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September 9, 2026
Websites aren’t dead. They’ve taken on a new role.

“Websites are dead, everyone just asks AI anyway.” You hear this more often these days, and you see it on LinkedIn.

There’s a grain of truth to it, but the conclusion isn’t quite right. Your website hasn’t become any less important. It’s simply taken on a different role.

Lettertegels die samen het woord NEW JOB vormen op een spelbord.

Yes, fewer visitors come through Google

Websites get fewer visitors from search engines. In early 2026, more than two thirds of Google searches ended without a click to a website. Google increasingly gives the answer itself, and more and more people ask their question straight to an AI assistant like ChatGPT or Gemini.

This mostly affects short questions, such as opening hours, an address or the meaning of a term. Hardly anyone clicks through for those anymore. Small websites feel it most. Researchers at UCLA found that the 500 largest websites lost almost no visitors, while the smallest quarter of websites lost 41.8% on average.

AI gets its answers from websites

An AI answer comes from somewhere. AI takes its information from websites, and often from yours.

Say someone asks AI when your school's open day is. Your website lists two dates: an old one on a forgotten page and the correct one on the homepage. AI may well give the wrong date, or use an old news item from another site. The visitor doesn't notice and turns up on the wrong day to a closed door.

If your website is unclear or out of date, AI tells your story wrong. Or it tells someone else's story.

Job 1: the reliable source

Your website becomes the official source about your organization, for people and for AI and search engines. It holds the correct prices, dates, terms and contact details, in one place and up to date.

That brings in visitors too. For many searches, Google shows an AI answer with the sources listed below it. According to research by Seer Interactive, brands listed there as a source get more than twice as many clicks as brands that aren't.

Job 2: the place where people get things done

AI can tell you there's a performance on Friday, but it won't sell you a ticket. That kind of thing still happens on a website:

  • Buying a theater ticket or booking a time slot at a museum
  • Signing up for an open day or enrolling in a course
  • Applying for a permit or reporting an issue to the municipality
  • Donating to a charity

So fewer people visit just to look something up. Those who do come usually want to get something done. That makes every visitor worth more, and every unnecessary step on your website costs you more.

Not everyone uses AI

AI use is growing in every age group, but not at the same pace. More than 6 in 10 young adults use AI, compared with about 1 in 5 people over 65. Older people and people who are less comfortable with computers rely on a clear website.

For government organizations, an accessible website is a legal requirement. For other organizations with a public role, it's a responsibility: everyone should be able to find and use your information.

Try it: what does AI say about your organization?

In five minutes you can see how AI talks about you. Open ChatGPT, Gemini or Copilot and ask these questions:

  1. "What does [name of your organization] do?"
  2. "What are the opening hours or prices of [name]?"
  3. "How do I sign up for [one of your activities]?"

For each answer, check whether the information is correct and which website AI names as its source. Is your own website missing, or is the answer wrong? Then you know where to start.

What can you do?

  1. Put your key information in one place and keep it up to date: prices, dates, opening hours and contact details. Remove old pages with outdated information.
  2. Give each topic its own page, with clear headings and plain words. What people can read easily, AI can process easily too.
  3. Count how many clicks it takes to buy a ticket or sign up, and remove what isn't needed.
  4. Don't just look at visitor numbers, but also at sign-ups, sales and applications. Fewer visitors and better results can go hand in hand.

Is your website ready for its new job?

At TwelveBricks we build websites with Drupal. You create pages with fixed building blocks, which keeps your website organized and your information in a fixed place. Accessibility and findability are built in as standard.

Want to learn more? Feel free to contact us.