Search referrals to publishers fall 18% after AI answers
Publishers tracking organic traffic report an 18% year-on-year drop in search referrals since AI-generated answer panels expanded to more queries in their markets.
Where the drop hits
Informational queries lose the most clicks; navigational and product queries remain stable. News publishers report smaller losses than how-to and review sites.
Publisher response
Editors are reworking content around original data and first-hand reporting, which answer panels tend to cite rather than replace. Several groups are also testing structured summaries on article pages.
Advertisers feel the same shift on the paid side, as noted in Generative search ads reach general availability.
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