Impact of AI on Online Publishers

Some websites are feeling the crunch from the rise of chatbots and Google’s new “AI Overview” feature. As users increasingly rely on these tools for information, the need to click on links has dropped significantly, leading to a decline in traffic for many online publishers.

Chatbots are changing the landscape of Google searches, adversely affecting the website visits for various online content creators. This trend was highlighted in a recent report.

Last year, Google launched the “AI Overview” feature, which appears prominently at the top of search results, providing quick summaries of information users seek.

With AI tools delivering fast responses to queries, it seems likely that users may opt to stick with these tools rather than navigate to websites that used to offer a range of tips—from vacation ideas to health advice and product reviews.

Even news organizations are seeing drops in online traffic, particularly among more progressive outlets that had previously benefited from Google’s algorithms.

For example, in the past three years, mobile traffic from HuffPost’s desktop and organic search has fallen by over half. Similar trends have been noted at the Washington Post, which has seen declines in its web traffic as well, according to industry analytics.

In another instance, the New York Times’ organic search traffic on both desktop and mobile dropped to 36.5% in April 2025, a significant decline from nearly 44% just three years prior.

Notably, Business Insider cut around 21% of its workforce last month, as CEO Barbara Peng stated the need to address what she described as “extreme traffic problems.” Their site saw a 55% drop in organic search traffic from April 2022 to April 2025.

Earlier this year, Atlantic’s CEO Nicholas Thompson expressed concerns during a company meeting that traffic from Google might dwindle to nothing, stressing the urgency for a new business strategy.

“Google is shifting from a search engine to an answer engine,” Thompson remarked. “We must devise new strategies.”

Recently, Google also introduced AI features in the U.S. market, aiming to compete with popular chatbots like ChatGPT.

It looks like news outlets are now in a position to boost their influence in the AI landscape, particularly as they respond to challenges similar to those faced by other organizations in previous years, emphasizing the need for adaptation in a rapidly changing digital environment.