Left-wing journalists suffer as AI kills clicks

Google’s AI-powered search features are decimating traffic to news publishers as chatbots replace traditional blue links with instant answers.

Publishers including HuffPost, the Washington Post and Business Insider have experienced traffic drops around 50% from organic search over the past three years, according to Similarweb data reviewed by the Wall Street Journal. Business Insider fired 21% of its staff last month specifically to address what CEO Barbara Peng called “extreme traffic drops outside of our control.”

“Google is shifting from being a search engine to an answer engine,” Atlantic CEO Nicholas Thompson told the Journal. “We have to develop new strategies.”

The transformation accelerated with Google’s 2024 introduction of AI Overviews, which summarizes search results at the top of the page. The rollout of AI Mode in May — a more interactive version of Overview — presents an additional threat through chatbot-style conversations containing minimal links.

Similarweb data shows the scope of impact: organic search traffic to HuffPost’s desktop and mobile sites declined nearly 50% between April 2022 and April 2025, the Journal reported. The Washington Post suffered a similar decline, while Business Insider’s organic search traffic fell 55% in the same period.

At a company meeting earlier this year, Thompson projected Google traffic would “drop toward zero” and emphasized the necessity of evolving the Atlantic’s business model. William Lewis, the Washington Post’s publisher and CEO, called the development a “serious threat to journalism that should not be underestimated.”

Publishers are responding through direct audience engagement strategies. The Atlantic is reportedly  enhancing its app, expanding print magazine issues and increasing event investments. Dotdash Meredith CEO Neil Vogel reported Google search’s share of web traffic decreased from 60% at the 2021 merger to about a third today, with overall traffic growing through newsletters and specialized platforms.

Media companies are simultaneously pursuing litigation against certain AI companies while penning licensing agreements with others. The New York Times filed copyright infringement lawsuits against OpenAI and Microsoft — while at the same time securing a licensing agreement with Amazon, Reuters reported. News Corp maintains both a content agreement with OpenAI and pending litigation against Perplexity.

Sherry Weiss, chief marketing officer of Dow Jones and the Journal, outlined the industry’s evolving approach: “As the referral ecosystem continues to evolve, we’re focused on ensuring customers come to us directly out of necessity.”

The Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to Google, HuffPost, the Post and Business Insider but did not hear back by publication.

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