How AI Search Will Affect Charity Websites (and What To Do About It)
AI search is already changing how people find charities online. Tools such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity can answer questions directly without sending users to a charity's website.
- For charities, this means website traffic may fall even if more people are seeing your information.
- At the same time, organisations that provide accurate, trusted and useful content may become more visible than ever because AI systems increasingly recommend and cite reliable sources.
- Moreover, with the rapid growth of low quality AI generated web content (slop), misinformation/disinformation and scams
- Charities will increasingly struggle to be heard and.
- People increasingly less likely to believe or trust what they read online.
- Trust and authenticity have always been very important but we believe these will become critical in the near future.
The challenge for charities is no longer just ranking highly in search engines. Increasingly, it is becoming the trusted source that people and AI systems choose to use.
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Frequently Asked Questions About AI Search for Charities
How will AI affect charity websites?
AI search tools increasingly answer questions without sending people to websites. Many charities may see fewer website visitors, even when their content is being used by AI systems.
Will AI replace charity websites?
No. Charity websites remain essential for donations, volunteering, safeguarding, governance, impact reporting and supporter engagement. AI is changing how people find information, not eliminating the need for websites.
What is AI search?
AI search uses artificial intelligence to answer questions directly instead of simply displaying a list of website links. Examples include ChatGPT, Copilot, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews.
Will AI reduce traffic to charity websites?
Potentially, yes. People increasingly get answers directly from AI tools instead of clicking through to websites. Charities should focus on becoming trusted sources of information rather than relying solely on website visits.
How can charities appear in ChatGPT, Copilot and Google AI Overviews?
Create useful content, answer common questions, publish evidence of impact, maintain good SEO and earn mentions from trusted organisations. AI systems prefer information that is accurate, trustworthy and regularly updated.
What content works best in AI search?
Frequently asked questions, eligibility criteria, impact reports, guides, research, case studies and practical resources are all well suited to AI search.
Why are FAQs important?
FAQs answer the exact questions people ask. They are easy for search engines and AI systems to understand and often perform well in both traditional search and AI-generated answers.
Should charities still invest in SEO?
Yes. SEO remains important. Clear content, good website structure, accessibility and trust signals continue to help charities become more visible online.
What Does the Future of Charity Websites Look Like?
Google and other search providers are increasingly using AI to answer questions directly. This means fewer people finding your website through Google and other search engines and, potentially, impacting donations, volunteering and other calls to action you may have on your website. However, charity websites are unlikely to disappear. Instead, their role will change.
Think of your website less as a shop window and more as a trusted source of information feeding search engines, AI assistants, funders, supporters and fundraising platforms. A charity that provides clear, reliable and up-to-date information is far more likely to be recommended by AI systems.
What is the Agentic Web?
The agentic web is the next stage of the Internet. Instead of people browsing websites themselves, AI assistants will increasingly browse, compare options and take actions on their behalf. For example, someone might simply tell their AI assistant: "Donate £20 to a homelessness charity near me."
The AI may research, compare and present options before completing the donation. Whether this becomes widespread quickly or slowly remains uncertain, but charities should begin preparing now.
Why Does This Matter?
- Less website traffic - Supporters may get answers from AI systems without visiting your website.
- Greater importance of trust - AI systems are more likely to recommend organisations with accurate and verifiable information.
- Competition for visibility - If your charity is not easy for AI systems to understand, you may become less visible.
- More emphasis on data - Structured information, impact data and clear content become increasingly important.
AI Search Checklist for Charities
- Add FAQs to your website – answer the questions people ask most.
- Answer common questions in plain English – avoid jargon and technical language.
- Publish impact reports and evidence – show the difference your work makes.
- Keep contact information up to date – make it easy to contact you.
- Publish trustee and charity details – helps demonstrate transparency and trust.
- Build and grow your email list – stay connected with supporters directly.
- Create useful guides and resources – help people solve real problems.
- Get links and mentions from trusted organisations – build credibility and trust.
- Review website analytics regularly – see what's working and what's not.
- Add structured data (schema markup) – invisible code that helps search engines and AI understand your website.
- Update important content at least annually – keep information accurate and current.
Why Email Lists Matter More Than Ever
As AI search increases, fewer people may visit websites directly. Your charity does not own Google, Facebook, LinkedIn or ChatGPT.
You do own your email list. Newsletter subscribers are likely to become increasingly valuable because they allow you to communicate directly with supporters regardless of changes to search engines or AI platforms.
Keeping Charity Websites Safe from AI Bots and Automated Attacks
Not all bots are helpful. Some automated visitors to your website are legitimate. Google, Bing, ChatGPT, Copilot and other AI systems use bots to find and understand information on websites. However, charities may also encounter malicious bots designed to cause problems, steal information or exploit security weaknesses. Our
Charity Excellence Learning website has 11 free online charity AI courses (44% of learners rate these 10/10), including how to keep your charity, yourself and your people safe from AI attacks. Here's our guide to b
asic cyber security and
how to keep online meetings safe from AI attacks.
Common problems caused by malicious bots
- Copying website content - Some bots automatically copy articles, resources and training materials for use elsewhere without permission.
