Google AI tools Is Gutting Media Site Traffic

Google’s AI Overviews Are Eating News Sites Alive

Media companies are facing a brutal new reality: Google’s AI-powered search is cannibalizing their organic traffic—and fast.

According to The Wall Street Journal, traffic to major media outlets like HuffPost and The Washington Post has plummeted by nearly 50% over the past three years. While search referral decline isn’t new, the rollout of Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode has turned a slow bleed into a gaping wound.

What’s Happening?

Google’s AI tools now generate quick, humanlike summaries directly in the search results. These AI Overviews often answer complex queries—like vacation guides, product reviews, or health topics—without sending users to publisher websites. The result? Fewer clicks and fewer eyes on original content.

Even content specifically designed to rank well through SEO is being undercut by AI-generated answers that cite fewer links—or none at all.

Who’s Feeling the Heat?

• Business Insider recently laid off 21% of its workforce, blaming a sharp drop in traffic. Its organic search traffic has crashed by 55% over the past three years, per Similarweb.

• The Atlantic’s CEO warned staff to expect Google traffic to fall to near zero.

• Smaller media outlets and niche blogs are quietly seeing similar trends as AI takes over more SERP real estate.

The Big Picture

This shift is forcing media companies to rethink everything. Many are investing in newsletters, live events, and direct audience engagement to regain control of their distribution. Meanwhile, the battle with AI is expanding beyond strategy—into the courts. Several publishers are pursuing lawsuits and licensing deals to protect their content from being scraped or devalued by AI models.

In an era where Google once served as the pipeline for reader discovery, its AI might now be the reason many media companies fade from view.