The introduction of AI-generated summaries in search results is causing a major drop in website traffic for news outlets, raising serious concerns about the future of online journalism. Recent findings show that search engines displaying AI summaries above traditional links could slash traffic to news sites by as much as 79%. This shift is prompting increasing alarm within the media industry, which relies heavily on search referrals to maintain readership and revenue.
AI Overviews now provide users with concise responses to queries directly on the search page, often summarizing key points from external articles. While this feature may enhance user convenience, it significantly reduces the need to click through to the original source, thereby undercutting the very platforms that produce the content. As a result, media companies are warning of a potential existential crisis if search engines continue to deprioritize link visibility in favor of AI-generated responses.
Analysis has revealed that links to platforms owned by the search engine’s parent company are often prioritized over independent news sources, further skewing traffic distribution. Data from a separate survey suggests that for every 100 queries shown with an AI overview, users only clicked on a link once highlighting just how much user engagement has dropped.
The decline in clickthrough rates is already being felt by online publishers, with some reporting up to a 56% decrease in desktop traffic and nearly 50% on mobile when AI summaries are present. Yet, the company behind the AI Overviews insists that its tools drive overall traffic and that the studies pointing to dramatic drops are flawed and unrepresentative.
Despite these assurances, media organizations and advocacy groups are pushing for regulatory intervention. They argue that these developments amount to digital enclosure, where search engines benefit from journalistic content without adequately supporting the creators behind it. Concerns have been raised over a lack of transparency, with repeated refusals to share data needed to assess the impact of these changes.
Industry stakeholders warn that unless urgent action is taken, the long-term consequences could be dire potentially leading to the erosion of quality journalism and the proliferation of unchecked information online. Calls for regulatory authorities to step in are growing louder, as the debate over AI’s role in news distribution intensifies.
