Stephanie Drabble, Director – Digital Product Commercialisation & Strategy, Nine
For decades, the pact between search engines and brands was simple: brands provided the content, search engines provided the clicks.
But as we move through 2026, that pact has fundamentally dissolved.
We are witnessing “The Great Decoupling” – a phenomenon where search volumes continue to climb, yet referral traffic to brand websites is in a sharp, structural decline. The catalyst? The rapid ascent of Large Language Models (LLMs) and the evolution of search into a conversational, zero-click experience.
From keywords to conversations: The shift in consumer intent
The integration of LLMs into platforms like Google (AI Overviews), ChatGPT, and Perplexity has shifted how people seek information, moving from keyword-based search to natural language synthesis.
In this new paradigm, users want to skip the list of websites and land straight on an answer to act upon.
LLMs compress the research phase. They summarise, compare, and recommend directly within the interface removing the need for consumers to embark on their own research journey.
The consumer consideration set is now being formed before a single brand domain is ever loaded.
The zero-click crisis: Who is losing the referral race?
The impact on brands is stark but nuanced. When LLMs provide a comprehensive summary, the incentive to click through to a source website evaporates.
Whilst “traffic erosion” is being experienced across a broad array of categories, it is most significant when users can get the information they’re seeking within the LLM interface.
According to BrightEdge analysis, information and utility based searches result in the highest zero-click rate (77-85%) as answers are provided within top-of-page AI summaries.
For example, across some of Nine’s publishing brands, including The Sydney Morning Herald and nine.com.au, search referrals have declined between 20 – 30% in the past 12 months as AI overviews provide audiences with an answer they were seeking. Thankfully, for these brands, most of their audience comes direct, with between 70 – 80% of session referrals starting directly with the brands.
This impact is now bleeding into high-consideration categories such as financial services, retail and travel. Categories that have arguably built a much greater reliance on search referrals.
The ability for LLMs to consolidate, synthesise and compare offerings will continue to materially disrupt the purchase journey as we’ve known it.
The path forward: brand saliency, trust and the data advantage
In a world where brands have limited control over seismic shifts occurring within search, where should we focus?
What are the strategies that remain consistent, effective and will ultimately benefit how we navigate the changing landscape of customer referral?
1. Invest in brand saliency: The mental shortcut
In a zero-click world, the only way to guarantee traffic is through direct navigation.
When users search for a specific brand rather than a generic category, they bypass the AI’s “recommendation engine” and go straight to the source.
Recent research from Nine and Kantar shows that brands excluding TV from their mix risk missing out on an average of 39% more total brand effects. High-reach, high-impact video across 9Now, Stan Sport and HBO Max builds the mental availability that ensures a brand is the one users specifically ask for – both in search bars and of LLMs.
When your search query provides you optionality in its response, you’re always most likely to start with the brand you’ve already heard of.
Brands with high saliency are not just the ones consumers will gravitate toward, they are also significantly more likely to be featured in AI Overviews as the “definitive” recommendation.
2. Integration with trusted broadcasters & publishers: The “trust” moat
The IAB consistently finds that premium media delivers stronger brand lift and more meaningful attention than non-premium placements.
And the payoff is real: a decade of Kantar data shows brands with strong equity generate four times more value share than weaker brands.
High-quality content that drives trust, attention and memory also amplifies the cues AI relies on.
By integrating with Nine’s premium ecosystem, advertisers not only reap the advertising outcomes of premium media, they gain access to a “Trust Moat” that AI models prioritise. While brands face volatility from AI summaries and declining search referrals, Nine is a uniquely stable alternative powered by direct audiences and high-intent environments.
3. Leverage first-party data to build direct relationships
The ultimate defence against an algorithmic filter is a direct connection with your customer.
Brands, more than ever, need to prioritise collecting consented, relevant data on their consumers and use this to connect with them in trusted, influential environments.
The scale of this advantage at Nine is significant. With 22 million signed-in users across a unified data infrastructure, Nine provides advertisers with a direct line to nearly every Australian adult.
This ecosystem allows brands to engage with consumers in a logged-in, deterministic environment and measure the impact.
Know your consumer, know what matters to them and find ways to build familiarity, trust and connection so your brand becomes an active choice.
The new bottom line
We are moving from an era of efficiency to an era of effectiveness.
To survive The Great Decoupling, marketers must shift their gaze from the bottom of the funnel toward the foundations of brand-building.
Stop chasing the click; start building the destination.