarian Online Store

We worked on a strategy for a niche online store offering over 400 products with a solid base of organic traffic. We started noticing early signs of AI Overviews appearing for some of their key pages — even before Google officially announced the rollout in Bulgaria.

Our Strategic Response

• Restructured the content based on search intent, rather than focusing on keywords
• Built thematic content clusters — not isolated articles, but logically connected pieces that support each other
• Integrated FAQ sections, optimised to answer direct user queries like “who,” “how,” and “why”

Example of an AI Overview in Bulgaria for a product-related query

This screenshot shows an AI Overview generated by Google in response to the Bulgarian query “Как да изберем японски зелен чай” (“How to choose Japanese green tea”).

The Breakthrough Results

• A key category page started appearing directly in AI Overviews
• CTR on target keywords increased by 1.3 percentage points
• Google began pulling content directly from our page into the AI-generated summary, which helped strengthen the domain’s overall authority

Game-Changing Outcome: Instead of losing traffic to AI, we became the source feeding it.

Another example of an AI Overview for a product query in Bulgaria

This screenshot shows how Google responds with an AI-generated summary for the keyword “матча” (matcha) in Bulgarian.

The AI Overview explains that: “Matcha is a type of Japanese green tea in powdered form…”

From Consultant to AI Overview Authority

Over the past few months, I’ve noticed that several of my own materials — educational articles, interviews, and blog posts — have started appearing in AI Overviews when people search for SEO-related terms in Bulgaria. That’s not a coincidence.

Google is increasingly favouring content that’s clear, well-structured, and genuinely expert-driven. To me, that’s a strong signal: in this new era, it’s no longer enough to just “optimise”. You have to educate, explain, and actively contribute.

Authority Recognition

This screenshot shows an AI Overview generated by Google for the search query “SEO consultations” in Bulgarian. On the right-hand side, content from Z-Consult’s website is highlighted and used as an official source within the AI-generated answer.

Expert Validation: This clearly indicates that Google is now recognizing my articles and expert content from Z-Consult as authoritative enough to appear directly inside its AI-generated summaries.

Strategic Proof: Being featured in AI Overviews is the new benchmark for content authority in 2025.

What Bulgarian Online Stores Can Do — Starting Now

Immediate Strategic Steps

Review your content — does it actually answer real questions, or is it just “there”?

Add value blocks — things like lists, comparisons, tables, and FAQs that give structure and clarity

Organize by themes, not just categories — Google favors topical depth, not just surface-level labelling.

Check Google Search Console — is your CTR dropping even though your rankings haven’t changed? That’s often an early sign of AI Overviews taking over visibility

Invest in authority, not just optimization — both users and algorithms can tell when real experience is behind the words

Critical Implementation: These aren’t suggestions—they’re survival requirements for 2025 SEO.

The Future is Human-Centric SEO

Final Thoughts: This Isn’t the End of SEO — It’s Its Evolution

AI Overviews aren’t here to replace us. They’re here to separate valuable content from the noise. Yes, some traffic will drop. Yes, certain tactics will become outdated. But it’s also a moment of opportunity — to build a new kind of presence, one that helps before it sells.

SEO in Bulgaria isn’t dying. It’s just starting to speak a little differently — and this time, it’s sounding more human.

Bottom Line

AI Overviews represent the biggest shift in search since Google’s inception, and Bulgarian businesses have a rare opportunity to adapt early while most competitors remain unaware. Success in 2025 SEO isn’t about fighting AI—it’s about becoming the authoritative source that feeds it.