Google's AI search: Reports of traffic slump due to "flawed methods"
Google defends its AI search against criticism. Reports of massive traffic losses for publishers were based on "flawed methods".
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Google defends the introduction of its controversial AI functions in search and paints a thoroughly positive picture in a recent blog post. According to the article, the “AI Overviews” not only lead to more, but also to more complex search queries. Users are embracing the new possibilities and searching more than ever before. While the company admits that simple factual queries – such as the next full moon – may not result in a click on a website, this is different for more in-depth questions.
According to Google, the AI summaries serve as a kind of orientation but encourage users to click on the linked sources for details, analysis, or to make a purchase. The result is “more quality clicks”: clicks from users who do not immediately return to the search but show a genuine interest in the content of the website. The total organic click volume has remained “relatively stable” year on year. The Group rejects third-party reports of dramatic declines in traffic as being based on “flawed methods” or “isolated examples.”
Publishers see “irreparable economic damage”
Since the introduction of the AI overviews, website operators and media companies around the world have reported massive drops in traffic coming from Google. The reason is obvious: if the AI provides the answer directly, many users no longer have the incentive to visit the original source. This leads to falling visitor numbers and threatens the ad-financed business model of many online offerings.
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The criticism escalated with the introduction of the even more far-reaching “AI Mode” in the USA, which turns the search into a chatbot. The News/Media Alliance (NMA), which represents almost 2,000 US publishers, unequivocally described the practice of using content for its answers without remuneration as “the definition of theft”.
EU competition authority involved
The conflict has long since reached the regulatory level. An “Independent Publishers Alliance,” supported by organizations such as “Movement for an Open Web” and “Foxglove Legal,” has filed a complaint with the EU competition authority. The accusation is that Google is abusing its dominant market position to place its AI summaries at the top of the search results and disadvantage the original content providers. The publishers are calling for urgent measures to avert “irreparable damage.”
(mack)
