Prime Time for Merchant-Publisher Deals?

"AI-generated search results are crushing some digital news publishers, and it's oddly an opportunity for ecommerce brands. The problem for digital publishers is simple enough. Searchers who query Google often see the answer on-site, eliminating the need to click to, say, CNN, HuffPost, or Business Insider. Moreover, the purpose of ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and others is to provide answers, not links."

"Google's AI Overviews have reportedly cut CNN's site traffic by about 30%, with HuffPost and Business Insider suffering closer to a 40% reduction, according to a September 2025 report from AI development firm Yazo. Meanwhile, an August 2025 Digiday article suggests that, in general, digital publishers have lost about 25% of their search traffic due to Google's AI Overviews. These dramatic drops in search traffic have prompted some publishers to reassess their content and monetization strategies."

"News Corp., for example, signed a multi-year deal with OpenAI in 2024, which could generate $250 million in revenue for permitting ChatGPT's parent company to scrape its content. Hearst, Reuters, Condé Nast, The Financial Times, and many others have reportedly sought similar AI licensing arrangements. At the Digiday Publishing Summit in Miami this month, attendees shared ideas about how digital publishers, small and large, can recover or even boost revenue in this era of AI-driven everything."

AI-generated search overviews and chat answers deliver direct responses that eliminate user clicks to news sites, reducing organic search referrals. Major publishers have reported search traffic declines roughly between 25% and 40%, with Google’s AI Overviews commonly cited. Several publishers are negotiating licensing agreements with AI companies to monetize scraped content, exemplified by News Corp.'s multi-year deal with OpenAI. Publishers are also exploring alternative revenue streams such as direct advertising deals, ecommerce partnerships, and cost-per-action arrangements while reassessing content and monetization strategies to adapt to AI-driven search behavior.

Read at Practical Ecommerce