We had reported that AI is reshaping web traffic and that referrals grew by 357 percent to more than 1.13 billion. In the same article we also shared research by Pew Research Center showing that digital media platforms faced serious traffic drops because of the AI summaries in Google. On Wednesday, Google stated that this is generally not the case. According to Google, the total volume of organic clicks from the search engine to websites has remained relatively stable year over year, while the average quality of clicks has increased.
It is worth noting, however, that Google did not share any concrete data to support these results. Reid also commented on the impact of AI on search traffic:
Google does not share how many sites gained or lost traffic. Still, we can assume that chatbots such as ChatGPT have clearly seen traffic growth in recent months. And although Google officials do not say it openly, it is possible that online publishers have been hurt.
The company says that rather than admitting AI summaries have changed behavior, users are turning their attention to other sites to start their queries. According to Reid, people are increasingly searching for and clicking on sites with forums, videos, podcasts and posts where they can hear real voices and first-hand perspectives.
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