Publishers are losing Google traffic as AI answers replace links

Google's shift to AI-driven answers is dramatically reducing search traffic to publishers, with a 34% drop over the past year. This means websites are losing visitors who once clicked through to read articles. The change is driven by Google's preference for providing concise, AI-generated responses directly on its platform. This trend is particularly hard on small publishers who rely heavily on search engine traffic for revenue. It's a significant shake-up in how information is consumed and shared in the digital age.