Market shift 2026 · D-A-CH
Visibility on Google is falling – AI decides.
More and more customers no longer search on Google but ask ChatGPT, Gemini or Copilot directly. If you’re not recommended there, you become invisible – and paid ads get more expensive year after year. This article explains why it happens and what you can do today.
Reading time approx. 3 minutes · · figures from current industry studies
In short
The way people search has changed radically in a short time – including in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Anyone not mentioned in the answers of ChatGPT & co. becomes invisible to a growing share of their customers. And whoever relies on Google ads pays more and more for the same result. The good news: those who act now secure a head start before competitors catch up.
What is changing in the market
The old rule “page 1 on Google = found” no longer holds
It is being overridden from two directions at once.
Google answers questions itself
AI summaries (“AI Overviews”) now appear on more than one in five searches (20%+) – rising fast. Users get the answer directly and click through less often.
Around 60% of all Google searches today end without a click to any website.
When an AI summary appears, only 8% click a traditional result – without one it’s 15%.
Many don’t search on Google at all anymore
They ask the AI directly. In the D-A-CH region this is already everyday behaviour – even more so in business than in private use.
In other words: a substantial share of your future customers make their first shortlist without ever having searched the classic way.
The costly side effect
Your Google ads keep getting more expensive
If you run ads, this development hits you twice – and straight in the budget. The logic is simple supply and demand:
Part of the search volume moves to ChatGPT & co. Google is left with fewer searches – but the same number of or more advertisers competing for those clicks. Less supply, same demand: the price per click goes up.
AI visibility is the counter-model: visibility you don’t pay for per click.
Avg. click price index (CPC) · Google search
In 2024, 86% of industries saw higher click prices – on average about +10% versus the prior year. In competitive sectors, a multiple of that.
What this concretely means for you
Be named – or not exist
When someone asks the AI “Which provider is recommended?”, it names some companies – and not others. Whoever is named gains trust and enquiries. Whoever is missing simply doesn’t exist for the customer in that moment.
The key point: whether you appear is no accident. AI systems recommend content they can read, understand and rate as trustworthy. A website not prepared for this is captured less well – and recommended less often.
Visitors from AI search convert markedly better in some industries (e.g. SaaS/retail over 50% vs. 20–30% organic) – the AI has already pre-qualified them.
Illustrative example of an AI answer.
Why now is the right time
This shift is not coming – it is already underway
Competitors are still asleep
In most industries, AI-optimised websites are the exception. Whoever acts now claims the field before it gets crowded.
AI builds reputation over time
The earlier your content is captured correctly and rated as reliable, the more stable your position will be later.
It also helps your Google ranking
Clear structure and technical cleanliness improve both. You lose nothing – you gain in both worlds.
Waiting doesn’t risk “nothing happening”. The risk is that customers slowly and unnoticed move to the providers who do appear in the AI answers.
The first step
Where do you stand in AI today?
Before you optimise, you need to know where you stand. We don’t start with rebuilds but with a clear assessment – an AI positioning analysis of your website. Both packages are a pure analysis, with no obligation to take further steps.
Basic package
Price on request
AI positioning analysis of your website
- Analysis of whether & how your company is mentioned in the leading AI systems
- Check whether AI can technically read & classify your website
- Assessment of your key content from the AI’s perspective
- Compact results report with a traffic-light rating & top 3 levers
Plus package
project-based
Analysis + competitors + action roadmap
- Everything in “Basic”
- Comparison with up to 3 competitors – who shows up in the AI, who doesn’t?
- Concrete, prioritised action roadmap for improvement
- 30-min results call – we walk through everything together
You get clarity and a sound basis for your decision. What you do with it, you decide afterwards at your own pace.
Take action now
Let’s check your AI visibility
Just tell us which package fits – we usually start within a few days. Write to us via WhatsApp or email; the first exchange is non-binding.
Sources
- SparkToro — Zero-Click Search Study 2024 (Rand Fishkin)
- SparkToro — “In 2026, less than one third of Google searches still send a click”
- Pew Research Center 2025 — Google AI Overviews & clicks
- Bitkom 2025 — Artificial Intelligence: usage in Germany
- G2 2025 — “The Answer Economy”: B2B buyers & AI
- WordStream — Google Ads Benchmarks 2024
- WebFX 2025 — Generative AI search trends & conversion