AI Disrupts SEO and Threatens Traditional Web Publishing
- tech360.tv
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
Google’s integration of AI-generated summaries into search results is upending the foundation of traditional web publishing and search engine optimisation (SEO), raising concerns across the media and business sectors.
As AI overviews now appear at the top of search results, users are increasingly finding answers without clicking through to original websites. This shift is reducing referral traffic, which many publishers rely on for advertising revenue.
Klaudia Jaźwińska, writing in the Columbia Journalism Review, described the change as “catastrophic” for media outlets. She cited estimates from Pew and other sources that highlight the scale of the impact.
The trend has been building for some time, with warnings that Google’s push into AI could undermine its core business model of keyword-based search. The term “Google apocalypse” has emerged to describe the growing disruption.
Users can now enter a query and receive a direct AI-generated answer “above the fold,” bypassing traditional search engine results pages (SERPs). This development is making SEO strategies less effective and reducing the visibility of original content.
The rise of generative engine optimisation (GEO) is replacing traditional SEO, leaving businesses that invested heavily in keyword research scrambling to adapt. This change is particularly damaging to the news industry, which has already faced decades of financial pressure.
Since the early internet era, newspapers and magazines have struggled to transition to digital models. While some adapted through SEO and subscription systems, the rise of blogs and alternative media sources made competition fierce.
Now, with AI capable of generating news content and fewer users clicking through to original articles, newsrooms are cutting staff and losing relevance. Local news, in particular, is suffering as consumer investment declines.
Boston Globe reporter Jon Chesto addressed these issues in a recent TED Talk, warning that while AI may not yet fully replace journalism, it could still dismantle the institutions behind it.
The disruption extends beyond media. Small businesses, retailers and service providers that built their online presence around Google search are also affected. The rapid shift to AI-driven search is leaving many unable to adapt quickly enough.
As Google evolves to compete with platforms like Netflix, the consequences of its AI pivot are being felt across the digital landscape. The long-term effects on content creation, business visibility and public access to information remain uncertain.
Google’s AI summaries reduce need for users to click on original websites
Publishers face major losses in referral traffic and ad revenue
Traditional SEO is being replaced by generative engine optimisation
Source: FORBES