How will AI tools affect online giving?

Donors are increasingly using generative AI tools to search for nonprofits to support, which could negatively affect online giving, a report from Blue State warns. Based on analyses of traffic data on 24 nonprofit websites and responses to a donor survey, Brand Discovery in the age of AI suggests organizations could lose both online revenue and future donors. 

Candid insights asked Chris Maddocks, head of integrated strategy at Blue State, about what this means for nonprofits and how they can secure online giving going forward. 

Drop in organic search traffic puts online giving at risk

Organic search via search engines were the third most common way survey respondents discovered organizations to support—behind word of mouth and social media—and accounted for over 40% of total traffic. Between January and October 2025, however, organic search traffic referred by search engines fell 35% from the same period last year, due largely to increased use of Google AI Overview (which often does not result in the user clicking through to a website) and AI tools such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Copilot.  

In December 2024, organic search accounted for more than a third of nonprofit website traffic and nearly 30% of annual online revenue, so this decline could significantly affect year-end fundraising.  

“AI Overviews could result in both fewer individuals donating and fewer individuals signing up to learn more or receive newsletters,” said Maddocks. A conservation organization saw a 50% drop in organic search because people who use AI to get specific information often don’t make it to the website or sign up to learn more. “So, there is both an immediate loss in revenue and a reduction in donor pipeline of prospects.” 

The good news is that branded search (a search query that includes the organization’s name) and search ads (like Google ads) don’t generate AI Overviews, so traffic will be less affected in those areas.  

How fast is AI use to search for nonprofits growing? 

Currently, 4.5% of 1,728 surveyed donors use AI to find and research causes to support. For the nonprofit websites in the study, AI-driven traffic made up just 2% of total volume between January and October 2025. Yet, that’s a 1000% increase year-over-year. Maddocks noted Statista estimates the number of AI users globally grew by 120 million between 2020 and 2024. And AI-based companies have recently announced integrations that would allow users to make purchases—and eventually, donations—directly, without visiting an ecommerce website.  

“As we see [these] integrations that allow people to make a transaction directly in these tools—there is a sea change coming for the nonprofit sector,” he said, “and I fear that we’ve spent too much time thinking about internal processes and not enough time thinking about how our donors discover causes in the first place.” 

How do AI tools affect online giving behavior? 

How do nonprofit website visitors referred by AI tools differ from organic search visitors referred by search engines? Here’s what the 2025 data shows: 

When they do visit nonprofit websites, AI-driven visitors spend more time there. On average, AI visitors stayed more than 70% longer on the sites than other visitors, including organic search visitors, likely due to “a difference in visitor intent.” A 2025 study found 68% of generative AI users are looking to explore or learn about a topic, surveying the landscape on different subjects and organizations. So, Maddocks hypothesized, when they finally visit an AI-recommended website, they’re ready to do “a deep dive—exploring the specifics of an organization’s impact and mission.” 

AI visitors are less likely to donate right away—for now. Despite spending more time on site, their average donation rate is about one-eighth of the average across all traffic sources. “Donors are doing research without the intent to give at that moment. Overall, we do not yet believe that the public turns to AI when they want to” make a purchase or a donation, Maddocks explained. “As the AI commerce functionality increases, we expect people…will research, plan, and [make a donation]. As that happens, we expect the donate rates will increase.” 

When AI visitors did give, their average gift size was $250, on par with the $254 average among organic search donors and higher than the $210 average for all non-AI search visitors, including direct traffic and traffic from organic search, emails, and ads.

What can nonprofits do, given how AI tools affect online giving? 

Faced with a significant drop in organic search visitors, who drive year-end online revenue, how can nonprofits maximize visibility and reach new donors? The report recommends optimizing websites and content for AI models to read and interpret easily, as well as developing a multi-channel strategy focused on platforms AI tools prioritize, including blogs and social media. Large organizations that have relied on organic search as a high-volume traffic source should definitely do a strategy review, Maddocks noted. 

“For smaller organizations, change doesn’t need to be disruptive,” he said. “Simple changes to website content, like adding more quotes and featuring data points on impact, can make a tremendous difference. For example, many organizations post PDFs to their website, but the stories, data points, and quotes are the type of content the AI platforms rely upon.” Ensuring a mobile optimized website and accessibility best practices can also make a big difference. 

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