Can you redesign the site I already have?

Yes, and most of my work starts that way. I audit what's there, keep what's working, fix the structure and content, then rebuild the design. I set up redirects so you keep the Google rankings you've already earned.

Which platform should my site be on?

It depends on who will edit it, what it needs to sell and your budget. I've built on 50+ platforms, so I'll recommend the one that fits your team, not the one I prefer. Wix Studio, Framer and WordPress cover most businesses.

How long does a project take?

A focused landing page takes about a week. A full multi-page site usually takes three to five weeks, depending on how much content we need to write together. You get a clear timeline before we start.

Do you write the content, or do I?

I plan the page structure and write the copy with you. You bring the knowledge of your business; I shape it into pages that answer buyers' questions in the right order.

We're in the US. Will the time difference be a problem?

Not in practice. I'm on West Africa Time, which fully overlaps the UK workday and shares mornings with the US East Coast. Most of the work runs asynchronously, with a live call whenever you want one.

What happens after launch?

You get a walkthrough video so your team can edit the site. Many clients keep me on for updates, new pages, SEO and email campaigns, so you're never left with a site nobody can touch.

Google AI Mode Is Taking Clicks. What Small Business Websites Should Change in 2026

owencontinentalstu

Oct 4

6 min read

Last updated: 4 October 2026

Quick answer: Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode now answer many questions before anyone clicks. Two 2026 field experiments found AI Overviews cut outbound clicks by 38% on the searches where they appear, and forcing searches into AI Mode cut clicks to websites by 18.8 percentage points. Small businesses should respond in two ways: make the website easy for AI to quote and cite (clear answers, FAQs, structured data, consistent business details), and make every page convert the fewer, more serious visitors who still click.

What changed in Google Search this year

For twenty years the deal was simple. Google showed ten blue links, people clicked one, and your website did the rest. In 2026 that deal is breaking.

Google now puts an AI-written answer, the AI Overview, at the top of many results. It also offers AI Mode, a chat-style search that answers follow-up questions in a conversation. In both cases the visitor can get what they need without ever opening a website.

For a plumber, a coach or a roofer, that sounds alarming. It is a real change, but it is not the end of getting found online. It changes what your website has to do.

What the research actually says

There is a lot of panic online and very little evidence. Two studies this year stand out because they were proper field experiments with real Google users, not guesses from traffic charts.

AI Overviews cut clicks by 38%. Researchers from the Indian School of Business and Carnegie Mellon University ran a preregistered experiment with 1,065 US desktop users. On searches where an AI Overview appeared, outbound clicks to organic results fell by 38%. Overviews showed up on 42% of searches.
AI Mode cut clicks by 18.8 percentage points. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Northeastern University randomly assigned 1,100 US adults to normal Google, Google without AI, or AI Mode for a week. AI Mode reduced click-through to external websites by 18.8 percentage points. It also lowered trust in the answers and pushed 11.2 percentage points more users to try other search engines.

Both papers were released as drafts in 2026 and are not yet peer reviewed, but they point in the same direction: fewer people click, and the ones who do click have usually already made up their mind about what they want.

Why this matters more for some businesses than others

The searches that lose the most clicks are informational ones: "how to fix a running toilet", "what does a life coach do", "how much does a roof replacement cost". AI can summarise those well.

The searches that still send visitors are the ones where someone needs a person, a price, a booking or proof: "emergency plumber Park Slope", "roofer near me with insurance claim help", "book a discovery call with a breathwork coach". AI can shortlist businesses for those searches, but the customer still has to choose one and contact them.

So the question for a small business is no longer only "how do I rank?" It is:

Will AI mention my business when it builds that shortlist?
When someone does click, will my website turn them into a call, a booking or a sale?

Part 1: Make your website easy for AI to quote

AI answers are built from pages that state facts clearly. These are the changes I make on client sites first.

Answer the question in the first two sentences

Every important page should open with a direct answer: who you help, what you do, where, and how to start. If a service page buries the point under a paragraph about your passion for excellence, AI has nothing clean to quote. A short "quick answer" box at the top of an article does the same job for blog posts.

Add real FAQs, written the way customers ask

Use the questions people actually type or say out loud: "How fast can you come out?", "Do you work with insurance claims?", "How much does a website cost?" Keep each answer to two to four plain sentences. Then mark them up with FAQ structured data so search engines can read them as questions and answers.

