The digital publishing industry is facing serious consequences from Google’s implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) summaries. Data shows that search traffic on some publisher sites has fallen by up to 25 percent, raising concerns within the industry.

AI summaries could kill publishing

A survey conducted by Digital Content Next (DCN) shows that brands representing major publishers such as The New York Times, Bloomberg, Fox News Digital, and NBC News have experienced an average 10 percent year-over-year decline in traffic from Google Search. Analysis shows that non-news brands, in particular, have experienced a 14 percent decline in the last eight weeks, while news brands have experienced a 7 percent decline.

Google’s AI summaries, which launched in 2023 and expanded to a wider audience in May 2024, are also changing user behavior. According to one study, only 8 percent of users click on links when they see AI summaries.

In traditional search results, this figure is 15 percent. Additionally, 26 percent of users end their searches at an AI summary. This figure is 16 percent for traditional search results.

Search engine traffic is vital for both large and small publishers. Most publishers on the web rely on advertising revenue generated from traffic. This decline in revenue could lead to a much narrower control of news and information in the long run.

The DCN has made several demands of Google to protect publishers. These include auditable sharing of AI summary clickstream data, the ability for publishers to prevent their content from being used in AI responses, and fair licensing agreements. The agency emphasizes that these demands are not requests for special treatment, but rather a call to protect the integrity of the open web.

Despite the traffic decline experienced by publishers, Google has a different perspective. The company argues that AI summaries increase “high-quality clicks” rather than decreasing clicks and that users stay on the site longer. Google states that overall organic click volume remained stable year-over-year.