Why SME owners cannot afford to ignore this change

In this blog, we compare ChatGPT vs Google and explore the implications of the rise of AI-driven search for businesses of all sizes. 

Make no mistake: the changes taking place are significant, and understanding them is essential if you want to stay visible to your customers. While some technical terms are unavoidable, we’ve included clear explanations and links to further resources at the end of the article, so you can follow along without getting lost in jargon.

Why the way people search is changing and why it matters for SMEs

For years, business owners have treated Google as the key to being found online. If you wanted customers to see you, Google was the path to take. That hasn’t changed overnight, but the way people search for information has. It is crucial to understand this shift now, as it will have a significant impact on your business in the near future.

AI tools like ChatGPT, Google’s own Google AI Mode and Google AI Overviews are reshaping how prospects ask questions and get answers. For small and medium-sized enterprises, this shift has direct consequences. The rules of the game are evolving, and what got you found in 2022 will not get you found in 2026.

At Growth by Design, we see this change not as a threat but as a wake-up call. If you understand what is happening, why it matters, and how to respond, you can stay ahead of your competitors and maintain visibility even as search changes shape.

How big is the gap between Google and ChatGPT today?

Let’s start with scale.

• Google handles roughly 14 billion searches per day worldwide.
  
  
• ChatGPT processes about 37.5 million “search-like” prompts per day.
  
  

That means Google is still around 373 times larger than ChatGPT in terms of daily queries. 

So why does ChatGPT matter? 

In short, the answer is twofold: growth and behaviour.

AI adoption in the UK has accelerated dramatically over the past year. In July 2025 alone, 20.2 million people used AI tools, marking a 112% increase in monthly audience growth compared to July 2024.

Young people remain the most intensive users. Among 15–24 year olds, 63% used AI tools in July 2025, and 21% of this group reported daily usage. While younger demographics still lead the way, the most rapid growth over the past six months has come from those aged 35–54, where monthly audience usage jumped by 59%.

In terms of tools, ChatGPT remains the dominant option, with 15.1 million monthly users as of July 2025. Microsoft Copilot ranks second, with 2.5 million users, while alternatives such as Perplexity and Claude AI have also experienced strong growth since the start of the year.

That’s almost a quarter of the UK population experimenting with AI tools in a single month. Even if not all those prompts are “searches”, it shows mainstream adoption. Increasingly, people are turning to AI for answers instead of relying on Google.

What makes AI search different from Google search?

Traditional Google search works on a “list” model. You type in your query, and Google shows you a ranked list of links. You then click, compare, and sift.

ChatGPT and similar tools work differently. They:

• Provide direct answers in plain English.
  
  
• Can combine multiple sources into a single response. (large language model LLM)
  
  
• Support conversational follow-ups without having to restart your query.
  
  

Google itself is moving towards this model. Features like Google AI Overviews mean you may not even need to click on a website to get what you want. According to the Professional Publishers Association (PPA), UK publishers have already reported 10–25% drops in click-through rates even when their Google ranking hasn’t changed, because AI summaries satisfy the query.

This is what marketers call zero-click search, where the search engine or AI tool provides a direct answer, and the user never visits your site.

A large language model (LLM) is the technology that powers tools like ChatGPT. Put simply, it’s a form of artificial intelligence trained on vast volumes of text, enabling it to understand questions and generate AI-generated content that sounds natural. Instead of just matching keywords, an LLM looks for patterns in language, draws on what it has learnt, and predicts the most helpful response.

For business owners, the key point isn’t the technical detail, but the impact: LLMs make it possible for people to “talk” to AI as if it were a person, and get direct answers rather than long lists of links. That shift is what makes them so disruptive to traditional Google search.

What do the numbers tell us about this trend?

Several studies give us a clearer picture:

• Zero-click searches rose from 23.6% to 26.1% year-on-year in Europe and the UK.
• Globally, 95% of internet users still use Google monthly, but about 21% of Americans have also used ChatGPT in a given month.

Taken together, the evidence suggests that Google remains dominant, but AI search is capturing attention and clicks.

Why should SME business owners care?

For SMEs, this isn’t about abstract stats. It’s about:

• Lead flow: If people no longer click through, your website may see fewer enquiries even if you rank well.
  
  
• Marketing spend: If you pour budget into SEO or pay-per-click but ignore AI summaries, you may be chasing diminishing returns.
  
  
• Visibility: If AI tools summarise the market and leave you out, prospects may never know you exist.
  
  

Put simply: the way customers find answers is changing. If you do not adapt, your business risks becoming invisible at the very moment prospects are asking questions you could answer.

What does the future hold for search?

Predictions from analysts, publishers, and search experts suggest several trends:

1. AI summaries will become the norm
   Google is not retreating from AI Overviews. Expect to see more UK queries featuring AI answers at the top of search results. ChatGPT and other AI tools will also grow as “first stop” destinations for traditional searches.
   
   
2. Traffic to websites will decline
   Click-through rates for Google’s top spot fell 32% after AI Overviews launch.
   Fresh data shows the number one organic result on Google has seen its average CTR decline from 28% to 19% since the broader introduction of AI Overviews, signalling a significant shift in search user behaviour.
   
