The news sites lose traffic while Google’s panoramas replace traditional research

News sites lose traffic as Google AI Overviews replace traditional search scaled e1754380739410

In recent months, millions of people around the world have seen something new on top of their Google search results: summaries generated by the AI. These short responses, called artificial intelligence panoramas, appear automatically in response to many research, giving users a quick summary extracted from various online sources.

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While it is possible to hide these summaries, most people don’t do so. According to new research by the Pew Research CenterMany users are completely jumping the traditional list of connections. The data show that users presented with a summary of artificial intelligence are much less likely to click on the search results under it.

On the contrary, users who have not been shown a summary of artificial intelligence had twice the chances of clicking on the connections and exploring other sources. “Google users were less likely to click on the connections of the results when they visit the search pages with a summary of artificial intelligence compared to those without one,” Pew wrote, based on the data of over 900 participants who shared their navigation activities.

This change in behavior suggests growing trust in the summary of the AI, even if these summaries contain errors or lack reliable supply. Most “very rarely” users click on the connections provided in the Summary of the AI itself, said PEW. This means that fewer people are visiting the original sources, including news and websites that are based on web traffic to survive.

The most common sources for the summaries of Google AI have been Reddit, Wikipedia and YouTube, according to research. Government websites also appeared more frequently in the summary of the AI compared to traditional research results, while the presence of news sites was more or less the same in both formats.

The longest research queries, in particular those written as phrases or complete questions, were more likely to trigger summaries of artificial intelligence. Shorter research and two words were less likely to do it.

This change comes at a time when publishers are already under pressure. The updates of the Google algorithm in 2023 and 2024 have caused traffic to many websites of news that decrease abruptly. Some smaller stores, such as Gazete Duvar of Türkiye, were forced to close. Now, the scenery of the AI are offering another success to publishers who depend on SEO and advertising entrances.

The sites that offer information such as travel guides, health suggestions or product reviews have been particularly affected. According to similar data, organic research trafficking dropped by 55% between April 2022 and April 2025.

The Wall Street Journal He reported that HuffPost, the Washington Post and other important stores have seen a similar drop. In HuffPost, organic research trafficking is more than halved in three years. The New York Times’ The share of traffic from research on Google fell to 36.5% in April 2025. Initials cut 21% of his staff in May, blaming an acute and uncontrollable drop in research trafficking.

Nicholas Thompson, CEO of the Atlantic, believes this trend will worsen. “Google is changing from a search engine to a response engine,” he said to Wall Street Journal. He and other publishers are now focusing on the construction of direct relationships with readers instead of relying on Google.

Google claims that it still drives precious traffic on websites and that the people who click on the connections after reading the scenery of the AI tend to spend more time on those pages. But PEW’s data tell a different story. It shows that most users are satisfied with the AI summary and do not click on the original sources.

Wikipedia, Reddit and YouTube represented 15% of the sources in the summary. Government websites have been mentioned more often in summary than in traditional research results. The news sites were about 5% in both formats.

A worrying case involves 404 media, a site that covers the technology and culture of the Internet. He discovered that a story that published on the assisted musical production from the AI did not have in the Google search results. The content had been summarized in an overview of the AI, but the summary did not return to the original history.

“The OI panoramic guarantees that the information is presented in such a way that the source itself is never clicked,” said the site.

This is also remodeling the way the optimization of search engines works. According to the register, click-Through rates for the high-level result in the searches with AI panoramic panoramic decreased by an average of 34.5%. Being classified on the first page no longer guarantees visibility or traffic.

There is another problem: reliability. The summary of artificial intelligence can be inaccurate-and sometimes even mention other contents generated by the AI. In one case, 404 Average reported that a Google summary was built on another response generated by the AI, which in turn was based on the material of origin of the AI. Experts say that this creates a cycle of recycled and low quality information, which can possibly degrade the quality of artificial intelligence systems themselves.

When reliable sources no longer get traffic and poor content circulate more easily, users are left with a summary that can be incorrect, vague or missing.

At the center of this issue is advertising and most of the websites offer free content and earn money from the announcements shown to readers. Google sends users to these sites, where they can view ads. But if people remain on Google – Read the OI’s overview and do not click on anything – the websites lose traffic and revenue.

Research guides a large part of the internet activity. The BBC reports that about 68% of the Internet sessions start with a search engine and 90% of these take place on Google. That domain has shaped the way publishers earn money. Now, the sums of the AI could break that system.

However, Google is not losing money. In fact, Alphabet, Google’s parent company, recorded record revenue at the end of 2024 This is partly due to the fact that the announcements are now inserted inside or close to the scenery of the AI.

A sparktoro study discovered that by 2024, only 36% of Google searches in the United States led to clicks on non -Google websites. As AI’s summaries spread, that number could be further reduced.

While Google remains dominant, alternatives such as perplexity-a research engine based on artificial intelligence-space starting to gain ground. According to the Bank of America Analyst Muhammad Rasulnejat, investments from $ 14 billion in Google in infrastructure last quarter show “despair in front of the competition”, not only increasing demand.

In addition to the pressure is the antitrust case under the United States Department of Justice against Google. The Doj is pushing that the company sells its Chrome browser, citing monopolistic behavior. Google in Ai and advertising moves could only deepen control in the coming months.

(Photo of Christian Wiediger)

See also: Google launches the web guide: a bet on the results edited by artificial intelligence

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Tag: Advertising, AI, Customer experience, data, Google, Research, Website

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