Generative artificial intelligence (AI) assistants like ChatGPT are significantly impacting traditional online search traffic, posing a severe threat to news sites by depriving them of crucial visitors and advertising revenue. This trend delivers a crushing blow to an industry already fighting for survival.

"The next three or four years will be incredibly challenging for publishers everywhere. No one is immune from the AI summaries storm gathering on the horizon," warned Matt Karolian, vice president of research and development at Boston Globe Media. "Publishers need to build their own shelters or risk being swept away."

AI Summaries Slash Click-Through Rates

While data on the full impact remains limited, a recent study by the Pew Research Center highlights a concerning trend: AI-generated summaries, now a regular feature in Google searches, actively discourage users from clicking through to the original source articles. The study found that when AI summaries are present, users click on suggested links half as often compared to traditional searches.

This represents a devastating loss of visitors for online media sites, which heavily depend on traffic to generate both advertising revenue and convert readers into paying subscribers.

John Wihbey, a professor at Northeastern University, believes these trends "will accelerate, and pretty soon we will have an entirely different web."

The financial struggles for online media were already exacerbated by the dominance of tech giants like Google and Meta, which had previously slashed digital advertising revenue, forcing publishers to pivot towards paid subscriptions. However, Wihbey noted that subscriptions also rely on traffic, and even a strong subscriber base might not be sufficient to sustain major media organizations if traffic continues to decline.

Publishers Seek Solutions Amidst Dilemma

Some publishers are exploring new avenues. Karolian of the Boston Globe group mentioned seeing subscribers sign up through ChatGPT, offering a new touchpoint with potential readers. However, he cautioned, "these remain incredibly modest compared to other platforms, including even smaller search engines," and added that other AI-powered tools like Perplexity are generating even fewer new subscriptions.

To survive what many perceive as an inevitable shift, media companies are increasingly adopting Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). This new technique replaces traditional Search Engine Optimization (SEO) by focusing on providing AI models with clearly labeled content, good structure, comprehensible text, and a strong presence on social networks and forums like Reddit, which are frequently crawled by AI companies.

Yet, a fundamental dilemma persists: "Should you allow OpenAI crawlers to basically crawl your website and your content?" asked Thomas Peham, CEO of optimization startup OtterlyAI.

Legal Battles and Emerging Partnerships

Burned by what they describe as aggressive data collection from major AI companies, many news publishers have chosen to fight back by blocking AI crawlers from accessing their content. "We just need to ensure that companies using our content are paying fair market value," argued Danielle Coffey, who heads the News/Media Alliance trade organization.

Some progress has been made on this front, with licensing agreements emerging between major players. Notable examples include the New York Times and Amazon, Google and Associated Press, and Mistral and Agence France-Presse. However, the issue is far from resolved, with several major legal battles currently underway, most notably the New York Times' significant lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft.

Publishers face a critical choice: blocking AI crawlers protects their content but reduces exposure to potential new readers. Faced with this challenge, Peham observed that "media leaders are increasingly choosing to reopen access."

Credibility Concerns and The Future of Journalism

Even with open access, success is not guaranteed. According to OtterlyAI data, media outlets represent just 29 percent of citations offered by ChatGPT, trailing corporate websites at 36 percent. Furthermore, while Google search has historically privileged reliable sources, "we don't see this with ChatGPT," Peham noted, raising concerns about content sourcing and credibility.

The stakes extend beyond business models. The Reuters Institute's 2025 Digital News Report indicates that approximately 15 percent of people under 25 now use generative AI to get their news.

Given ongoing questions about AI sourcing and reliability, this trend risks confusing readers about information origins and credibility -- a challenge reminiscent of social media's early impact.

"At some point, someone has to do the reporting," Karolian emphasized. "Without original journalism, none of these AI platforms would have anything to summarize."

Perhaps with this realization, Google is already developing partnerships with news organizations to feed its generative AI features, suggesting potential paths forward.

"I think the platforms will realize how much they need the press," predicted Wihbey, though whether that realization comes soon enough to save struggling newsrooms remains an open question.