Google’s AI Overviews are killing traffic for publishers

Recent insights from a Wall Street Journal report reveal that Google's AI Overviews and other intelligent tools are significantly impacting traffic for news publishers. As users increasingly turn to chatbots for quick answers—often derived from publishers' original content without their consent—the necessity to click on traditional search results is diminishing. This shift is leading to a sharp decline in referrals to news websites, which are critical for maintaining high-quality journalism. Launched last year, Google's AI Overviews summarize search results, affecting traffic to various sites, including those focusing on travel, health, and product reviews. The anticipated introduction of AI Mode, Google's competitor to ChatGPT, is projected to exacerbate this issue by offering conversational responses with fewer links to external sources. For instance, data from Similarweb shows that traffic from organic search to The New York Times' desktop and mobile platforms dropped to 36.5% in April 2025, down from 44% just three years prior. While Google claims that its AI Overviews feature enhances overall search traffic, this may not hold true for news publishers. Industry leaders like The Atlantic and The Washington Post have acknowledged the urgent need to adapt their business models to address these challenges. Some publishers are exploring partnerships with AI firms to create new revenue opportunities. Notably, The Times recently secured a deal with Amazon to license its editorial content for training AI technologies, while several others, including The Atlantic, are collaborating with OpenAI. Additionally, AI startup Perplexity aims to share advertising revenue with publishers when its chatbot references their content in responses to user queries.