Google's AI Overviews: Hurting Australian News Sites and Publisher Traffic?

Google's AI-powered search is changing how Australians access news, potentially threatening the financial stability of online publishers. As AI-generated summaries become more prevalent, news websites are seeing a drop in traffic, sparking concerns about the future of journalism.

The Rise of AI-Driven Search

For a year, Google has been using AI Overviews in Australia, placing AI-generated answers above traditional search results. Now, they've launched “AI Mode,” which replaces the standard search engine with a chatbot-like experience.

This shift transforms Google from a search engine indexing third-party content to an “answer engine” providing AI-generated summaries.

Traffic Declines and Conflicting Data

News sites in the US and UK are experiencing significant traffic declines, leading to layoffs and fears of an “existential crisis.” Australian news sites are also affected, though the impact isn't as clear-cut.

Ipsos Iris data suggests top news sites' combined readership has increased, but data from SimilarWeb indicates a decline. SimilarWeb's data aligns with reports of traffic drops from other countries and smaller publishers who depend more on Google Search.

Data Discrepancies Explained

Ipsos and SimilarWeb use different methods to measure online readership. Ipsos measures activity on thousands of devices and extrapolates the results, while SimilarWeb aggregates data from various sources, including internet service providers and browser plugins.

According to Laurence O’Toole, CEO of Authoritas, SimilarWeb data is likely more robust for assessing the industry-wide view.

The Impact on News Sites

The SimilarWeb data shows that fewer readers are clicking through to articles from search results. Some Australian news sites have experienced traffic declines of up to 35%. This matches what publishers are reporting internationally.

Lily Ray, an American SEO expert, confirms that many news sites have seen substantial declines in organic search traffic from Google over the past year.

Why Traffic is Dropping

Over a third of Google searches in Australia now result in an AI-generated summary. Users who see an AI summary are less likely to click on a standard result link. As RMIT researcher Joanne Kuai notes, these generative search engines reduce the incentive to click through, inevitably cutting traffic to publishers.

Evergreen content, such as how-to guides and recipes, is particularly affected, while hard news may be less easily summarized.

Google's Response and Publisher Concerns

Google hasn't shared data on how users interact with AI-generated summaries, declining to comment directly on the issue. The company claims AI Overviews improve the search experience and provide higher-quality clicks to websites.

However, publishers like Man of Many have reported a 10–30% drop in traffic to informational articles following the rollout of Google AIO in Australia.

Legal Action and Industry Response

Publishers are increasingly concerned about Google’s use of their content to train AI models. The Independent Publishers Alliance (IPA) in the UK has filed complaints with competition regulators, accusing Google of using publishers’ content at a cost to the sites.

The Australian Digital Publishers Alliance (DPA) is considering legal action to ensure publishers are fairly compensated for their work.

The Future of Web Search

Google's new “AI Mode” search tool offers conversational interactions and fewer standard search results, potentially reducing traffic to news sites further.

Critics warn this shift could lead to platform monopolization and weaken the information system, making societies more vulnerable to authoritarian tendencies, according to RMIT's Dr. Kuai.

Balancing User Needs and Ad Revenue

It’s unclear how Google will balance providing quick AI summaries with driving clicks to Google Ads. News sites might block Google or Google could reduce its reliance on news content.

SEO expert Kevin Indig suggests that AI models may eventually be so well-trained that they no longer need content from news websites, potentially leading to licensing partnerships with a few select publishers.