Google’s AI search changes upended online publishing
News Source
•2026-10-25T08:00:00-04:00
📰 What Happened
Google now puts an AI-written summary at the top of many searches. The feature, called AI Overviews, launched in 2024. Links to the sites it used sit below the summary.
Many people read the answer and never click through. Traffic to news sites has fallen since. One analysis found search traffic to The New York Times dropped from 44% to 35.5% in three years.
Publisher DMG Media told UK regulators that click-through rates fell by up to 89% between June and July 2025.
🔍 The Backstory
For years Google and publishers helped each other. Sites filled Google's index with content, and Google sent readers back. Search engine optimisation grew into a whole industry built on that deal.
In 2025 Google launched AI Mode, a chat-style search that answers questions directly. Google says the web is thriving and clicks are fairly stable.
Pew Research found people are less likely to click a link when they see an AI summary. Some publishers have sued. Most of those cases have failed so far.
🎯 Why It Matters
If readers stop visiting news sites, the ads and subscriptions that pay for journalism dry up. That changes what news you can read for free.
Google now puts an AI-written summary at the top of many searches. The feature, called AI Overviews, launched in 2024. Links to the sites it used sit below the summary.
Many people read the answer and never click through. Traffic to news sites has fallen since. One analysis found search traffic to The New York Times dropped from 44% to 35.5% in three years.
Publisher DMG Media told UK regulators that click-through rates fell by up to 89% between June and July 2025.
For years Google and publishers helped each other. Sites filled Google's index with content, and Google sent readers back. Search engine optimisation grew into a whole industry built on that deal.
In 2025 Google launched AI Mode, a chat-style search that answers questions directly. Google says the web is thriving and clicks are fairly stable.
Pew Research found people are less likely to click a link when they see an AI summary. Some publishers have sued. Most of those cases have failed so far.
If readers stop visiting news sites, the ads and subscriptions that pay for journalism dry up. That changes what news you can read for free.