News publishers are facing a significant decline in web traffic as Google introduces advanced AI-driven search tools that reduce the need for users to click through to external websites, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The rollout of features like AI Overviews and AI Mode — which deliver direct answers at the top of search results — is reshaping how users interact with information online and diminishing a long-standing source of traffic for media outlets.
Over the past several years, organic search traffic to major news sites has dropped sharply. According to data from digital analytics firm Similarweb, traffic from search engines to HuffPost’s desktop and mobile platforms fell by more than 50% over the past three years. The Washington Post experienced a similarly steep decline. Business Insider saw a 55% drop in search referrals between April 2022 and April 2025, prompting it to reduce staff by 21% in a cost-cutting move.
Industry executives have described the trend as a transformative moment for digital publishing.
“Google is shifting from being a search engine to an answer engine,” said Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic.
He has warned internally that the publication should prepare for search-driven traffic to decrease to near zero and has called for a new approach to content strategy and audience engagement.
The shift stems largely from the growing use of generative AI in search tools. Google’s AI Overviews, first introduced in 2024, summarize search results without requiring users to navigate away from the search page. In May 2025, Google expanded these capabilities with AI Mode, a conversational interface that provides in-depth responses and significantly reduces the number of external links shown.
This transition is already affecting a wide array of content types, from travel and health articles to product reviews — categories that previously generated steady search traffic. While Google maintains that it continues to prioritize directing users to reliable sources, publishers are increasingly preparing for what some are calling a “post-search era.”
At The Washington Post, CEO William Lewis has emphasized the urgency of adapting to this new reality. He described the developments as “a serious threat to journalism that should not be underestimated” and said the organization is working to build new relationships with readers and explore additional revenue models.
Even publishers that have seen a modest increase in total search traffic, such as The Wall Street Journal, report a relative decline in the share of traffic coming from organic search. In April 2025, 24% of the Journal’s traffic came from search, down from 29% three years earlier.
“We’re focused on ensuring customers come to us directly out of necessity,” said Sherry Weiss, Chief Marketing Officer at Dow Jones, which owns the Journal.
She added that the company is investing in strategies that strengthen reader loyalty and brand recognition as referral patterns shift.
News organizations are responding to the disruption in multiple ways. Some are placing greater emphasis on direct engagement through newsletters, events, mobile apps, and subscriptions. For example, The Atlantic is investing in its print magazine, expanding its app, and growing its events business. Other outlets, including Politico and Business Insider, have similarly prioritized deeper audience relationships in response to falling search traffic.
Publishers are also navigating the legal and ethical complexities of AI. Many large language models are trained on publicly available web content, including news articles, leading to copyright disputes. The New York Times has sued OpenAI and Microsoft, while also reaching a licensing agreement with Amazon. News Corp, parent company of The Wall Street Journal, has inked a content deal with OpenAI and filed a lawsuit against AI search engine Perplexity.
Meanwhile, Google itself is facing competitive pressure from AI advancements. Though the company says overall search activity has increased, an Apple executive recently testified in federal court that Safari-based Google searches have declined — the first such drop in two decades.
