Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) is drawing criticism from media executives who say its growing use of artificial intelligence is reducing traffic to news outlets, forcing them to rethink their digital strategies and slash jobs.
According to a Wall Street Journal report Tuesday, publishers are reporting major declines in referral traffic as Google’s AI Overviews and chatbot features increasingly serve answers directly to users eliminating the need to click on search results.
The shift from a search engine to an answer engine is real, said The Atlantic’s CEO Nicholas Thompson, who added that media companies now have to explore new approaches to stay relevant.
Data from analytics firm Similarweb, cited in the report, shows steep drops in organic search traffic across major publishers:
HuffPost’s desktop and mobile traffic more than halved in the past three years.
The Washington Post saw nearly the same level of decline.
Business Insider reported a 55% drop and recently laid off 21% of its workforce.
The New York Times saw its share of organic search traffic shrink to 36.5% in April 2025, down from almost 44% in 2022.
Although The Wall Street Journal’s search traffic rose in raw numbers, its share of total traffic dipped to 24% from 29% over the same period.
WaPo CEO William Lewis warned that click-free search answers represent a serious threat to journalism.
Beyond news, Google’s AI tools have also dented traffic to travel guides, health information, and product review pages. The report notes that Google’s upcoming AI Mode could hit even harder.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
