Starting in March of 2025, Google has started a major shift in the way search results are presented to users. I've been running websites for more than 10 years now, mostly in the informational space, and I think that the final nail in the coffin of Informational Search has been hammered.
What is Informational Search and What Changed?
There's a lot of content on the Internet and we've seen how Google encroaches into different areas. Maps has made navigational sites pretty redundant. Similarly, the myriad of calculators available directly from the search bar have made calculator sites obsolete apart from those offering complex calculations.
You can think of Informational Search as answering "who, what, where, why, when and how" questions.
Now, Google is pretty much offering AI search summaries for any informational search. Let's say you search for information about a type of product - how to speed up bluetooth, Google will now give you all the information you need without even needing to click in to different sites.
Let's say you want to find out about how to download a facebook video to your computer, the same thing - you are now presented with an AI summary.
Good for users, bad for creators?
For users, in the short term at least, I think the developments are a positive as they get their information quickly and directly. But the losers are going to be the content creators, especially the smaller ones. There isn't much incentive for putting out articles and fact checking the accuracy of product specifications.
Above is the search result performance from one of my sites and you can see the drop off around March. I won't be working on this one in its current form anymore.
The Pivot
It's not all doom and gloom, though. Going forward, we're going to see personality and community being more important than simply putting information out there. For better or worse, this is the pivot.