Over the past year, Google’s AI Overviews have swept across the search landscape. The generative answer boxes now appear on more than half of all Google queries. That visibility shift is more than cosmetic. Because answers are pre-written, users can read the result without ever clicking a link. As a result, 58% of searches now end with zero external clicks.

Google itself is doubling down. The company has announced a global rollout that puts AI Overviews in more than 200 countries and territories, and over 40 languages. The feature is no longer an experiment. It’s becoming the new default interface for informational queries.

For brands and eCommerce sites that built their acquisition strategies on organic search, the numbers are grim. But it’s times like these when reliable channels like email marketing become even more critical.

The Search Traffic Squeeze

Search traffic numbers are more than vanity. For many businesses, the sales funnel still starts with a Google visit that turns into an email subscription, a webinar sign-up, or a direct purchase. Losing even a third of that top-of-funnel volume reverberates through the entire revenue stack: thinner retargeting audiences, sparser first-party data, and fewer conversion events to train advertising algorithms.

While attempts are being made to optimize sites and content to feature in the AI Overviews themselves, we need to face up to the fact that Google and other search engines are deliberately trying to reduce the need for people to click on links to sites. Having a link to your site as a citation for the information isn’t going to guarantee a click. 

Plus, there’s simply less real estate for links to appear in the Overviews themselves. If you thought competition was fierce to try and appear high on the SERP, it’s going to be even worse when it comes to AI Overviews.

Email: The Direct Line To Your Audiences

Faced with vanishing search clicks, that reliable workhorse of email marketing becomes even more critical. 

Email remains one of the best ways of reaching customers as a brand: 69% of consumers worldwide prefer email over any other brand communication channel. Preference matters because it translates into habitual behaviour: 99% of users check mail daily, with 58% checking first thing in the morning, according to Porch Group Media’s 2025 usage study. In other words, an opt-in address is a front-row seat in the one feed consumers curate for themselves.

The financial case is equally strong. Email’s ROI outstrips practically every other channel, with an average return of $36 for every $1 spent across every industry. The returns are even bigger in eCommerce, where automated cart- and browse-abandon flows add incremental purchases, with a massive $68 return per $1 spent. 

Few acquisition tactics, paid or organic, come close.

Inbox Economics in 2025

The benefits of email go far beyond ROI. One of the biggest is control. Your owned email list is insulated mainly from third-party algorithm changes. Subscribers, by their nature, have already shown high intent, inviting messages and, by extension, sales conversations. They want to hear directly from your brand; they haven’t just happened to click on your site because Google decided it should be high on the SERP or featured in an AI Overview.

That doesn’t mean you can just go crazy. Inbox gatekeeping is more challenging than ever. Gmail and Yahoo now throttle senders whose spam-complaint rate tops 0.3%, which means you need to be stringent with providing one-click unsubscribes and enforcing authentication rules. 

The email channel is valuable precisely because the bar to stay in it is rising. Brands that respect relevance win durable access; everyone else is filtered away.

Personalization Gets Real-Time

Modern email marketing has moved far beyond the big batch newsletters of a decade ago. Email marketing can now respond directly to user actions, and is incredibly effective because of it: behaviour-triggered emails generate ten times more revenue than generic campaigns, and 90% of practitioners say segmentation lifts every key metric. AI is amplifying that lift: dynamic product blocks, predictive send-time optimisation, and copy drafted on the fly mean each open can feel uniquely timed and tailored.

Shoppable Experiences Drive Direct Revenue

Email isn’t just about nurturing leads anymore. It’s becoming a direct sales channel:  52% of consumers made a purchase directly from an email in the last year. The numbers get even more compelling when you consider that email traffic converts to purchases at 4.24%, compared to just 2.49% from search traffic and 0.59% from social media.

The rise of shoppable email features, from embedded product carousels with integrated product data feeds to one-click purchasing, is transforming how brands think about the inbox experience. When you can turn an email into a mini-storefront, the inbox becomes more than a communication channel. It becomes a revenue driver that works independently of whatever’s happening in search results.

Available Anywhere

We’re well past the days when people largely stuck to checking emails on their computers. Mobile usage accentuates the need for relevance. Up to 78% of email opens occur on phones, and half of users delete messages that aren’t mobile-optimised.

This means you can expect your emails to reach your audiences anytime, anywhere. 

Why Email Thrives Where Search Falters

• First-party identity. Email addresses tie directly to real people, not cookies. As third-party cookies fade and AI siphons search traffic, list growth equals data sovereignty.
• Algorithm resistance. While inbox algorithms police spam, they don’t steal the core value of a click. The recipient must still open and engage to realise your message.
• Compounding asset. Every sign-up permanently expands your reachable audience. SEO pages depreciate when SERPs change. Email addresses appreciate with each send.

Making the Shift From SEO-Centric to Email-Centric

Start by auditing your current pipeline to identify which pages are being cannibalized by AI Overviews. For those experiencing traffic declines, focus on converting your remaining visitors more effectively through strategic placement of signup forms like exit-intent pop-ups, inline lead magnets, and content upgrades that capture attention at the right moment.

Since subscribers are now joining with less initial engagement, your welcome strategy needs to evolve beyond a simple confirmation email. Build a comprehensive onboarding series that gradually educates and entertains new subscribers while naturally segmenting them based on their interests and behaviors. This multi-touch approach helps warm up colder leads over time.

Your email deliverability becomes even more critical when email serves as a primary channel. Strengthen your foundation by implementing proper authentication protocols like DMARC, SPF, and DKIM, while regularly cleaning your list of inactive contacts. Keep a close eye on complaint rates to stay well below the 0.3% threshold that can trigger deliverability issues.

Behavioral triggers offer a tremendous opportunity in this landscape. Map out the key signals your audience gives, whether they’re browsing specific categories, adding items to their cart, or consuming particular content, then create automated sequences that respond to these moments of peak interest. This allows you to reach people when they’re most engaged, regardless of whether they found you through search.

Finally, consider how AI tools can enhance your email marketing without replacing the human touch. Use generative AI to test different subject lines or automatically assemble personalized product recommendations, but maintain human oversight to ensure your brand voice remains authentic. The goal is intelligent personalization that feels genuinely helpful, not robotic communication that pushes subscribers away.

The Bigger Picture

The continued prominence of email fits a broader pivot to first-party everything. Retailers are spinning up membership programmes, publishers are emphasising newsletters, and social-first creators are nudging followers toward ‘backup’ email lists in anticipation of further algorithmic volatility. The unifying theme is ownership; an address on your terms is future-proof against policy swings at Google, Facebook, or the next AI wunderkind.

Marketers often describe inbox real estate as ‘permission-based.’ In 2025, that permission is more than legal compliance; it is a handshake that says, ‘I choose to hear from you directly, without an AI middleman’. As zero-click surfaces multiply, that handshake may become the most valuable asset in digital marketing.

Conclusion: The Inbox Is the New Homepage

Search isn’t dying, but its role in the customer journey is irreversibly shrinking as AI answers more questions in line. In this environment, email’s combination of user preference, outsized ROI, and ownership makes it a non-negotiable pillar of growth.