   
3. Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) will emerge alongside SEO
   Just as SEO became vital 15 years ago, GEO is now being recognised as the skill of structuring content for AI platforms, clear headings, FAQs, glossaries, and fact-checked data.
   
   
4. Regulatory changes will come
   In the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is already investigating how Google’s AI features affect publishers. Expect new rules around transparency, attribution, and possibly compensation.
   
   

How can SMEs prepare and adapt?

Here are the key steps we recommend to business owners:

Audit your content for EEAT

Does your website show Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness? Include author names, credentials, publication dates, and citations. AI tools are more likely to use content that looks credible.

Create structured content

Add FAQs, glossaries, summaries, and short paragraphs. Make your content easy for both Google and ChatGPT to scan and summarise, and importantly, have a human review the content.

Publish original data and UK-specific insights

AI tools draw heavily on common web content. If you have unique stats, case studies, or research, especially local UK data, your content is more likely to stand out and be referenced.

Diversify your visibility channels

Don’t rely solely on Google. Consider LinkedIn, partnerships, introducers, email marketing, and events. These are communication channels AI cannot get in the way of your message.

Monitor your analytics closely

If organic traffic drops but ranking hasn’t moved, it’s likely due to AI summaries. Watch for these signals so you can adapt your strategy.

Opportunities hidden in the disruption

This isn’t just a risk. It’s an opportunity if you act before your competitors.

• If most SMEs ignore AI readiness, your content can gain disproportionate visibility if you optimise for it now.
  
  
• Building trust signals and creating original content can give you an edge over larger competitors that rely solely on scale.
  
  
• SMEs often have a closer understanding of their local customers and communities. That real-world connection provides insights that AI can’t generate on its own, and those human perspectives are precisely what make your content more valuable and likely to be picked up by AI tools.
  
  

Pitfalls to avoid

• Waiting too long: Hoping the old rules still apply will cost you leads.
  
  
• Chasing volume over quality: Pumping out generic blogs won’t help; AI tools will ignore them.
  
  
• Neglecting partnerships: Introducers, referrers, and alliances become even more important when search clicks decline.
  
  
• Failing to check facts: If AI misrepresents you, it’s harder to correct. Be clear and consistent in your content.
  
  

The Growth by Design perspective

We believe the future of search is not “Google vs ChatGPT” but Google and ChatGPT. Your prospects will use both. Some will type traditional searches, others will ask conversational AI, and many will bounce between the two.

The winners will be the businesses that:

• Make their expertise easy to find, easy to trust, and easy to summarise.
  
  
• Build ecosystems of visibility, including websites, partnerships, introducers, and social channels, rather than relying on a single platform.
  
  
• Treat this shift as a strategic opportunity, not just a technical tweak.
  
  

As a business owner, your challenge is to adapt before your competitors do.

Don’t just take our word for it – see how it works in practice

We have talked a lot about how search is changing, how AI tools like ChatGPT are shaping user behaviour, and why SMEs need to adapt their marketing. But what does that look like in real life?

Take The Dental Barn, a Sussex-based dental practice, as an example. When they first came to Growth by Design, their marketing was happening around the edges of their day jobs. The owner was investing hours into trying to manage it herself, but the results didn’t match the effort. Like many SMEs, she knew her patients loved what they offered, but visibility beyond word of mouth was limited.

Working with us, The Dental Barn adopted a joined-up marketing strategy designed to meet today’s search and communication challenges:

• SEO/GEO blogs increased visibility online so potential patients could find them beyond Google’s blue links.
  
  
• Meta Ads created a consistent, measurable lead flow, generating enquiries at just over £13 per lead.
  
  
• Newsletters and social content built trust and kept the practice visible in multiple channels, not just relying on search engines.
  
  
• LinkedIn outreach opened conversations with employers who might offer staff dental benefits.
  
  

The results have been striking. Website traffic now comes from a wider variety of sources, not just referrals or a single platform. Facebook reach is up 690% year-on-year. Newsletters achieve a 65.2% open rate, far above the industry average. Most importantly, The Dental Barn is attracting more of the right patients – nervous and anxious patients who value their unique approach. The marketing strategy has also freed up the owner’s time to focus on expansion.

What’s the lesson here for SMEs worried about AI search tools and Google’s changing rules? You cannot afford to rely on just one channel anymore. The businesses that thrive are those that diversify, create structured and credible content, and connect with prospects across multiple touchpoints.

That is exactly how we helped The Dental Barn adapt and grow, and it is how we can help you, too.

Read the full case study here: The Dental Barn – Sussex digital marketing services

Act now to protect and grow your visibility

Search is not disappearing, but it is transforming. Google’s dominance is real, but so is the rise of ChatGPT and AI summaries. For SMEs, the implications are clear: fewer clicks, more reliance on credibility, and a greater need to diversify communication.

You don’t need to throw away SEO, but you do need to expand your strategy. Think GEO as well as SEO. Think partnerships as well as keywords. Think structured, credible content rather than generic filler.

