Publishers report ‘negligible’ traffic impact of Google AI Overviews

Dotdash Meredith and Ziff Davis, two large publishers, report minimal impact on their web traffic from Google's AI Overviews. Dotdash Meredith notes that Google’s AI-generated answers appear in only about 15% of searches across their categories, with minimal differences in click-through rates between pages with and without AI Overviews. They emphasize that their traffic from Google search queries is less than half of their total, and the impact has been negligible so far. Ziff Davis similarly observed that AI Overviews appeared in only 8% of queries relevant to their key domains, indicating no significant change to the search experience. However, the rollout of AI Overviews has been limited and volatile, with their presence peaking at 15% in May but averaging 7% by July, according to BrightEdge research. Both publishers acknowledge that while the impact has been minimal so far, the situation is still evolving, and future changes could be more significant. The broader context is that AI is beginning to reshape search, and while initial impacts appear small, the long-term effects could be substantial. Therefore, while publishers report negligible effects now, there’s potential for more significant changes as Google continues to integrate AI into search. The reports offer some reassurance to those concerned about the immediate impact of AI on search traffic but also highlight that the evolution is ongoing.