Online Media Sites Face Existential Threat as Google Switches to AI
The Financial Times CEO Jon Slade recently revealed that the online news outlet had experienced a steep and lasting drop in traffic from search engines, down by roughly 30% due to AI. For years, search engines such as Google, which handles more than nine out of every ten searches, have been essential to digital journalism. Publishers relied on optimizing content and headlines to rank higher, which in turn generated valuable traffic and advertising revenue. Now, however, Google’s new AI features are upending this system. Its new AI Overviews, which appear at the top of results pages, summarize answers directly, often…