At Growth by Design, we specialise in helping SMEs cut through change like this. If you want to explore how your business can adapt to the dual-search future, book a complimentary marketing review with our team.

📞 Call us on 01444 810530

📅 Book directly into our diary: https://calendly.com/louise-growth-by-design/30min

Glossary of terms

AI Mode – A Google Search feature that delivers AI-generated answers alongside search results.

AI Overviews – Summarised responses generated by Google at the top of search results.

ChatGPT – An AI tool by OpenAI used for conversation, research, and increasingly search-like queries.

EEAT – Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness. Google’s framework for evaluating content quality.

Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) – Preparing content so AI platforms can summarise it effectively.

Search intent – The underlying reason behind a user’s query.

Zero-click search – When the user’s question is answered directly in search results or AI summaries, so no website is clicked.

CTR (Click-Through Rate) – The percentage of users who click on a link after seeing it in search results.

CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) – The UK regulator examining the impact of Google’s AI search features on publishers.

LLM (Large Language Model) – A type of artificial intelligence trained on vast amounts of text so it can understand language and generate human-like responses. LLMs’ power tools, such as ChatGPT, allow users to ask questions in a natural conversation and receive direct answers. Instead of listing links, an LLM predicts the most helpful response based on the patterns it has learned.

FAQs

1. What’s the difference between using ChatGPT and Google for search in 2025?

Google still works on a “list of links” model. You type in a query, and Google shows ranked results that you click through. ChatGPT and similar AI tools give direct, conversational answers. Instead of opening five different sites, you can get a single response that combines multiple sources. Both have their place, but the way users interact with each is very different.

2. How will Google AI Overviews affect my website traffic and leads?

Google AI Overviews often answer a user’s question directly at the top of the search results. This reduces the number of clicks going to websites, even if you still rank well. Studies show that the click-through rate of the top organic result has already dropped from 28% to 19% since the rollout. For SMEs, that means fewer enquiries unless you adapt your content so it gets picked up inside those AI summaries.

3. Why are click-through rates on Google’s top results dropping since AI was introduced?

Because users are getting the information they need without leaving Google, if an AI summary at the top of the page answers their question, many won’t bother clicking through. This is known as a “zero-click search.” It doesn’t mean your content has no value, but it does mean you need to structure it so AI engines choose to reference it.

4. What does “zero-click search” mean, and why should SMEs care about it?

A zero-click search happens when a user’s question is answered directly in the search results, so they don’t need to visit another site. SMEs should care because it reduces traditional website traffic. If you rely solely on clicks from Google, you may see enquiries drop even though your rankings haven’t changed. Optimising for zero-click means making your answers clear, structured, and credible so they appear in summaries.

5. How can small businesses make their content appear in AI summaries like ChatGPT or Google AI Mode?

AI tools favour content that looks credible, structured, and original. That means:

• Using clear headings, FAQs, and glossaries.
  
  
• Demonstrating EEAT: author names, credentials, citations, and up-to-date information.
  
  
• Publishing unique insights, such as UK-specific data or case studies.
  The more fact-checked and trustworthy your content is, the more likely it will be included in AI-generated answers.
  
  

6. What is Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), and how does it differ from SEO?

SEO is about optimising your site for Google’s ranking system. GEO is about optimising for AI tools that generate answers. Instead of just targeting keywords, you create structured content (FAQs, bullet points, short summaries) that AI systems can easily pull into their responses. Think of GEO as the next step after SEO, not a replacement.

7. Is Google still more important than ChatGPT for getting new customers online?

Yes, for now. Google handles around 14 billion searches per day, compared to ChatGPT’s 37.5 million prompts. That’s a huge gap. However, ChatGPT’s audience is growing rapidly, and millions of UK users already rely on AI tools every month. For SMEs, it’s no longer “Google or ChatGPT”, it’s both. Your customers may use Google for some searches and AI for others, so your marketing must cover both.

8. What practical steps can SMEs take right now to protect their online visibility as AI search grows?

• Audit your website for EEAT signals.
  
  
• Add structured FAQs and clear summaries.
  
  
• Publish unique UK-specific insights or data.
  
  
• Diversify your visibility through LinkedIn, email, and strategic partnerships.
  
  
• Monitor analytics to see if traffic drops despite good rankings.

These steps ensure your business doesn’t rely on just one channel and is future-ready for both SEO and GEO.

9. How is AI adoption in the UK changing the way people search for products and services?

AI adoption is rising fast. In July 2025, over 20 million people in the UK used AI tools, nearly a quarter of the population. Younger audiences still lead, but growth among 35–54-year-olds has surged by almost 60% in just six months. That means more potential customers are trying AI instead of Google for at least part of their research process. SMEs who ignore this shift risk losing visibility.

10. Do I need to change my marketing strategy if most of my customers still use Google?

Yes. Even if most of your customers currently find you through Google, the way Google presents its results is changing. AI Overviews are reducing clicks, and competition for visibility is tougher. By adapting now, through GEO, EEAT content, and multi-channel marketing, you stay ahead of competitors who wait too long. Think of it as future-proofing your lead generation.