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ChatGPT and Other Chatbots Are Hurting Publishers Even Worse Than We Thought

Mar 04, 2025 - futurism.com
AI chatbots from companies like OpenAI and Google are significantly reducing traffic to publishers' websites, with new data from TollBit revealing that these bots send 96% less traffic compared to traditional search engines. The bots scrape content from sites extensively, leading to no ad revenue for publishers as bot clicks do not generate income. Despite including links to original sources, the chatbots summarize the information, eliminating the need for users to visit the actual sites. This practice is causing financial harm to publishers, as seen with Chegg, which has filed a lawsuit against Google for using its content in Google's AI Overview feature, severely impacting its ad revenue.

Chegg's CEO, Nathan Schultz, expressed the company's struggles during an earnings call, noting that Google's AI practices are blocking traffic to Chegg's site, prompting considerations of going private or being acquired. Chegg has engaged Goldman Sachs for a strategic review of its financial losses and retained the Susman Godfrey law firm for its lawsuit, with partner Ian Crosby labeling Google's AI Overviews as a "threat to the internet." The situation highlights the broader issue of AI chatbots repurposing content without benefiting the original publishers.

Key takeaways:

  • AI chatbots from companies like OpenAI and Google send 96% less traffic to publishers' websites compared to traditional search engines, impacting publishers' ad revenue.
  • TollBit's data shows AI bots scraped 160 news and blogging sites an average of two million times in Q4 2024, with each page scraped around seven times on average.
  • Chegg has filed a lawsuit against Google, claiming its AI Overview feature has significantly harmed Chegg's ad revenue by using its content to retain users on Google's platform.
  • Chegg is considering going private or being acquired due to the financial impact and has hired Goldman Sachs for a strategic review and Susman Godfrey law firm for the lawsuit.
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