1/ Search traffic is collapsing.
Googleβs new AI Overviews now answer user queries directly in searchβno click required.
π Global search traffic has dropped 15% in the past year, according to Similarweb.
2/ The click is dying.
Pew reports that only 1% of users click on links in Googleβs AI summaries.
External news sites are getting buriedβand fewer users are visiting original sources.
3/ For news publishers, this is existential.
Ad revenue depends on traffic. If no one clicks, no one earns.
Searches ending with no clicks jumped from 56% to 69% since AI Overviews launched.
4/ Publishers are fighting back.
The Independent Publishers Alliance filed an antitrust complaint with the EU.
Their claim: Googleβs AI Overviews harm competition and kill revenue.
5/ Meanwhile, Google is doubling down.
New features include:
β’ AI Mode
β’ Audio Overviews
β’ Web Guide
All designed to summarize contentβreducing the need to visit actual sources.
6/ And Googleβs not alone.
OpenAI and Perplexity are building AI-powered search tools.
The race to dominate the βanswer engineβ era has begunβleaving traditional media behind.
7/ But hereβs the irony...
Google still depends on quality journalism to fuel its AI.
Now itβs seeking licensing deals with publishersβafter years of avoiding them.
8/ The 'Offerwall' experiment.
Google's new tool lets publishers monetize through:
β Pay-per-article
β Ads
β Surveys
Early days, but results are uncertain.
8/ The 'Offerwall' experiment.
Google's new tool lets publishers monetize through:
β Pay-per-article
β Ads
β Surveys
Early days, but results are uncertain.
9/ Publishers are adapting.
Many are shifting strategies to reduce Google dependence:
π¬ Newsletters
π± Subscriptions
π§ Community + Events
Survival now means owning your audience.
#AudienceEngagement #MediaStrategy #SubscriptionModel #Newsletters
10/ The bottom line?
Google isnβt just a search engineβitβs now an answer engine.
As The Atlanticβs CEO put it: βThe click is no longer the unit of journalism.β
11/ The tension between tech platforms and journalism is escalating.
AI makes search easierβbut breaks the economics of truth. Will journalism survive the Traffic Apocalypse?
Source ππ»