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6-11Mia: Okay, so I've been seeing these reports about Google's AI basically sucking the life out of news websites' traffic. How bad is it really?
Mars: Dude, it's brutal. HuffPost got smacked with a 50% drop in traffic from Google searches in just three years. The Washington Post is in the same boat, and Business Insider? They lost over half their search visitors between April '22 and April '25. Layoffs followed, naturally.
Mia: Seriously? That's insane! What's causing this meltdown?
Mars: Google's ditching the search engine thing and becoming an answer engine. Their AI Overviews just give you the summary right at the top, so people don't even bother clicking through to the actual articles. And in AI Mode, it's straight-up competing with chatbots, spitting out quick answers with basically zero links.
Mia: So, like, nobody even sees the headlines anymore. I remember Nicholas Thompson mentioning something about a huge shift.
Mars: Spot on. Thompson over at The Atlantic basically said Google's move is a life-or-death situation for news outlets. William Lewis from The Washington Post warned us that this no-click future is a severe threat to the whole industry.
Mia: So, with search traffic tanking, what are the big media companies doing about it?
Mars: They're basically doing two things: focusing on building trust with readers and finding new ways to make money. The New York Times saw their search traffic drop from 44 to 36.5% in three years. The Wall Street Journal's search share went down too, but they're trying to get readers to go straight to their site instead of Googling everything.
Mia: What about smaller publishers, not just the big names?
Mars: Dotdash Meredith, who owns People and Southern Living, saw their search traffic plummet after they merged in 2021. Their CEO, Neil Vogel, was pretty blunt about it, saying AI could be the final nail in the coffin if they don't get their act together.
Mia: Yikes, that sounds rough. Is there any hope for them?
Mars: For sure! A lot of news outlets are trying to build direct relationships with readers. The Atlantic is making their app better, expanding their print distribution, and even doing live events to get subscribers hooked. Axel Springer's brands, like Politico and Business Insider, are all about reader interaction with newsletters, podcasts, and online forums.
Mia: Building a community makes sense. What about stopping AI from just stealing their content?
Mars: That's where the lawsuits and licensing deals come in. The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft for using their stuff without permission, but they're also working with Amazon to license their content for AI. News Corp made a deal with OpenAI, but they're also suing Perplexity. Even Google's search share on Apple's Safari is dropping, which shows that people are finding news in different ways now.
Mia: So, it's a two-front war: getting readers directly and protecting their content legally.
Mars: Exactly. The old way of relying on search traffic is dying. To survive, news organizations need to build loyalty, find new revenue streams, and protect their work. If they can adapt to this AI world, they might just make it.
Mia: It's definitely an uphill battle, but these strategies could really shape the future of news.