Charities, nonprofit risk being bypassed by AI: expert

Amar, the founder of UK-based consultancy Zoe Amar Digital, says the sector must urgently adapt to the rise of “disintermediation”, in which AI tools and search summaries act as go-betweens for people seeking information.

The trend can effectively leave charities invisible to those searching for them online.

“Disintermediation is when AI changes how the people who charities support … receive advice and …[changes how they] seek it,” she said.

“For example, this could [involve] someone diagnosed with a mental health condition who relies on advice from an AI summary on Google, rather than clicking through to a charity website. It could also mean that person seeking advice directly from AI tools such as ChatGPT or Gemini about how to support their mental health.

“All of this means that, for many charities, less people are clicking through to their websites and getting the support they need at the right time. And it’s not just people who need support who are affected. This change means that it’s a lot harder to get people over to your website to donate.”

Amar said that recent studies suggested that just one in 10 people click on website links after reading an AI-generated summary, posing a direct threat to traffic, donations and trust.

To respond, she says, NFPs must go back to basics. “Talk to the people you need to reach. You need to find out what people are asking for and how they’re asking it.

“Charities need to map the real queries their audiences use, not just what they assume people should be searching for. Solid user research is the answer.”

Amar recommends charities:

• audit their content so AI systems can find, understand and “surface” authoritative information
• strengthen their visibility in large language models (LLMs) to ensure their “authoritative voice is represented in the training data”
• publish expert content across multiple trusted platforms, such as industry publications and the media
• invest in direct channels such as email lists and customer relationship management systems so they can reach people without AI “intermediaries”.

The risks, she warns, go beyond falling visitor numbers.

“When people get information from AI summaries instead of visiting your website directly, you lose control over your messaging and miss out on valuable first-party data about your audience.

“Charities’ decades of expertise risk being diluted or misrepresented by systems that might pull from unreliable sources. The fundamental threat is to trust in our sector.”

She argues NFPs must diversify their online presence, integrate search engine optimisation (SEO) with social media strategies, and “build relationships that don’t depend on search algorithms”.

“This sounds daunting but it's about creativity, diversification and understanding your audience – all things that charities are good at,” Amar said.

Amar said disintermediation was a symptom of a structural shift in the digital economy, and charities and NFPs needed to adapt.

“We've seen a lot of changes to the digital ecosystem over the last few years, but this is the most disruptive one yet. The ecosystem has fundamentally shifted, and strategies that worked even two years ago may not be effective today.”

She said this meant charities should:

• optimise their content specifically for AI discovery
• consider how AI systems understand and categorise information
• ensure consistency across all digital touchpoints to ensure their expertise was “easily digestible” by AI systems
• consider how content appeared in AI overviews and search summaries.

“The goal isn't to fight the technology, but to ensure your vital work remains accessible to those who need it most,” she said.

More information

UK Charity Digital Skills report | ‘AI essentials’ video resources