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AI Overviews and the Traffic Cliff

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At Digiday DPS, the chatter wasn’t about privacy or Core Web Vitals, it was about AI Overviews.


Search engines are increasingly serving up AI-generated summaries that often satisfy user queries before they click.


For many publishers, this is already hitting hard: Digital Content Next (DCN) reports drops in Google search referrals of 1–25% across ~40 publishers, with news brands down ~7% YoY and non-news down ~14%. In the worst weeks, traffic for some saw 16–17% declines, with service-oriented, recipe, and long-tail “how-to” content hit hardest.


Some publishers talk about a 40% cliff in certain verticals, and what keeps many up at night is not knowing where the bottom lies.


Why It Matters


This isn’t just a story about SEO. AI Overviews are changing the economics of digital content:

  • Revenue pressure: Fewer clicks mean fewer pageviews, which translates to less ad inventory and falling CPMs for publishers without subscriptions or direct monetization.

  • Visibility shifts: Even ranking at the top of search no longer guarantees traffic if the AI Overview gives users what they need upfront.

  • Content value: Easily summarized content loses relevance; original reporting, proprietary data, and unique commentary gain importance.

  • Platform power: With publishers’ work fueling AI summaries but lacking control or compensation, the balance of power keeps tilting toward the platforms.


Where Programmatic Still Wins


Here’s the good news: CTV and in-app inventory remain immune because these environments don’t depend on search referrals. For advertisers, programmatic buying in these channels still offers scale and performance untouched by AI Overviews.


That’s why at Mavern Media, we’re helping agency and brand partners double down on transparent, performance-driven programmatic plays, ensuring campaigns reach the right people, even as search dynamics shift.


The Takeaway


The traffic hit from AI Overviews is real, measurable, and already affecting bottom lines.

Publishers and marketers must rethink their approach, focusing on:

  • Content with depth, originality, and brand authority

  • Multiple discovery channels beyond search

  • Strategic use of CTV, in-app, and programmatic ecosystems unaffected by these changes


AI Overviews aren’t just a search story, they’re a supply chain story for digital advertising. Those who adapt early will be positioned for the next phase of the open web.

 
 
 
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