In an exclusive by the Guardian, a study has found that AI overviews have been causing significant dips in audiences.
This has posed a massive threat to media owners who rely on publishing journalistic pieces and condensing market insights into understandable chunks. AI summaries have become the norm, and many people are choosing not to dive deeper into their queries.
The piece also says that Google has been showing links to YouTube prominently, raising ethical questions. Of course, Google spokespersons have said that all of this is based on inaccurate studies and research.
However, this does raise the question: What will happen to media outlets? X is becoming increasingly journalistic, and media outlets will not stop publishing news- that’s their lifeblood. So, AI will always have something to pull from. This paradox causes questions that cannot be answered cleanly.
AI is killing organic traffic. Now what? The answer may be simple: Create value. AI may have just opened Pandora’s Box. But that doesn’t mean media agencies won’t produce value. The delivery might not be Google or SERPs anymore.
But as long as people want to watch, read, and learn, media will remain a prominent part of their lives.