Google’s AI Overviews feature has drastically increased “zero clicks” on news-related search queries, leading to a significant decline in organic traffic to news websites. According to SimilarWeb, the percentage of web searches ending without clicks on news sites surged to 69% in May 2025, up from 56% the previous year. Consequently, organic traffic to these sites plummeted from over 2.3 billion visits in mid-2024 to under 1.7 billion in May 2025. While OpenAI’s ChatGPT has increased referral traffic to news sites, it hasn’t surpassed Google’s losses. The report notes that 37 of the top 50 news domains, including CNN, experienced substantial traffic declines. Google faces potential antitrust actions, and its solutions like Offerwall aim to assist publishers in monetization amidst shrinking traffic. As AI changes news consumption, traditional SEO strategies are becoming less effective for publishers, prompting a push for diversified revenue models and adaptive content strategies.
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