Keep your business details identical everywhere

Your business name, services, service area, phone number and opening hours should match on your website, your Google Business Profile, your social profiles and any directories. AI systems connect facts about a business across sources. Inconsistent details make you harder to trust and easier to leave out.

Use structured data

Schema markup tells search engines in code what a page is about: a local business, a service, a person, an FAQ, an article, a review. It is invisible to visitors but it helps machines understand you. Wix, Framer and WordPress all support it, natively or with a small embed.

Publish specific, first-hand content

AI summarises generic advice easily. It cannot summarise your experience. Case studies, real project photos, named neighbourhoods you serve, your actual process and your actual prices give AI (and people) a reason to point at you rather than at a content farm.

Part 2: Make every click count

If fewer people reach your site, each visitor is worth more. Most small business websites I audit lose those visitors in the first few seconds.

Say what you do in three seconds. The top of the homepage should state the service, the audience and the area in one line, with one clear button.
Put the action above the fold on mobile. Call, text, book or request a quote, in a fixed order, with large tap targets. On my plumbing client's site, call comes first, text second and the form last, on every page.
Show proof where people decide. Reviews, licences, before and after photos and guarantees belong next to the button, not on a separate page nobody opens.
Follow up automatically. A lead that waits until tomorrow for a reply often goes cold. Connect your forms to a CRM or email sequence so every enquiry gets an instant, personal response.
Make pages fast. Compress images, cut unnecessary scripts and test on a real phone. A slow page wastes the click you worked hardest to earn.

A simple 30-day plan

Week 1: Rewrite the first two sentences of your homepage and top three service pages so they answer who, what, where and how to start.
Week 2: Add five to eight real FAQs to each key page and add FAQ and LocalBusiness structured data.
Week 3: Check your business name, phone, address and services match everywhere online. Update your Google Business Profile.
Week 4: Fix the mobile conversion path: one primary button, proof next to it, and automatic follow-up on every form.

Then watch Google Search Console. Impressions show whether you are still being seen, even when clicks fall. Enquiries show whether the site is doing its real job.

Frequently asked questions about Google AI Mode

Is SEO dead because of Google AI Mode?

No. SEO is changing, not disappearing. AI answers are built from websites, so clear, trustworthy, well-structured pages still win. The goal shifts from only ranking to being the source AI cites and converting the visitors who still click.

How much traffic does AI Mode take from websites?

In a 2026 field experiment with 1,100 US users, forcing searches into AI Mode reduced click-through to external websites by 18.8 percentage points. A separate experiment found AI Overviews cut outbound clicks by 38% on the searches where they appeared. Results vary by industry and query type.

Will local businesses lose customers to AI search?

Local businesses are less exposed than publishers, because customers still need to call, book or visit someone. The risk is being left off the shortlist AI builds. Consistent business details, a complete Google Business Profile, reviews and clear service pages reduce that risk.

What is AEO and GEO?

AEO (answer engine optimisation) means structuring content so search engines and voice assistants can pull direct answers from it. GEO (generative engine optimisation) means making your business easy for AI tools like Google AI Mode, ChatGPT and Perplexity to understand, trust and mention.

Can I do this on Wix, Framer or WordPress?

Yes. All three let you edit page titles and descriptions, write FAQs and add structured data. The bigger work is the writing and structure, not the platform.

About the author

Oluwafemi Aaron Ekemenah is a web designer and CMS specialist and the founder of Xplore Visual Creatives. Top Rated on Upwork, Level 2 on Fiverr and a Legend Wix Partner, he has delivered 350+ websites for businesses in the US, UK, Canada and Australia, and sets up SEO, AEO and GEO for the sites he builds. Book a free 30-minute call.

Sources

Wang, Gleason, Bart, Wilson and Metaxa, "AI in Search Reduces Publisher Referrals Without Improving User Experience: Experimental Evidence", arXiv 2608.18352, August 2026 (University of Pennsylvania and Northeastern University). Summary: Relevant Audience
Agarwal and Sen, field experiment on Google AI Overviews, SSRN, April 2026 (Indian School of Business and Carnegie Mellon University). Summary: Search Engine Journal