Publishers are well-accustomed to Google’s acquainted PR playbook — providing placating guarantees of extra site visitors and better-quality clicks to defuse backlash at any time when it rolls out main search adjustments, even because the numbers typically inform a special story. With Google AI Overviews, it’s no totally different.
Google has sought to quell writer fears over the impression of AI Overviews on their search site visitors in the previous couple of weeks, with Liz Reid, vp and head of Google Search, writing an intensive weblog submit stating that third-party efforts to measure the impression of AI overviews on referral site visitors “inaccurately counsel dramatic declines in mixture site visitors.”
However publishers have seen this film earlier than. New writer information reinforces the extra acquainted sample: search referral site visitors is declining 12 months over 12 months.
Digital Content material Subsequent (DCN), which counts the New York Instances, Condé Nast and Vox amongst its roughly 40 member corporations, checked in with 19 of them between Could and June to see what was taking place to their Google search referral site visitors. The upshot: Google AI Overviews is certainly harming writer site visitors.
Natural search referral site visitors from Google is declining broadly, with nearly all of DCN member websites — spanning each information and leisure — experiencing site visitors losses from Google search between 1% and 25%. Twelve of the respondent corporations have been information manufacturers, and 7 have been non-news.
Over eight weeks in Could and June 2025, the median Google Search referral was down virtually each week, with losses outpacing good points two-to-one. For the seven non-news manufacturers within the survey, the downward slope was regular and unbroken.
Throughout the eight weeks, the median YoY decline in referred site visitors from Google Search was -10% general, -7% for information manufacturers, and -14% for non-news manufacturers, per the outcomes.
Jason Kint, CEO of DCN, harassed that these losses are a direct consequence of Google AI Overviews, as many publishers claimed of their responses. The most recent information gives a “floor fact” of what’s truly taking place, chopping via Google’s obscure claims about “high quality clicks,” made in its newest submit, he added. “I believe all publishers are ignoring Google’s submit. However this most likely helps floor that,” added Kint.
The findings come shortly after a latest Pew survey of 900 U.S. customers discovered that AI summaries are making customers much less more likely to click on via to hyperlinks.
In the meantime U.Ok. commerce physique Skilled Publishers Affiliation introduced on Thursday that it has submitted proof and suggestions to the Competitors and Markets Authority (CMA) on how Google’s AI options in search are harming publishers.
The PPA maintains that Google holds 93% of the U.Ok. search market and that AI Overviews and the U.Ok. launch of AI Mode on July 28, are shifting consumer conduct towards zero-click outcomes and away from supply websites. AIOs have additionally expanded into Google Uncover, which is decreasing sources to citations relatively than clicks, mentioned a spokesperson.
Many manufacturers report 10 to 25 % year-over-year CTR declines even the place rankings are secure, per its proof, which it has gathered from members, which embrace Condé Nast, Future, Instant Media and Hearst Magazines. The PPA pointed to a way of life writer member, which shared information on a well-liked search question “how you can do away with [insect].” It discovered that regardless of nonetheless rating on web page one and impressions remaining comparatively regular, the CTR fell sharply from 5.1 % to 0.6 % over the previous 12 months.
The PPA additionally cited related drops from an automotive content material writer, which noticed a 25 % drop in site visitors to articles rating first in natural search regardless of a 7% enhance in search visibility. And over the identical interval, CTR declined from 2.75 % to 1.71 %, per the proof submitted.
Hope within the type of Division of Justice treatments
There’s some hope on the horizon, within the type of a pending treatments order from Choose Amit Mehta within the Division of Justice’s Google Search antitrust case. Baked into the quite a few proposals being waded via is one core one, which, if it have been to be granted, can be large information for publishers: the proposed separation of Google’s AI bot crawler from its search crawler, mentioned Kint.
At the moment, publishers can’t block Google’s AI crawler with out disappearing off the search index totally, so until a DOJ mandate comes via forcing Google to vary this, publishers are considerably caught in a holding sample.
The decide might problem an injunction requiring instant motion relatively than ready for an attraction, harassed Kint. Sometimes, the DoJ would want to indicate that irreparable hurt is going on and that it’s more likely to succeed on attraction. “Visitors is down double digits with some publishers, in order that hurt is going on in actual time.” A ruling might drive Google to offer the selection and separate the providers immediately, which might be a major transfer, he added.
European publishers are additionally pushing for EU regulators to take swift motion on the identical problem with Google AI Overviews, claiming the that AI Overviews is having a detrimental impact on impartial publishers’ websites, and that the shortcoming to choose out of Google’s AI crawler with out dropping off search rankings is inflicting irreparable hurt. Google nonetheless maintains that lots of the claims made about site visitors from search are “extremely incomplete.” A spokesperson for Google didn’t instantly return a request for touch upon this story.
Preventative methods
Publishers have a protracted historical past of adapting to Google’s adjustments, studying to navigate algorithm shifts, product updates, and new options whereas discovering methods to keep up site visitors and income.
Many have lengthy argued that staying on prime of breaking information and sustaining high-quality journalism is essential to performing nicely on AI-driven platforms. search engine optimization practices nonetheless matter, and 5 publishing execs just lately advised Digiday they’re not falling for hype round GEO and leaping to change up their strategies. Others are being extra proactive with adapting their search engine optimization methods.
Associated Insights
Jess Sholtz, advertising and marketing advisor and former CMO for Ringer Media, a Swiss-headquartered media group, the place she led AI technique, agrees that core search engine optimization technique shouldn’t change. “[AI summary platforms like] ChatGPT aren’t increase a big index, it’s RAG-ing on present indexes,” she mentioned “When you’re not within the [search engine] index you possibly can’t be within the [AI summary] quotation and also you fail at that first level.”
RAG stands for Retrieval-Augmented Era, and is a means of mixing conventional search with AI textual content era. As a substitute of the AI making an attempt to memorize all data in its mannequin, it retrieves related information from an exterior supply or “index” after which generates a solution primarily based on that retrieved data.
Sholtz is adamant that each one publishers can guarantee they’re forward of potential future site visitors knocks however that smaller, much less well-known titles mustn’t neglect the significance of investing of their branding.
Prior to now, rating on the prime of Google search supplied a type of built-in credibility, even when the consumer didn’t know the writer, she harassed. However with AI-driven interfaces like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews, that computerized belief has eroded. With out clear model indicators, even high quality content material struggles to generate clicks and engagement, shifting the main target from pure editorial energy to a mixture of content material, model recognition, and consumer belief, added Sholz.
“On these new AI surfaces, being the highest quotation doesn’t have that very same ‘oh it’s rating so I belief it — it’s nice,’ issue,” she mentioned. “And so branding is that first pillar that’s coming in much more as a result of somebody isn’t going to blindly simply click on that prime quotation.”
Over the past two years, Sholz helped lead a strategic change throughout Ringier Media, which centered on making use of new assets to branding and tech to assist help with these challenges amongst its lesser-known titles, she added, although she wasn’t in a position to enter additional element with out log off from the media group.
