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Recent studies by Pew Research Center and Authoritas showed that Google users were less likely to click on links when an AI summary appeared in the results \u00a9 Gabby Jones\/Bloomberg<\/p>\nPublishers are racing to find ways to counter the threat of \u201cGoogle Zero\u201d \u2014 the sharp fall in web traffic that many media executives worry about following the launch of AI-based tools on the US platform.<\/p>\n
In late July the latest iteration of Google\u2019s AI tools was rolled out in the UK having already reached the US, leading some publishers to warn that an already evident decline in traffic from the search engine risked accelerating.<\/p>\n
Google AI mode provides detailed answers to even nuanced search queries at the top of results, and builds on the existing AI Overviews that summarise results without the need to click through to source material. <\/p>\n
\u201cLike everyone, we have definitely felt the impact of AI Overviews. There is only one direction of travel; not only are AIs getting better, but they\u2019re getting better in an exponential fashion,\u201d said Sean Cornwell, chief executive of Immediate Media, which owns the Radio Times and Good Food brands in the UK.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s only heading in one direction, and we\u2019ve got to assume that the drop-offs are going to be pretty stark at some point in the next few years.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to a May report by Enders and the Professional Publishers Association, media groups were \u201closing visibility and value as their content is used but not rewarded\u201d, with about half reporting a search traffic decline over the past year. <\/p>\n
Al Overviews were cannibalising website visits, Enders said, with four in five consumers relying on \u201czero-click search results\u201d in at least 40 per cent of their searches.<\/p>\n
Recent studies by Pew Research Center and Authoritas showed that Google users were less likely to click on links when an AI summary appeared in the results \u00a9 Gabby Jones\/Bloomberg<\/p>\n
Other recent studies by Pew Research Center and Authoritas showed that Google users were less likely to click on links when an AI summary appeared in the results. Google said that there were \u201cfundamental flaws\u201d in the methodology of the reports.<\/p>\n
Digital Content Next, the US media trade\u00a0organisation, said that its latest member survey showed median year-over-year referral traffic from Google Search to premium publishers down a tenth in May and June compared to a year earlier.<\/p>\n
Neil Vogel, chief executive of People Inc, America\u2019s largest digital and print publisher, said \u201cGoogle Zero\u201d was the group\u2019s \u201cNorth Star\u201d strategy when thinking about how readers would find and access articles from its dozens of titles in the future.<\/p>\n
Vogel was speaking as the publisher said it was rebranding from Dotdash Meredith to People Inc to reflect its largest and best-known title. Its journalism was \u201cby people, for people, we\u2019re not synthesised, and we\u2019re not artificial\u201d, he said. <\/p>\n
Google search referrals had already fallen over the past five years from about 65 per cent to near 30 per cent of traffic\u00a0even before\u2009the launch of AI Overviews and AI Mode, Vogel said.<\/p>\n
Some publishers that have depended on readers finding their articles using Google have warned that \u201cclick-throughs\u201d from search traffic were dropping in the UK too after the introduction of AI Overviews, said Sajeeda Merali, chief executive of the Professional Publishers Association.<\/p>\n
AI Mode and Overviews can cover some of what lifestyle publishers have relied on for traffic, according to Merali, such as recommendations and help with topics such as gardening. One automotive publisher investing in detailed car benchmarking content reported a 25 per cent drop in traffic to articles ranking first in organic search, according to the PPA, despite a 7 per cent increase in search visibility.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven the tool is offering fewer links, I think that can only be a bad thing [for publishers]. AI Mode is just an extension of the problem,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Digital Content Next\u2019s Jason Kint said that for publishers, \u201cit means fewer readers, ad impressions, and subscription conversions\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Google says otherwise. Executives from the US group held a meeting with publishers in late July, according to people who attended the session, where it argued that clicks from search result pages with AI Overviews are of a \u201chigher quality\u201d \u2014 with users more likely to spend more time on the sites.<\/p>\n
In a blog post this month, Google said that total organic click volume from Google Search to websites had been relatively stable year-over-year, while average click quality has increased.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile overall traffic to sites is relatively stable, the web is vast, and user trends are shifting traffic to different sites, resulting in decreased traffic to some sites and increased traffic to others,\u201d said Liz Reid, head of Google Search.<\/p>\n
Google said in a statement to the FT: \u201cWe consistently direct billions of clicks to websites daily and have not observed significant drops in aggregate web traffic as is being suggested.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Sundar Pichai, Alphabet\u2019s chief executive. Whatever the extent of the impact of Overviews and now AI Mode, publishers are preparing for a future where Google is less important to their sites \u00a9 Damian Lemanski\/Bloomberg<\/p>\n
Whatever the extent of the impact of Overviews and now AI Mode, publishers are preparing for a future where Google is less crucial to their sites. <\/p>\n
Piers North, chief executive of Reach, the UK group that owns newspapers including the Mirror and Express, said \u201cclearly change is under way\u201d for the future of search traffic. \u201cWe\u2019re mindful of the need to prepare for what some people are calling Google Zero or certainly a future that is different from the search-based ecosystem that\u2019s driven online for the past 25 years or so.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the goal was to have a \u201cdiverse ecosystem of referrers, build up our direct traffickers, direct audiences\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009and utilise the strength of a diverse audience network with the aim of reducing dependency on any one individual source\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Some publishers are also seeking new ways to drive\u00a0revenues such as through live events and conferences.<\/p>\n
Immediate Media\u2019s Cornwell said revenue diversification was key to countering the decline in search traffic, by building a direct relationship with readers through digital subscriptions that have been rolled out across its food, Radio Times, history and gardening content. <\/p>\n
Cornwell is also developing writers within the titles as trusted \u201cbrands\u201d in their own right, turning the group more into a \u201ctalent factory\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the 35 and under, so Gen Z and millennial, it\u2019s very obvious that they don\u2019t really have much loyalty or follow brands. Who they follow is individual talent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Cornwell also pointed out that the impact of AI search tools appeared different depending on the type of content and title, with trusted, \u201ccategory-leading\u201d brands having an advantage. <\/p>\n
Further, certain categories \u2014 such as \u201cnewsy\u201d Radio Times content \u2014 did not seem to show up in Overviews, he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvergreen content, like a guide to how to boil an egg, or plant roses, or what happened to Henry the Eighth\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009that\u2019s very easy for an AI Overview to answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Henry Faure Walker, chief executive of Newsquest, the UK local news publisher, said that news media at least was less affected given the difficulty in reproducing \u201chyperlocal\u201d reporting rather than \u201cevergreen\u201d topics such as recommendations. <\/p>\n
The group was still nervous about the future as AI tools improve. \u201cThe key is to drive direct traffic,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
People Inc\u2019s Vogel said the company was finding other ways to make money from readers, from subscriptions, social media referrals and newsletters, to syndication and the use of Apple News as a platform. \u201cWe have made it up with 1,000 different things \u2014 in terms of audience we are fine.\u201d <\/p>\n
Vogel said that the group needed to produce material that is \u201csuper compelling to people so they want to come back \u2014 the world doesn\u2019t need any more mediocre content\u201d.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cI really like our chances. I like us in a post-Google world\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009we got to just look back to the pre-Google world. How are media brands built? You had to connect directly with people\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009[but]\u2009if, as a publisher, you\u2019re just figuring this out, you\u2019re dead. You\u2019re cooked.\u201d<\/p>\n