Google Digs the Open Internet's Grave with AI
After all these years, four out of five people on this planet still use Google search to look for sites they want on the internet. Many critics say that Google has overstepped the boundaries with AI Overviews and is potentially endangering the internet. Now, for the very first time, we are hearing such concerns from Google itself.
Google search is a powerhouse. Even AI can't keep it at bay. On the contrary, thanks to the AI overview, which in turn is a courtesy from Gemini, Google search is even more powerful. The Palo Alto company's domination of the search landscape becomes even more ingrained. You've probably already seen it: In many Google searches, an AI result pops up at the top, which, in many cases, already provides you with a sufficiently detailed answer.
Google is Frighteningly Efficient
For example, if you ask how big Dortmund is, the Gemini logo and an answer to the question flash at the top. On the right, you can see additional link options that you could click — but you don't have to, because Google has already revealed everything that was asked with its AI. This is what it looks like:
If you were to ask how big the display of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra (review) is instead, there would also be an AI-generated answer. You wouldn't have to click on an article about the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but could get the information directly on Google's search page.
This is relevant because countless news sites have been increasingly turning against Google recently. That's where it gets interesting. Whenever someone criticizes this approach, they receive a clear answer: traffic to the sites generally remains stable, and sometimes it even increases due to the use of AI Overview.
Google Admits Concern for the First Time
A recent study by SimilarWeb showed that this is not the case. According to the study, "zero-click" searches would have risen from 56% to 69% over the course of a year since the introduction of AI Overviews in May 2024. To explain briefly: zero-click searches are search queries where users see the answer directly on the results page — via infoboxes, snippets, or AI Overviews in this instance, and therefore users no longer click on an external website.
SimilarWeb also determined how this affects news sites in the USA: Forbes and HuffPost lost 40 percent of their traffic, while DailyMail.com lost 32 percent. CNN (-28 percent) and Fox News (-24 percent) also have anything but rosy outlooks. Nevertheless, Google asserted that the AI Overview has had no negative impact on traffic.
Until now! Because for the very first time, Google is saying this negative effect does exist. However, Google did not make this surprising statement on its website or to the press — it came from a court document. In it, Google explained:
The fact is that the open web is already rapidly declining in importance today and the plaintiffs' divestiture proposal would only accelerate this decline, harming publishers who currently rely on display advertising revenue on the open web.
By way of explanation: The "open web" or "open web" refers to the freely accessible part of the internet that can be accessed via search engines, but also protocols such as "https". It includes everything that can be accessed without a paywall, compulsory apps, or being tied to a platform.
Google Backtracks Again
Google's point here is presumably this: the company should not be broken up. After all, the decline outlined above would accelerate if it did. The part of the statement in which Google admits that it is partly responsible for the decline of the open web is, of course, missing from the document.
However, the company is trying to wriggle out of this supposed contradiction. Our colleague Caschy reported on another statement from the Google camp. According to this, Google is not referring to the entire open web, but only to advertising displayed within the open web.
However, especially in the news sector, there are still increasing indications that AI Overviews are having a massive negative impact on the traffic of numerous sites. The consequence is obvious: pages that are not clicked on will eventually no longer produce content. And if no content is produced, Google cannot summarize it on its results page using AI.
Via: GoogleWatchBlog Source: The Verge
