Pipedrive, which makes sales management software, has announced a major restructuring that would cut nearly 70% of its workforce in Estonia, Journal du Net reports. In a letter published October 29, CEO Paulo Cunha said more small businesses are asking AI to recommend software, that the free traffic that fed the company's growth has dropped sharply, and that paid traffic bought to make up for it costs more. He also cited new expectations for the product and an organization that needs simplifying.
Journal du Net cautions that reducing the decision to a search effect would be an overstatement, but says the diagnosis on customer acquisition deserves attention. The outlet points to a Pew Research Center study published in July 2025: among US searches observed in March, a traditional result was clicked in 8% of visits that showed an AI summary, versus 15% without one, and links inside the summary were clicked in only 1% of those visits. Journal du Net notes the data measure neither causation nor the effect on sales.
The outlet says the question now applies directly to French companies since Google launched AI Overviews and AI Mode in France on July 22. It describes GEO, work aimed at improving a brand's presence in AI answers, but notes that Google says SEO fundamentals still apply to its AI features and no special optimization is needed to appear in them. Pipedrive wants to rely more on its product, brand and content, according to the report.