Google Tweaks AI Search As News Publishers Report 40% Traffic Drop
Google has announced plans to give website links greater visibility in its artificial intelligence-powered search results amid growing concerns over declining traffic to news publishers.
The technology giant said contextual links would appear more frequently and higher up in AI-generated search content, making it easier for users to access original articles and websites.
Google will also expand the global rollout of its link carousel, which displays cards featuring headlines and images from relevant articles beneath AI-generated summaries.
The company, owned by Alphabet, said its algorithm would prioritise content from websites users have marked as preferred sources. It would also incorporate relevant social media posts and forum discussions.
Additionally, links displayed at the end of AI-generated summaries will become more prominent to encourage users seeking further information to visit the original sources.
Google introduced AI Overviews in May 2024, providing summarised answers to search queries, before launching AI Mode in March 2025 to deliver more detailed responses.
However, studies have indicated that AI-generated summaries can reduce the likelihood of users clicking through to suggested websites.
According to consultancy Chartbeat, news publishers recorded a 40 per cent decline in traffic originating from Google between July 2025 and July 2026.
The development comes amid mounting concerns among publishers over the impact of AI-generated answers on their readership and digital revenue.
In August, APIG, a group representing French daily newspapers, complained to France’s Competition Authority that AI summaries breached agreements reached with news publishers in 2022.
Google’s Chief Executive Officer, Sundar Pichai, said during Alphabet’s second-quarter 2025 results that AI Overviews had more than two billion monthly users across over 200 countries.
Credit: AFP
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