The AI ​​in the Google search engine leaves traffic falls of up to 40 % in the US media.

The AI ​​in the Google search engine leaves traffic falls of up to 40 % in the US media.

The fears of many websites are realized. The arrival of the results with artificial intelligence Google’s Search (Search) has had a great impact on traffic that derives from the websites. This is what is happening with the main US media since Google launched the Views created with AI (Ai overViews) in May 2024 in that country. Of the 50 main news sites37 have registered year -on -year traffic descents, according to Similar web. With falls, in some cases, up to the 40 %.

Danielle CoffeyPresident and CEO of News/Mediancenon -profit professional association that represents more than 2,200 news organizationshas pointed to The New York Post that ‘the data clearly shows that the new products of AI announced Google They are affecting the traffic of news editors. In addition to all the changes in SEO that have recently reduced traffic in the traditional search, this undoubtedly will negatively affect our ability to invest in quality journalism‘.

According to data from similar website, the media that have fallen most, a 40 % Each one is Forbes and Huffpost. They are followed by the websites of Daily Mail (32 %), CNN (28 %), The New York Post (27 %), Fox News (24 %) and Wall Street Journal (17 %).

Another audience measurement company, Comscorealso finds the same trend. According to your data, the network NYPOST Networkwhich includes The New York Post and associated media such as Decider and Page Sixhas lost the 12 %passing from 433 million of pages seen in June 2024, a month after the launch of Views created by AI In the United States, to 381 million in May 2025. The New York Times and The Washington Post They lost a 0.7 % and 6 %respectively.

But bad news is not for all media. The Wall Street Journal and Fox News They come out better under the measurements of Comscore that of Similar webboth reporting a slight increase in traffic. According to the latter, websites with greater increases in this time have been Men’s Journal (415 %), Cool Down (96 %) e India Times (77 %).

Keep in mind that the measurements made by these companies They are estimates and not the real traffic data that only edit companies know and have no habit of sharing with third parties. But the trend, even if the numbers are not precise, is still evident. And logic.

Google defends itself

The Views created by AI They are summaries with the information looking for the user who are positioned above the Organic resultswhich are the ones that have traditionally derived traffic to the websites, and, strikingly, the ads. Strikingly because until now Google has always positioned them ahead of any other element of their SERP (page initials with search results).

The company denies that its search results are responsible for these traffic falls. ‘More than any other company, Google prioritizes sending traffic to the weband we continue to send billions of clicks to the sites every day. We have seen many inaccurate statements about traffic from Search, often based on speculative or incomplete information, questionable methodologies or data prior to AI Overviews. The new experiences of AI in Search They allow people to ask even more questions, which creates new opportunities for companies and content to be discovered‘, a Google spokesman said The New York Post.

According to a recent Google document, the Views created by AI They only appear when they contribute worth And the system has a High trust In the answer. However, any user has been able to verify how they are increasingly common in Google searches. And although, as Google says, the results by AI include links to deepen the source of information, why should a user who trust the veracity of the information presented by AI have? What need to investigate if the summary of Gemini? For a vast majority, these summaries are becoming the First and last stop at the Google search engine.

The New York Post refers various studies confirming that the Click Rate (CTR) Average, in the first organic result of a SERP in consultations that activate the results by AI, it has gone from 7.3 % In March 2024 to 2.26 % in March 2025.

Google, in addition, has recently launched its Ia mode in Search that is a tab with results by AI that allows to delve into the information with Follow -up questionssomething that cannot be done in the views created by the. This functionality will probably have an even greater impact on the Decrease in traffic that Google derives to the websites. And all this giving ourselves to Google search engine and without taking into account that many users now use Chatgpt as such, Gemini or any other AI.

In Spain, they still have little travel. They were launched at the end of March and the Ia mode It will still take to see each other here, but the impact is already being felt. In the sector dedicated to SEO It is already a subject of habitual discussion how Results for the They are detracting traffic on the web pages and are affecting their customers and websites.