Google’s AI Summaries Hit Digital Publishers Hard: Traffic Down 10%, Click-Through Rates Plummet

Google’s AI Summaries have raised concerns within the digital publishing industry, with a recent survey suggesting a significant drop in referral traffic. According to Digital Content Next (DCN), a non-profit organization representing prominent media outlets such as The New York Times, Bloomberg, Fox News Digital, and NBC News, median year-over-year referral traffic from Google Search declined by 10% between May and June. Some publishers reported click-through declines of up to 25%.

The study found that non-news brands suffered the most significant decline, down 14% year-over-year in the past eight weeks, while news brands experienced a 7% decrease. The week of May 25 saw news brand referrals from Google plummet by 16%, and the number for non-news brands fell 17% during the week of June 22.

These findings echo previous concerns about how AI Summaries, which began their national rollout in the United States in May 2024, may impact the publishing industry. Last month, The Pew Research Center reported that among users presented with an AI Summary, only 8% clicked on a link in the search results compared to 15% among those shown search results without an AI Summary. In contrast, 26% of monitored users ended their browsing at the AI Summary, while only 16% ended their session after traditional search results.

DCN proposed several solutions to help publishers mitigate these effects, including requiring Google to disclose auditable data on AI Summary click-through rates and offering publishers a means to block their content from being used in AI-generated answers without impacting search visibility. The nonprofit also called for fair licensing deals with publishers and for regulators to consider AI Summaries as part of Google’s search monopoly.

“This is not a call for special treatment but rather a call to preserve the integrity of the open web,” said a DCN spokesperson. “We must ensure that AI-generated summaries do not become a free substitute for the original work they are based on.”

DCN labeled Google as a “search monopoly” and warned that AI-generated summaries could lead to “fewer sources, weaker journalism, and a less informed public.” Google has responded by claiming that its AI Summaries actually increase “high-quality clicks,” with users spending more time browsing the website despite overall traffic declines.