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Google’s AI‑driven overviews are cutting website traffic for hundreds of reputable sites. Recent research has revealed that the number has dropped to almost half in just one year. Last year, Google introduced AI Overviews, a feature that shows an AI-generated result summary at the top of most search results.
This has transformed online search by summarizing web content directly on the results page. While it has made things easier for users, websites are facing a significant negative impact from the Google AI Search feature, as readers have stopped clicking on publisher websites.
Therefore, what started as a user-friendly innovation soon transformed into a threat to the traditional web economy.
In May 2024, Google’s AI Overviews initiated a new experience for millions of US users. Emerging from its Search Generative Experience (SGE), it offers users concise, synthesized answers atop search results, with sources cited for the summary. As days passed, the impact of this feature became increasingly prevalent in the digital economy, and recent studies have highlighted it more prominently.
A Pew study analyzed data from 900 U.S. adults, revealing that users click on the source websites only 8% of the time when they receive these AI search summaries, a substantial drop from 15% when there was no summary. Furthermore, it highlights that only 1% of users click on the links that accompany the summaries. This decline has impacted the traffic of publishers, accelerating the trend of zero-click search.
In response to the massive traffic down problem, independent publishers have filed antitrust complaints to EU regulators, stating that Google is using their content without proper recompense and that’s abusive.
During Google AI Overview launch, the tech giant mentioned, “AI Overviews help people get to the gist of a complicated topic or question more quickly and provide a jumping off point to explore links to learn more….” The company initially hoped that AI Overviews would help users navigate “a greater diversity of websites for help with more complex questions.” In reality, the situation is unfolding completely differently.
Also Read: Google AI Overviews Set for Major Global Expansion to Over 100 Countries
Over the years, digital strategy has shifted from Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) to Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). While AEO focuses on structuring content to appear within AI summaries, GEO emphasizes citations in responses from LLMs like Google’s Gemini. Still, established websites with good optimization have been suffering because users are opting for zero-click searches to satisfy their needs.
The convenience of instant summaries is creating deeper issues. Summaries can give users a gist of the content, but relying on them every time can limit their exposure to authentic reports and diverse opinions that established publishers provide. Therefore, this trend is leading the way more toward homogenizing knowledge and reducing the curiosity for investigative journalism.
It appears to be a simple click economy issue, but the problem is much deeper. The zero-click search is creating a crisis in the content ecosystem. Google AI Search impacts and alters the entire traditional information flow. The tech behemoth’s promise of convenience is coming at the expense of publisher viability, content diversity, and a healthy web.
Indeed, publishers should evolve, but they also need structural safeguards. Without proper actions, the web risks are only inclining towards cheating and chaos. Therefore, innovation should be there to evolve AI platforms, but that must not overshadow or dismantle traditional, authentic journalism.
Also Read: How Google's AI Views People and Their Search Results
