Media executives have warned that Google's increasing use of artificial intelligence in search results is causing an 'existential crisis' for online news publishers, as traffic referrals plummet and AI companies use their content without compensation.
Jon Slade, chief executive of the Financial Times, revealed at a recent media conference that his website had experienced a 'pretty sudden and sustained' decline of 25% to 30% in traffic from search engines. Google accounts for more than 90% of the search market, and its AI Overviews – which summarise answers at the top of results pages – often eliminate the need for users to click through to original articles.
DMG Media, owner of the Daily Mail, reported that AI Overviews have reduced click-through traffic to its sites by up to 89%. The Guardian Media Group and the Professional Publishers Association have urged the Competition and Markets Authority to force Google to provide traffic statistics from its AI features as part of an investigation into the company's market dominance.
Publishers claim they are being pressured to accept deals on how their content is used in AI Overviews and AI Mode, or risk being excluded from search results entirely. Concerns also persist over AI accuracy, with 'hallucinations' and bias remaining issues despite improvements. Apple recently faced criticism after an AI feature incorrectly summarised BBC news alerts on iPhones.
Google's head of search, Liz Reid, defended the changes, stating that AI in search is 'driving more queries and quality clicks'. However, she acknowledged that shifting user trends are causing 'decreased traffic to some sites and increased traffic to others'.
