Short answer: Yes, definitely. Long answer: It’s complicated.
Google is attempting to enhance the user experience through features like AI Overviews and Gemini-powered results. But according to the Pew Research Center, this has led to a sharp decline in click-through rates to news websites. Google has countered this claim, suggesting the study is flawed. And that’s where the contradictions begin.
If, as Google insists, billions of users are still clicking through to news sites, then maybe AI summaries aren’t providing enough information. That would imply websites remain necessary. But if AI truly solves user queries in their entirety, then the need to visit those websites vanishes—and with it, much of their value.
This is the core of the problem: if AI can pre-emptively answer questions with high-quality summaries, it sidelines the content creators who made those answers possible in the first place. And AI evolves faster than any SEO strategy or click-optimization effort. Many news outlets have already recognized that search-driven traffic is increasingly unreliable. To survive, they’re shifting toward high-value, subscription-worthy content.
Just look at what Meta is doing. In recent years, Facebook has actively courted creators to attract younger users, especially as regulations tighten around minors’ social media usage. In January, they launched the “Breakthrough Bonus” program, paying TikTok creators to bring content to Reels. The message is clear: platforms need exclusive content, and they’re willing to pay for it. Meanwhile, Google’s overviews risk turning websites into free training grounds for AI—feeding the beast with no return. And if there’s no incentive to create open-access content, publishers will stop doing it.
Even if OpenAI, Google, and other players disagree on the impact, the outcome is the same: the economics of free content are falling apart. News outlets may close or shift to niche, gated-access models. The age of anonymous traffic is coming to an end.
This shift carries massive implications. AI search engines must either start creating original content (an enormous task) or reimagine a model where advertising dollars flow back to the content originators. It’s not just media—B2B sites that rely on thought leadership for lead generation will feel the pinch too. The only remaining option? Paid traffic. We’ve seen this movie before.
Remember Facebook’s gradual erosion of organic reach? In 2014 and again in 2018, algorithm changes began prioritizing personal posts over business content. Businesses that once relied on free exposure found themselves paying to reach audiences. And yet, Facebook’s stock quintupled since 2018. Maybe restricting organic access wasn’t such a bad strategy—at least for them.
The harsh truth is that search, like social, is becoming pay-to-play. Not out of spite, but survival. News outlets are the canary in the coal mine, just as newspapers were when the web and Google disrupted their longstanding reader relationships. Now, it’s AI—and once again, it’s Google—reshaping the value chain.
But this time, the consequences could be broader. If the only viable web traffic is bought traffic, brands will begin questioning whether digital is still the right space to spend their ad dollars. Yes, consumers are glued to their phones. But if everyone is vying for their attention in an ultra-personalized space, the noise becomes overwhelming.
The likely outcome? A pivot back to physical presence—retail, pop-ups, live events. Just look at the boom in global travel and sports attendance. The consumer still craves experience. Maybe that’s where brands will find them next.
What we know for sure is that things are changing. What we don’t know is whether consumers will actually benefit from these changes.
