When Will AI Ranking Matter More Than SEO?

A glowing blue digital illustration showing a Google search bar on the left and an upward arrow leading to “AI Ranking” with chat bubbles on the right, symbolizing the rise of AI-driven search over traditional SEO.

The short answer: AI recommendations are already more valuable than traditional search traffic for many businesses, and by mid-2026, AI-driven traffic will likely surpass traditional search engine traffic entirely. But the real inflection point isn’t about total traffic volume. It’s about when AI referrals become more valuable than search engine clicks. That crossover is projected […]