Google's algorithm changes and new artificial intelligence summary feature have severely impacted publishers, particularly independent ones like Gazete Duvar. The AI Overview generates summaries that allow users to find answers swiftly without clicking on links, leading to a 55% drop in search traffic since April 2022. Many major news sites are experiencing drastic traffic declines, with HuffPost and the Washington Post seeing traffic cut in half. Layoffs in prominent publications are attributed to these extreme declines, with predictions suggesting traffic from Google could approach zero for some sites.
The introduction of the AI Overview has particularly affected traffic to sites that feature content such as holiday guides, health tips and product reviews.
According to Similarweb, search traffic to websites decreased by 55% between April 2022 and April 2025.
Business Insider CEO Barbara Peng laid off about 21% of her staff in May, citing "extreme traffic declines beyond our control" as the reason for the layoffs.
Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic, predicts that traffic from Google will drop towards zero.
Collection
[
|
...
]