Will your website survive the AI shift?

I recently joined fellow experts from Athlon, Future Group and Reech for a wide ranging discussion hosted by The GO Network. The group explored how AI is reshaping web traffic, and how brands should respond. In a lively and diverse debate, a few key themes emerged that we believe should be central to brands’ thinking as they face into perhaps the most seismic change in a generation for e-commerce.

Expect fewer visitors, but better qualified ones.

If the digital revolution is about connecting people with what they actually need, AI dials that principle up to 11. By quickly developing a more precise understanding of the customer’s ambition, it’s shifting the focus from quantity of traffic to quality of lead. In shortening the journey, AI is quietly doing the customer’s grunt work for them.

This matters. Yesterday’s design briefs centred on SEO, modern design and high traffic flow. Tomorrow’s must focus on clarity, confidence building, and decision making. Site builds must emphasis being easy for AI to parse, not just easy for a search engine to crawl.

In summary, think outcomes, not eyeballs. And don’t fear a differently-shaped funnel!

Websites are no longer a channel, they’re the product.

Websites must be treated as living, breathing, evolving things, not ‘fire and forget’ digital assets. They need a commercial owner, a roadmap, and a measurement and evaluation framework that are treated as the business’ vital signs – in other words, critical information that is properly considered and acted upon.

To quote the exchange in ‘The Social Network’ when Eduardo Saverin asks Mark Zuckerberg when the website will be "finished," Zuckerberg responds, “It won’t be finished, that’s the point. The way fashion’s never finished.”

Amen to that.

Make every visit count

Website friction kills. The best ones make it effortless. Journeys should dial down creativity and pizzazz if it comes at the expense of the vital clarity that drives customer confidence – clear navigation, language, pricing etc. Constant learning and refinement should be embedded into the team culture and, as Jason pointed out, don’t ask for oceans of personal data that aren’t yet needed.

Design quality and performance isn’t ‘either / or’

Good UX is where the two meet. An elaborate visual feast of sophisticated content will fall flat if you make the user wait too long to enjoy it. The fixes? CDNs and DAM systems to handle imagery and media properly, and a marked rise in headless builds delivering content strictly on demand rather than loading a full site upfront. Plus system design built around reusable, shareable components.

AI curates, it doesn’t create.

AI’s changing what makes websites visible. LLMs can only work with what they’re given. Brands need clear, authoritative content born of genuine expertise, real case studies and credible third-party validation. Websites should be designed with AI in mind from the outset, using conversational, answer-focused content and a strong technical structure to maximise visibility in AI-generated responses as well as traditional search.

Great websites actively build brands

It’s time websites upped their ambition and carved out their own role, rather than just toeing the brand line. Workshop the needs on a blank sheet of paper, considering structure, audience, and desired customer behaviour. Brand is a supporting character, not the star of the show. The website’s first loyalty is to the business’ success!

Trade generously for customer data

As third-party cookies disappear, first-party data has become increasingly valuable. But consider the customer quid-pro-quo here. Good websites capture data by offering genuine value, from personalised quizzes and wish lists to back-in-stock alerts. Rather than relying on intrusive forms, good websites build trust through useful, relevant experiences. It’s good for the user. It’s good for the business.

When websites becomes handbrakes

Websites that don’t support business goals are a liability, whether that's generating leads, selling effectively or allowing teams to quickly react to market changes. Slow processes, unclear ownership and disconnected customer journeys all erode performance. Before committing to a rebuild, figure out the ‘do nothing’ cost and if targeted improvements could offer stronger value than starting from scratch.