AI and government websites: threats and opportunities
AI users visit fewer government websites
SIDN was a partner at the ECP Annual Festival on Thursday 20 November. At the event, our Marketing Manager for the .nl domain, Michiel Henneke, presented the results of a survey carried out for us by GfK. The study looked at the correlation between AI use and visits to websites in general and government websites in particular. Is AI a threat to the government’s public information activities? If so, what can the government do about it? The results are summarised below.
AI’s meteoric rise
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing the way we find and use information. For many years, the internet has been all about search engines and URLs typed into browsers. But now we’re seeing a major shift. AI tools such as ChatGPT give users direct answers, so they don’t need to go to a website for the information they need. Between September 2023 and September 2025, the use of AI tools skyrocketed in all age groups. More than half of all Dutch people now use an AI tool at least once a month.
Figure 1: use of AI tools by age group 2023 – 2025 (source: GFK GXL) .
From search engine to AI assistant
Traditionally, an internet search ended at a website. That was where you found information, made contact or performed your transaction. Search engines pointed the way, webshops were standalone destinations, and blogs were important sources of information and ideas. Nowadays things have changed. In more and more cases, your search engine answers your question without the need to look further. Meanwhile, social media is displacing blogs, and AI tools deliver usable information via self-contained interfaces. According to data gathered by GfK, the use of AI tools has shot up since 2023, especially amongst young people. ChatGPT is easily the dominant player, followed by Microsoft’s Copilot and Google’s Gemini.
AI users visit fewer government websites
So, what are the practical implications for the government? The research done for us by GfK shows a clear corelation between AI use and fewer visits to .nl domains, including all the main government domains. The drop-off is biggest amongst young people (aged 13 to 24) and mobile users. Nevertheless, overall government website visitor numbers are still going up slightly, driven mainly by older people who visit from laptops and PCs.
Should the government be worried?
What do changing user habits mean for the government? And do they represent a problem? The answer is complex. On the one hand, government websites remain the ultimate source and reference point. They serve as contact portals and they’re where you do essential things like submit your tax return. In fact, AI can make the government’s job easier by summarising and explaining complex information.
However, the less people visit the actual sources, the less control the government has on the information that people ultimately get. The government has no direct control over AI. And, although the EU has rules, there are few European alternatives to the main AI platforms, meaning a heavy dependency on non-European providers.
Opportunities for government
The challenge is clear: how do you make sure that reliable information remains accessible on an AI-driven internet? Governments can do various things:
Make open data and APIs available, so that AI tools compile answers from reliable information.
Optimise content for AI, e.g. by keeping the structure clear and the metadata up to date.
Work with (European) AI providers to integrate official sources.
Promote digital literacy so that people treat AI-compiled answers with caution.
AI is no passing fad. It represents a structural change in online behaviour. While its arrival doesn’t spell the end for government websites, it does mark the start of a new era, in which findability and reliability need to be rethought.
