By Stuart Kerr, Technology Correspondent
Published: 07/09/2025 | Updated: 07/09/2025
Contact: [email protected] | @LiveAIWire
The New Gatekeeper
For more than two decades, publishers have relied on Google as their largest traffic driver. Links in search results meant millions of visitors to newsrooms big and small. But Google’s latest experiment—AI Overviews—has upended that model. Instead of delivering a menu of links, the search engine increasingly delivers a polished AI‑written summary. Readers get answers without ever leaving the page.
The Guardian recently described the shift as an “existential crisis,” reporting how referral traffic to media sites is collapsing as Google positions itself as the answer engine rather than the guide to journalism (The Guardian). The implications are profound: what happens when the web’s biggest distributor stops distributing?
From Discovery to Destination
Publishers have warned of a looming “traffic apocalypse.” Analysts at eWeek note that sites risk being erased from the discovery process entirely, calling it the dawn of “Google Zero”—a future where search itself hoards attention, starving the ecosystem it once powered. Columbia Journalism Review echoed the concern, describing how AI Overviews could shift Google from facilitator to gatekeeper, concentrating power over what knowledge is surfaced (CJR).
At LiveAIWire, we have already explored what happens when AI intermediaries shape information flows, from environmental data in Beyond Algorithms — Hidden Carbon & Water to the fragility of publishers facing Zero‑Click Overviews. The direction of travel is clear: less agency for publishers, more control for platforms.
Numbers Behind the Shift
Evidence is piling up to support these warnings. Pew Research found that when an AI summary appears, users click traditional links just 8% of the time—half the rate when no summary is present (Pew PDF). Meanwhile, Authoritas reported that AI summaries can wipe out nearly 80% of traffic to some news sites, an unprecedented disruption in the economics of online publishing (FutureWeek PDF).
The data underscores what publishers have suspected: AI Overviews are not just another tweak to the algorithm—they are a fundamental change to the nature of search itself.
The Stakes for Journalism
Journalism has weathered storms before, from the collapse of print advertising to the rise of social media. But the current moment may be different. By delivering answers instead of referrals, Google strips away the chance for publishers to build relationships with readers. Without visits, there are no subscriptions, no ad impressions, and no opportunities for engagement.
As Google leans into its AI‑powered future, publishers are left to ask whether the bargain of discovery still exists. Some warn that AI’s encroachment is more than a business threat—it is an editorial one, shaping not just who gets traffic, but which perspectives survive. At LiveAIWire, we’ve already examined how AI can be used to influence and even manipulate audiences (AI and Emotional Manipulation). The overlap is stark: if platforms control both the summary and the traffic, who safeguards the integrity of information?
Towards a New Settlement
Solutions remain elusive. Some policymakers are exploring compensation schemes, akin to those tested in Australia and Canada, where platforms must share revenues with publishers. Others call for technical transparency: if AI Overviews are here to stay, users should know how summaries are sourced, weighted, and verified. Journalists, meanwhile, argue that the industry must diversify away from reliance on Google altogether.
The stakes extend beyond business. A healthy information ecosystem depends on more than just answers—it depends on readers engaging with the messy, diverse, and contested work of journalism. If AI overviews flatten nuance into a single authoritative paragraph, what is lost is not just traffic, but perspective.
About the Author
Stuart Kerr is the Technology Correspondent for LiveAIWire. He writes about artificial intelligence, ethics, and how technology is reshaping everyday life. Read more