- Harvesting email addresses - Bots can collect email addresses from websites and use them for spam, phishing emails or scam attempts.
- Submitting spam through forms - Fake enquiries, event registrations and contact form submissions can waste staff and volunteer time.
- Password attacks - Some bots automatically try thousands of password combinations in an attempt to access website administration areas.
- Slowing down your website - Large volumes of automated traffic can make a website slow, unreliable or even unavailable to genuine visitors.
Practical steps every charity should take
- Keep your website up to date - If you use WordPress or other content management systems, regularly update plugins, themes and software. Many cyber attacks exploit known security weaknesses that have already been fixed by software providers.
- Use strong passwords and multi-factor authentication - Avoid simple passwords and enable multi-factor authentication wherever possible. This is one of the most effective ways to prevent unauthorised access.
- Make regular backups - If your website is hacked, corrupted or accidentally deleted, backups can allow it to be restored quickly.
- Monitor website traffic - Unexpected spikes in website traffic can sometimes indicate bot activity. Most website hosting services provide traffic statistics.
- Use a website protection service - Free and low-cost services such as Cloudflare can block many malicious bots before they reach your website, improving both security and performance.
- Protect online forms - Use CAPTCHA or similar tools to reduce spam enquiries and automated form submissions.
- Restrict access to administration areas - Only give website administration access to people who genuinely need it and remove access promptly when staff, volunteers or contractors leave.
- Check your website regularly - Visit your own website frequently and test important functions such as donation forms, booking systems and contact forms. Problems are often spotted first by users rather than technology.
The growing role of AI
As AI becomes more widely used, charities are likely to see increasing numbers of automated visitors to their websites. Some will be legitimate AI systems helping people find information. Others may be malicious or abusive.
The goal is not to block all bots. It is to make sure your website remains accessible to genuine visitors while protecting it from harmful automated activity.
Simple rule of thumb
If your charity only does three things:
- Keep your website plugins and themes updated.
- Use multi-factor authentication.
- Make regular backups.
you will be better protected than many small organisations.
What Actions Should We Take to Future Proof Our Charity Website?
Immediate Priorities (Do These in the Next 6 Months)
These are low-cost actions that almost every charity can take now.
- Review your website and make sure key information is easy to find.
- Add FAQs that answer the questions people regularly ask by phone, email and social media.
- Check that contact details, trustee information and service information are up to date.
- Make sure your Charity Commission information is accurate and matches your website.
- Add clear information about your impact, achievements and beneficiaries.
- Start collecting email newsletter sign-ups if you don't already.
- Ensure your website works properly on mobile phones.
- Add structured data (schema markup) if possible. This is invisible code that helps search engines and AI systems understand your website.
Success looks like: people can quickly understand what your charity does, who it helps and how to contact you.
Short to Medium Term Priorities (Over the Next 6-18 Months)
These actions will help AI systems understand and recommend your charity.
- Publish annual reports, impact reports and case studies online.
- Create dedicated pages explaining your services, projects and outcomes.
- Publish information in consistent formats that can be easily understood by search engines and AI systems.
- Strengthen your reputation and brand by obtaining mentions and links from trusted organisations, funders, councils and partner organisations.
- Develop a regular programme of website updates and content creation.
- Track which pages attract visitors and enquiries.
- Explore tools that make it easier for other websites, search engines and AI systems to access information about your charity.
Success looks like: your charity is increasingly found through search engines, AI tools and recommendations from trusted organisations.
Longer Term Priorities (Over the Next 2-5 Years)
Some of these changes may happen gradually, but they are likely to become increasingly important.
- Position your website as a trusted source of information, evidence and transparency.
- Make key information easy for AI assistants to find and understand.
- Explore ways for people to donate, volunteer or register through systems connected to your website.
- Develop services that work effectively with voice assistants, AI assistants and future fundraising platforms.
- Implement AI governance and ethical controls so staff, volunteers and trustees know how AI should be used safely and responsibly.
- Monitor developments in AI fundraising and agentic services.
Success looks like: your charity remains visible and trusted even if people increasingly use AI assistants instead of visiting websites directly.
Don't Panic
The internet is not going to change overnight. For most charities, the best use of time right now is simply:
- Keep website information accurate.
- Add useful FAQs.
- Publish evidence of your impact.
- Build your email list.
- Make sure your website is secure and regularly updated.
If you do those five things well, you'll already be ahead of many organisations.
What is Agentic Fundraising?
Agentic fundraising is fundraising supported by AI assistants.
Instead of visiting charity websites, supporters may increasingly ask AI systems to identify causes, recommend charities and facilitate donations.
To prepare for this future, charities should ensure their information is accurate, trustworthy and accessible both to people and to AI systems.
Other Charity Website Resources
Key Takeaway
The goal is no longer simply to get people to visit your website. Increasingly, the goal is to become the trusted source that Google, ChatGPT, Copilot, Perplexity and future AI assistants choose to recommend, cite and use.
Charities that provide clear answers, trustworthy information, strong evidence of impact and a good user experience are likely to be the organisations that benefit most from the next wave of change.
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