AI Overviews Blamed For Loss Of Traffic To News Sites

Since Google introduced its AI Overviews feature in May 2024, major news websites have experienced significant declines in web traffic, with some reporting drops of up to 40% or more.

This feature, which provides AI-generated summaries at the top of search results, often answers user queries directly, reducing the need to click through to original news sites. 

According to data from  cited by The Wall Street Journal, organic search traffic to HuffPost has fallen by over 50% in the past three years, with a similar decline at The Washington Post. Business Insider reported a 55% drop in organic search traffic from April 2022 to April 2025, leading to a 21% staff reduction in May 2025, with CEO Barbara Peng citing "extreme traffic drops outside of our control." 

Other reports, such as from The New York Post, indicate that some top news sites have seen traffic decreases of around 40% due to Google's AI-driven search changes.

The shift from traditional link-based search results to an "answer engine" model, where AI provides concise summaries, has disrupted the referral traffic that news publishers rely on for revenue. A Semrush study of 10,000 informational keywords found that AI Overviews significantly reduced both organic and paid click-through rates, with Moz research estimating organic traffic losses ranging from 18% to 64% for informational content sites. 

The Daily Mail’s vice chair, Rich Caccappolo, noted that AI Overviews are "unraveling the traffic" that supports digital revenue models. Some publishers, like DotDash Meredith, are preparing for a "Google Zero" scenario, anticipating further traffic declines as AI tools dominate search.

While Google claims AI Overviews drive "higher-quality" traffic, with users spending more time on sites they visit, they have not provided data to support this. Posts on X and various reports, including from The Atlantic and TechCrunch, highlight the broader impact, with newsrooms facing layoffs and forced to rethink digital strategies. For instance, a niche publication editor reported a traffic drop from 100,000 to 60,000 daily visits after AI Overviews were introduced. 

However, some analyses, like one from GSQi, suggest AI search currently drives less than 1% of traffic to most sites, indicating the immediate impact might be overstated for some, though long-term risks remain.