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 removing the need for users to click through to articles. In addition, its recently introduced AI Mode, which works like a chatbot, has raised fears of a “Google zero” scenario where referrals vanish almost entirely.
Executives across the sector are alarmed. One senior executive in editorial technology described the change as the most significant shift in online search in decades. Publishers who once felt they could depend on Google are now facing a transformed landscape.
DMG Media, owner of the Daily Mail, reported that clicks from search dropped by 89% after AI Overviews appeared. Alongside others such as Guardian Media Group and the Periodical Publishers Association, DMG has urged regulators to force Google to share data showing how much traffic AI features send to publishers.
News organizations, already grappling with shrinking ad revenue, higher costs, and dwindling print sales, say Google is leaving them with little choice: accept new terms for how content appears in AI-driven features or risk losing visibility entirely.
Beyond financial concerns, editors also worry about reliability. While Google has worked to improve the accuracy of its summaries—after earlier blunders like suggesting people eat rocks—AI-generated “hallucinations” and biases still pose risks. Apple, for example, had to promise changes after its iPhone AI issued false BBC-branded news alerts earlier this year.
Google says the overall effect is positive. Liz Reid, the company’s head of search, stated that AI features are driving quality clicks and more queries, though she acknowledged traffic shifts are uneven, with some sites gaining while others lose ground.
Meanwhile, organizations are trying different approaches. Some, like the FT and Guardian, have struck licensing deals with AI firms like OpenAI. Others, including the BBC, are pushing back over alleged copyright violations. Several outlets are even experimenting with their own AI chat tools, including Ask FT and Climate Answers, which only use their own reporting.
Experts say that long-term survival depends on building stronger direct relationships with readers, offering distinct and trustworthy reporting rather than relying solely on third-party platforms.
Given the pace at which AI is revolutionizing the online news landscape, it is likely that when quantum computing solutions from companies like D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS) become more commonplace, many industries are unlikely to remain operating in the way they have been doing over the past decades.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/QBTS
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