AI search engines send 96% less traffic to news sites compared to Google search: Report
Mar 07, 2025 - businesstoday.in
A report by TollBit reveals a significant decline in referral traffic from AI-powered search engines to news websites, with AI-driven tools like those from OpenAI and Perplexity sending 96% less traffic compared to traditional Google search. Despite AI firms' claims of creating new revenue opportunities, the data suggests otherwise, as AI companies have increased web scraping activities, averaging two million scrapes per quarter in 2024. This has led to increased server costs for publishers without corresponding traffic benefits. The lack of transparency in AI web scraping practices poses challenges for publishers, with companies like Perplexity facing scrutiny for undisclosed methods and republishing paywalled content.
To address these issues, some publishers have negotiated licensing deals with AI companies to ensure fair compensation, while others charge per scraping instance. The report warns of an "AI slurry" scenario, where high-quality journalism is undermined by low-quality content if unchecked. As AI-powered search engines gain popularity, the industry must balance innovation with fair compensation to sustain digital journalism and maintain information quality online.
Key takeaways:
AI-powered search engines send significantly less referral traffic to publishers compared to traditional search engines like Google.
AI companies have increased their web scraping activities, leading to higher server costs for publishers without corresponding traffic benefits.
Opaque scraping practices by AI firms pose challenges for publishers, with some companies continuing to access content even when blocked.
Licensing deals and compensation models are being explored to ensure fair compensation for content creators as AI search engines become more prevalent.
